Breaking down Week 2’s Super Bowl LIX rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs

The GIST: Seven months after the reigning champ Philadelphia Eagles pummeled the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, the perennial powerhouses will meet again on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET. Plenty has changed since the Birds outplayed KC in February — let’s discuss.

🦅 Eagles need more from quarterback (QB) Jalen Hurts: The reigning Super Bowl MVP and fan favorite looked pedestrian in the pocket despite Philly’s Week 1 win. Hurts threw for a mere 152 yards and connected on just one pass (of his 19 total completions) with superstar wide receiver (WR) A.J. Brown against a meh-at-best Dallas Cowboys defense. Not great.

🔴 Unfamiliar territory for KC: Cracks started to show in their dynastic armor last year, but QB Patrick Mahomes’ wizardry still led KC to the Super Bowl. Some glaring roster holes remain though, like a clear lack of WR depth after Xavier Worthy’s Week 1 shoulder injury. Even magic can’t fix everything.

• Now, KC is on the brink of their first 0-2 start since 2014, four years before Mahomes stepped under center. And they’ll certainly want to avoid that fate: Only five of the 40 teams who’ve started 0-2 since 2020 have made the postseason. Yikes.

🤔 The edge: For the first time since October 2022, KC enters a game as the underdog — and while that doesn’t mean much on its own (Mahomes has won 13 of the 20 career games where he was not favored), expect the Eagles’ fierce pass rush to once again wreak havoc on Mahomes’ offense. Some things have changed; some stay the same.