The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles meet again seven months after the Super Bowl; can Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs continue their season despite all the question marks?; watch Chiefs v Eagles at Arrowhead Stadium live on Sky Sports NFL from 9.25pm on Sunday
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.
A look at the best off-the-field moments from Super Bowl LIX
The Philadelphia Eagles thrashed, demoralized, and easily crushed the Kansas City Chiefs in February, falling short of a historic Super Bowl. But they have a chance to strike back on Sunday. They can't afford to miss it.
An Eagles-filled Superdome erupted in almost serene joy at the sight of Jalen Hurts, a league-best block led by Lane Johnson and a stifling Philly defense that denied Patrick Mahomes' Chiefs a third straight Lombardi Trophy with a 40-22 victory.
It was sweet revenge for the Super Bowl loss to Andy Reid's dynasty two years earlier, as the cold-blooded Hurts overcame Steve Spagnuolo's vaunted defense and Vic Fangio's offensive dogs sent Mahomes running for his life with virtually no help from the receiver.
New Orleans witnessed a brutal mismatch in physicality, depth, passing attack, pass-catching talent and high-octane football on both sides of the ball.
Is Kansas City's era of dominance over? That's what the NFL is trying to find out this year.
- NFL for the World: Wheelchair Football Aims for Paralympic Dream
- Should Mahomes and the Chiefs be worried?
- Don't have a Sky subscription? Subscribe to Sky Sports or watch contract-free now 📺
“Of course it hurts to lose, but in order to improve and be better next time, you have to watch and learn from your mistakes,” Mahomes said. “And so, I don’t know exactly how many times, but you watch it, and then you watch it in the offseason with the team and the coaches, and then of course you watch it this week.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.
Super Bowl 59 Highlights: The Kansas City Chiefs took on the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans.
Wake-up call for Chiefs
The Chiefs started the 2025 season with a loss last week, falling to the Justin Herbert-inspired Los Angeles Chargers 27-21 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Familiar weaknesses were back: issues in pass protection, a weak pass rush, shaky coverage, and perhaps most importantly, issues with separation amid a shortage of receivers. Flashes of magic from Mahomes were still in the cards, but as the Chiefs have learned, even No. 15 can't make up for the holes in the lineup around him.
Mahomes and Kansas City are now in danger of going 2-0 for the first time since 2014, the last time they missed the playoffs. They enter Sunday both buoyed and burdened by the lessons of a painful February loss that they hope will not be the defining moment for Mahomes and Reid.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.
Highlights from the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Chargers Week 1 game
“That’s part of the game,” Mahomes said Wednesday. “You learn from your mistakes and you learn from the positives and then you come back and play better this week, and we’re going to have to play our best football to go out there and win.”
Only five of the 40 teams that started the season 0-2 since 2020, when the NFL playoff field expanded to 14, have made the postseason, while 35 of the 288 teams that started the season 0-2 have made the playoffs since 1990, when the playoff field expanded from 10 to 12.
Kansas City has appeared in five of the last six Super Bowls, winning nine straight AFC West titles to succeed New England's decades-long dominance. But after a Super Bowl meltdown, a loss to the Chargers, and an epic 81-point Week 1 victory between AFC rivals Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, Kansas City looks alarmingly behind.
Philly vs Chiefs Live Pass
One of the biggest factors in the February win and the construction of Howie Roseman's roster was the depth and rotation of talented players on the Eagles' offensive line.
Nick Sirianni's team recorded 16 pressures and six sacks on Mahomes during the Super Bowl while relying solely on a four-man pass rush, marking just the fourth time in the Next Gen Stats era that a team hasn't used a blitz.
“They had a great game plan,” Mahomes said. “They played hard and did a great job of disrupting my timing. I've got to learn from that and find ways to get the ball out of my hand.”
“When there are opportunities, I think that's what I missed early in the game, is that there are opportunities to make plays and you have to make them because if you don't, they're not going to give you those opportunities again.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.
Highlights of the Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles game in the first week of the NFL season
Jalen Carter, who escaped further suspension for spitting at Dak Prescott, has established himself as one of the NFL's most luxurious, game-changing disruptors alongside his old Georgia friend Jordan Davis, while Nolan Smith Jr. appeared to have put doubts about his size to rest with his elite curve, speed and accuracy, showing potential as a reliable pass rusher late last season.
But after the offseason departures of Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Darius Slay and the retired Brandon Graham, Philly's defense has been transformed, with former New York Giants star Azeez Ojulari serving as a rotation option, as well as former head coach Josh Uche, who led the league in pass rushing in Week 1.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.
Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts discusses the value linebacker Saquon Barkley brings to the team.
The team's roster changes were evident in their win over the Dallas Cowboys on the league's opening day, as they failed to record a single sack on Prescott, prompting them to sign veteran free agent pass rusher Za'Darius Smith, as well as in an effort to maintain the team's ability to play the four-man offense, which is common for any modern contending team.
For Kansas City, it's another test for a weak offensive line that they've been trying to address with first-round pick Josh Simmons at left tackle. They re-signed guard Trey Smith, but with the loss of Joe Thuney and early-season struggles for Javan Taylor and Kingsley Suamataia, last year's weaknesses remain a major concern.
Who can Mahomes trust?
Kansas City's defensive woes might not be so obvious if Mahomes had more playmakers around him and was more dynamic.
Hollywood Brown and Rushee Rice missed a combined 28 regular-season games last year, prematurely increasing the role of then-rookie cornerback Xavier Worthy, who suddenly had to add more speed up front with a more flexible route tree. Moreover, an aging Travis Kelce had struggled in previous seasons, rushing for a career-low 823 yards. He and midseason pick DeAndre Hopkins clearly had trouble getting out of scrimmage against a ferocious Eagles defense in the Super Bowl.
Mahomes is again short on backup. Rice, who quickly became Mahomes' new top target before his injury in 2024, is in the middle of a six-game suspension, and Worthy is facing a timeout after dislocating his shoulder while colliding with Kelce on a cross-route after playing just three offensive snaps against the Chargers.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.
The NFL is back on Sky Sports! A new three-year deal means more games will be shown, making Sunday your favourite day again!
“I just have to get better, man. I've been in the league 13 years,” Kelce said this week. “I'm not going to be able to do that. There's no excuse for me running into my guys like that. Worthy beats his guy, we go out there, and that game starts off completely different.”
Brown, for his part, had his best day in a Chiefs jersey, catching 10 balls for 99 yards, a harbinger of increased responsibility. JuJu Smith-Schuster was the next most active receiver, catching five balls for 55 yards, and Tyquan Thornton had 41 yards on two receptions. That's not exactly encouraging or encouraging.
“He's going to be really strong in the next couple of weeks,” Mahomes said of Brown. “I think he's ready for it.”
Mahomes has run two different types of offenses since entering the NFL, largely due to the league's attempts to limit his impact. The once explosive, deep-threat offense led by Tyreek Hill has been forced to transform into a more methodical, patient, drive-building system based on clock control and short-medium routes, leading to Hill's departure and defensive coordinators switching to four-man runs and two high safeties to compress the field.
Spreaker. This content is provided by Spreaker, which may use cookies and other technologies. To show you this content, we need your consent to use cookies. You can use the buttons below to change your settings and enable Spreaker cookies or allow them just once. You can change your settings at any time in your privacy settings. Sorry, we couldn't verify your consent to Spreaker's use of cookies. To view this content, you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only. Enable cookies Allow cookies once
Specifically, Mahomes had a 117.1 passer rating on passes of 20-plus yards to receivers from 2018-22, compared to 44.8 in 2023 and 2024. He and Reid adapted out of necessity and as successfully as they could have hoped, rewarded with two more Super Bowls, even if the football wasn’t as exciting or sexy. But the cracks are widening, and the league’s best play-caller needs more help.
Among the last players the shaky offense needs to play are perhaps the NFL's most successful linebacker duo, Zach Baun and rookie Jihad Campbell. And while safety questions remain, Quinyon Mitchell remains a no-throw zone.
Can the Chiefs contain Hurts and company?
Despite the ongoing talk of their offensive regression, much attention is being paid to the Spagnuolo defense and its ability to return to the level that allowed them to define Kansas City's path to the last three Super Bowls.
Where they could once rely on veteran presence and the game-winning switch-of-pace ability that Chris Jones offered, the success of Joe Alt has now neutralized the Chiefs' main man, putting the Chiefs' lack of scoring outside of him in an unflattering light.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.
In the Philadelphia Special, Sky Sports pundit Ndamukong Suh meets his former teammates and Super Bowl winners, the Philadelphia Eagles.
George Karlaftis signed a new four-year, $93 million contract to become Jones' primary backup this offseason, but he failed to make enough of an impact to earn Spagnuolo permission to trust his four-man unit. The Spags were taking more shots, and Herbert was happy to take advantage of that to punish them in the air.
The loss of Justin Reed has hurt the safety position, and the departure of Tershawn Wharton in free agency has also left a hole in the Chiefs' lineup. Outside of Jones, it's hard to find a consistent source of pressure.
The beauty of Spagnuolo's defense at its best has been the freedom to disguise and rotate coverages to confuse the quarterback's field diagnosis. He also runs the most creative, most exotic blitzes in the NFL; he doesn't want to be distracted by a one-on-one struggle on offense. Karlaftis' double-digit sacks seem like a prerequisite for the Chiefs' success this year.
Spagnuolo's February plan was largely focused on getting the ball to Saquon Barkley, the NFL's 2,000-yard rusher, to give Hurts a chance to beat him. Sure, Barkley had one of his quietest days, with 57 yards rushing on 27 attempts. But Hurts beat him anyway.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Carter was ejected before Game 1 against the Dallas Cowboys after spitting on Dak Prescott.
The Super Bowl MVP completed 17 of 22 games, throwing for 221 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception while rushing for 72 yards and a score in the latest display of his prowess on the big stage. He led the way again against the Cowboys, with 152 yards passing, 62 yards rushing, and two scores, while Barkley had just 60 yards rushing. There’s a weird subplot, though, involving A.J. Brown catching one ball on one target. What a mind-bending twist.
Neither team will be looking for a “revenge” or “revenge” title. A win won't heal Kansas City's wounds, but it will give them a head start to the season despite the threat of an ominous 0-2 start.
“It’s just another opportunity for us,” Hurts said this week. “That’s the way I look at it. We have a long road ahead of us, and we can learn from last week. We know we’re playing a really good team. It’s a new team, and we’re a new team.”
Watch the 2025 NFL season live on Sky Sports, including every game from London and Europe, plus every minute of the playoffs and Super Bowl LX; subscribe to Sky Sports or stream contract-free on NOW.
Sourse: skysports.com
