Sunday will be far from the first rodeo in the Super Bowl from the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Within the last seven years, multiple players on both teams have won Super Bowl rings.
These two historic franchises also have a Super Bowl history that stretches much farther than even the dawn of the new millennium. Players have played in the big game for both franchises with really small facemasks.
Check out some of the best Chiefs’ and Eagles’ individual Super Bowl performances.
Lenny “The Cool” Dawson was one of the faces of the Chiefs franchise and the MVP of their first Super Bowl win in the 1969 season. Dawson’s best performance though was in the original AFL vs. NFL Championship Game, also known as Super Bowl I. Dawson passed for 242 yards and was also Kansas City’s leading rusher. The Hall of Famer did all that he could on that day in Los Angeles, but the mighty Green Bay Packers were too much in a 35-10 victory.
Dawson was the Super Bowl IV MVP, but Hall of Fame DT Buck Buchanan played a huge role in Kansas City’s 23-7 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The Chiefs entered the game as two-point underdogs, but held the Vikings — who were averaging nearly 28 points per game — scoreless until the third quarter. Buchanan’s effort on that side of the ball led the way for the Chiefs that day. He tied for the team lead in tackles that day and also recorded a sack (per Pro Football Reference, sacks were not an official NFL stat until 1982.)
In order to pull away from the Vikings for good to get the Super Bowl IV win, a dynamic offensive play needed to be made. Taylor made that play for the Chiefs in the fourth quarter. He caught a hitch from Dawson near the sideline and spun away from a Vikings’ defensive back. He then ran untouched the rest of the way for a 46-yard touchdown. Taylor was the Chiefs’ most productive offensive player with six catches for 81 total yards on the day.
The Eagles were throttled by the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XV. Ron Jaworski threw an interception on his first attempt, and it was all downhill from there. The Eagles were down 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, and 24-3 by the end of the third. For all of the blame to be distributed that day, none of it should have been aimed at Montgomery. He tried his best to put on a one-man offensive show for the Eagles. He was their leading rusher with 44 yards and also their leading receiver with 91 yards.
One of the most memorable performances in the history of the NFL in either a win or a loss. On Dec. 19, 2004, Roy Williams broke Terrell Owens’ right leg and tore a ligament in the ankle. The tackle would be outlawed the next season, but it was likely that the rest of the current one was over for Owens.
The Eagles played against the Patriots in the Super Bowl on Feb. 6, 2005. Owens would indeed return to the field after surgery and two screws put in his ankle. Against the dominant Patriots’ defense, he tallied nine catches for 122 yards. If he had been healthy maybe he could have turned a few of those catches into touchdowns. Still, for all of his drama in that short stint in Philadelphia, that one night in Jacksonville will never be forgotten by those who saw it.
Nick Foles, Mr. Philly Special himself, went from backup to Super Bowl MVP. He took over for Carson Wentz, who tore his ACL, and the Eagles’ offense never slowed down. Philly stomped the Minnesota Vikings, 38-7, and hung 41 points on Bill Belichick’s defense in its Super Bowl LII win. Foles passed for 373 yards and three touchdowns to earn the MVP honors. But the play that they’ll talk about in Philly whenever he comes by for his lifetime supply of free drinks and cheesesteaks is that touchdown catch for Philadelphia off of Doug Pederson’s special play.
Why did the New England Patriots sign Agholor to a two-year $22 million contract after an Eagles fan assisted in saving children from a fire, and still had the wide receiver’s dropped passes on his mind? Agholor’s performance in the fourth quarter of that game likely had something to do with it. Of the nine passes that he caught in the Eagles’ 41-33 victory, three came on one drive in the final quarter. The Patriots had just taken a 33-32 lead. On the Eagles’ next drive, Foles went to Agholor on three consecutive plays. He caught all three passes, taking Philly down to the Patriots’ 14-yard line. The Eagles scored a touchdown three plays later.
Again, all credit to Foles for how well he played in this game, but this win was a true team effort. Several players made huge plays on both sides of the ball. Probably the biggest single play for the Eagles was made on defense. Graham had a quiet day according to the box score with only two tackles and a sack. However, that sack was arguably the biggest play of the game. The Patriots had the ball down 38-33 after the Eagles’ 2-point conversion attempt failed. Their drive only lasted two plays. Graham strip-sacked Brady and the ball was recovered on the Patriots’ 33-yard line.
Super Bowl LIV was not going the Chiefs’ way. Patrick Mahomes had thrown interceptions on consecutive drives, and a first-down catch from Hill had just been reversed following a coach’s challenge. Following the San Francisco 49ers’ successful challenge, Mahomes dialed Hill’s number on third-and-15 the next play. There was no disputing whether or not Hill hauled in this one. The Chiefs never looked back. They scored touchdowns on three consecutive possessions to win the game 31-20. Hill finished the game with nine catches for 107 yards.
The Chiefs’ offense gets frequently overshadowed by its defense, but their timely plays were crucial in making the comeback possible. Breeland led the Chiefs’ defense with seven tackles including two for loss. Also, when the Chiefs assumed a 7-3 lead in the first quarter, Breeland intercepted Jimmy Garoppolo on the 49ers’ following possession. The Chiefs would go on to kick a field goal and take a brief 10-3 lead.
Mahomes was the MVP of Super Bowl LIV after throwing for 286 yards, two TDs, and rushing for 29 yards and another score. He guided Kansas City to 21 points in the game’s final six minutes and 13 seconds. In the fourth quarter, Mahomes threw TD passes to Travis Kelce and Damien Williams, who also rushed for the game’s final score.