5 Storylines for Super Bowl LVII

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NFL Super Bowl LVII flag with white background flowing in the wind.

Ozair Hussain

With Super Bowl LVII set to kickoff with the Kansas City Chiefs facing off against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m., an overview of storylines to look out for is in order. There storylines will involve the teams, coaches, players, etc. With that said, here are five storylines for Super Bowl LVII:

5. First Super Bowl to Feature Two Black Starting Quarterbacks

Super Bowl LVII will be the first Super Bowl in NFL history to feature two Black starting quarterbacks.

The feat occurring during Black History Month only adds that much more significance to it. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes acknowledged the occasion saying, “(to) be on the world stage and have two Black quarterbacks start in the Super Bowl, I think it’s special.” Mahomes went on to say, “The guys who came before me and Jalen set the stage for this. Now, I’m just glad we can kind of set the stage for guys that are kids that are coming up now.”

4. The Ties That Bond

Super Bowl LVII will feature a myriad of past and current ties.

The most notable one may be that the Eagles center Jason Kelce and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce will be the first brothers to play against each other in Super Bowl history.

In addition, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid will be coaching against his former team, the Eagles, whom he coached for 14 seasons, which consisted of a regular season record 130-93-1, postseason record of 10-9, and an appearance in Super Bowl XXXIX.

Likewise, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni will be coaching against his former team, the Chiefs, whom he spent four seasons as an offensive quality control coach, assistant quarterbacks coach and wide receivers coach.

It will be interesting to see if these ties add any more incentive to the game.

3. The Trenches

The Eagles have arguably the best offensive line in the league, evident in running back Miles Sanders having the 5th most rushing yards with 1,269 on 259 attempts and the team totaling the 5th most rushing yards with 2,509.

They also arguably have the best defensive line in the league as they lead the league in sacks with 70, 15 more than the next best team. The team also has four players with double digit sacks in Haason Reddick, Javon Hargrave, Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham with Reddick leading the team with 16.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs rank 20th as a team in terms of rushing with 1,970 yards. However, they also rank 9th in attempts with 417 attempts and 11th in yards per carry with 4.7 yards per carry.

Their defensive line, led by All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones’ 15.5, have 52 sacks on the season which pales in comparison to the Eagles 70. No other player on the team has double digit sacks.

It will be interesting to see how the battles in the trenches play out.

2. Catching Kelce

All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce enjoyed a phenomenal season after teammate and All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins in the offseason. The stalwart tight end finished the season with 110 receptions, 1,338 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.

However, aside from Kelce, the Chiefs skill position players are lackluster. The next leading receiver, Juju Smith-Schuster, totaled 78 receptions, 933 yards and three touchdowns and is currently listed as questionable for the game.

One player who might make up for the lack of production behind Kelce is dual threat running back Jerick McKinnon. McKinnon finished the regular season with 291 rushing yards and 512 receiving yards. McKinnon also averaged 9.1 yards per reception and had 8 receiving touchdowns in the final 6 games of the regular season.

NFL Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the Chiefs home jersey. (Flickr)

1. Patrick Mahomes’ High Ankle Sprain

Mahomes’ high ankle sprain is the biggest storyline heading into Super Bowl LVII.

Mahomes initially suffered the injury during the Chiefs home victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional Round when Jaguars linebacker Arden Key fell on his ankle late in the first quarter.

Mahomes gutted through the injury to not only finish the game but play in the AFC Championship Game win against the Cincinatti Bengals as well. Although he was able to play and finished with 326 passing yards and two touchdowns, it was clearly evident the injury was affecting him.

Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, when asked about how Mahomes’ ankle injury might affect the playbook in the Super Bowl, said, “Pat’s not going to shy away from anything. And it’s our job more than anything to protect him from himself…so we’re not going to change anything.”

It will be interesting to see if the Chiefs make any adjustments to their offensive playbook while trying to contest against the Eagles aforementioned vaunted defensive line.

Fans are looking ahead of this week to watch how the X’s and O’s play out in Super Bowl LVII and to see if any of these storylines take the frontline.