The factors that determine the Super Bowl: Barkley, Blitzes, Refs and a Kickers’ Fight | Super Bowl

T.He best list in the nfl versus the league’s best quarterback. Two defensive wizards. Two offenses that hold onto the ball for a long time, Looooooong Time, prioritization of efficiency and ball security above all else. This year’s Super Bowl is likely to be a tight, low-scoring affair. Let’s look at the most important questions that determine the result of the big game.

Can Chiefs Brake Barkley?

Barkley has put together one of the biggest seasons in the NFL history. He needs 30 yards to break Terrell Davis’ combined urgent record for the regular season and playoffs. So far, no one has found a way to slow him down. Behind a Bulldozing Philadelphia Eagles Offensive Line, Barkley Churn can four meters per day. Carry or transform part of daylight into a house call in a flash.

To limit Barkley’s influence, Kansas City Chiefs need to force negative spectacles first down. But finding out how is difficult. The typical answer to slowing down a large back is that the quantity line with review with as many bodies as possible. And Chiefs run five deep, with running linemen that can cycle in and out of the game to try to check the line with review. But Barkley is a one-of-one talent. Somehow he has been more Effective this season against a crowded line than against defense that has admitted a certain mass of the front to protect against his home-driven potential.

Barkley’s greatness comes from his stop-start speed and vision-wheel-wheeled by a gigantic, mobile offensive line that bridges an open path. By adding size along the line, Defense hopes to transform the running of the running into a series of one-on-one strokes or force the opposite violation to check from a race game to a passport game. But Barkley distorts traditional logic. He Prefer When there are more bodies in front; If he can get a defender to miss, there are fewer defenders available further down the field to stop him striped into the end zone. Barkley has forced 77 missed tackles this season and is already up to 54 races of 10 yards or more. 41 of these explosive races have come to defensive appearance with seven or more defenders around the line with review, an NFL record.

It puts Chief’s defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo in a volume. Everything is a compromise. Is he stacking the box and hoping Barkley has an off -night or Eagles is changing away from the ridge completely? Or does he back up and facilitate the box, which lets Barkley churn out lighter yards, but hopefully limits the back of the back?

Will Eagles Blitz Mahomes?

Vic Fangio’s defense has been the most consistent device in the league this season. They stone walls. They limit explosive spectacles. The Bludgeon fast screens, a core component of the Chiefs violation. They force turns into a sky -high rate. In Jalen Carter they have a one-man Inferno along the defensive line.

Support of it is Fangios philosophy: Force an offense to operate the field in 15 to 18 pieces. It’s not quite a passive bending-don’t-break system, but it’s not far away. Fangio plays with a four-down-and-go-front, explains his cover at the back, all falling out to the room, causing his players to rally to the ball and then hit like a freight train. He has made subtle adjustments this year, but the foundation is the same as ever.

Fangio’s theory is that forcing an offense to drive the length of the field over and over is mental taxation. Eventually, he hopes the opposite quarterback will make a mistake.

The logic is healthy. Eagles have forced 26 takeaways this season. And with their offense that dominates the time of possession due to their overwhelming running games, opposite quarterbacks have got antsy against Fangio’s group. The clock is ticking down, quarterback understands that he may only have a handful of possessions, he chases chunk and then, boom, here comes a cover they did not expect, or a pass rupper crashing into their face.

However, Mahomes is built differently. He can play in structure or weapon chaos. He doesn’t take sacks. He rarely turns the ball over – and he gets rid of the ball with the fastest speed of his career. With Travis Kelce, Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown, Noah Gray, Deandre Hopkins and a rotation of three running backs, Chiefs have a wealth of weapons to attack in every way they want. Andy Reid’s idiosyncratic planning has enabled them to wipe out opponents on the third downturns to keep the chains moving. If the scheme breaks down, Mahomes can create a spectacle entirely on his own. It’s hard to believe, even against an Eagles defense this talented that Mahomes will squeeze the game away.

Fangio has a terrible record against Mahomes and Reid. In seven meetings like a defensive playcaller, Fangio is 0-7 against the couple. His best efforts came in week 9 last season as Dolphin’s defensive coordinator. At this meeting, Fangio turned his approach. Instead of having his defense back, Fangio Mahomes flashed to the highest rate, he has flashed any quarterback in the last two seasons. And not any old flashes, but all-out, oh-no, what-is-male thinking flashes. It worked! Fangio held Mahomes to 185 passersby yards, and Chiefs couldn’t score in the second half of a 21-14 win, with Fangio pulling his flash rate after half time.

However, flashing mahomes is risky. Ever since he stepped on the field as a pro, Mahomes has roasted pressure. Now he is also league -leading in the degradation of peculiar zone coverings, the kind of Eagles -Major in.

How much will last year’s Gameplan Stick in Fangio’s mind? Does he want to flash the ublitzable? Does he want to dare Mahomes to make a mistake? Revising his defensive approach to a game would be a gamble. Fangio has built the best unit in the league by sticking to the principles he has been coaching for 40 years. But Mahomes and Reid have proven that they can crack his conventional work. The Chiefs violation is always full of surprises. It may be time for Fangio to spring one of his own.

How healthy is Eagles offensive line?

Eagles come in on Sunday with harm concerns at the front. Left Guard Landon Dickerson injured his knee in the NFC Championship Game, and Center Cam Jurgens deals with a lingering back injury. Dickerson’s backup, Tyler Steen, fought in the NFC Championship Game. And if Jurgens, who is expected to start, is forced to leave the game, Eagles will have to move players around to fill the void.

Dickerson and Jurgens are the key to Philly’s Run Game: Dickerson is a Mauler, while Jurgens choreograph the team’s blocking mechanics. If both are limited or miss out on time, it will be a blow to the basis of Philly’s violation. More importantly, the two will be crucial to picking up Chiefs’ Wonky Blitz packages. Spagnuolo has the widest flash menu in the league. He sends heat from unusual angles in unusual situations. No one has better read about how an offensive line is trying to protect their quarterback and the best way to break down this protection.

Communication is critical of averting spagnuolo’s rubbish. If there has been a weak area for the Eagles’ much-ballyhooed offensive line, it has picked up another pressure package. They are a large group that can struggle with the nuances of passing on different pass-rushers and sorting any chaos in the passing game. Without a settled interior, Eagles will be in trouble with third downs.

Then there is the Chris Jones factor. KC moves Jones all over their front using the rest of their defensive adjustment to plan one-on-one-uo-mood for their Star Pass Rusher. If either Dickerson or Jurgens Missing, Jones can party against their backups.

Can Jake Elliott match Harrison Butker?

Let’s talk Kickers! In a tight matchup, field dimensions will matter. A long bomb or two could tilt the scales in a team’s advantage and playing in a dome gives a favorable kick environment.

Chiefs have a clear advantage. Butker is the leading leader in the playoff field accuracy. He has hit six of seven kicks from 50 yards or more in his playoff career, though he has not been so accurate from a distance this season. But Butker is a proven under pressure that kicks game seal goals in all three of Chiefs’ Super Bowl race.

Elliott has been up and down. He is a career 60% kicker from 50 or more meters, but has only hit one of his seven long -range attempts this season. Eagles have the best violation of short yardage in the league, but if a drive stops, Elliott will have to match Butker Make-for-Make.

How will officials call the game?

The Zaniest Conspiracy Theory in the NFL is that the league’s officials – and by extension the league office – collide to help the bosses, even if The numbers do not support this theory. The believers that believers have have not yet consolidated around a single theory that runs the excitement of a dynasty that is good for business, where Mahomes is the league’s most marketable star, and the fact that Taylor Swift is dating travis kelce. Maybe it’s all three. The evidence? Bad spots. Cheap gross passing calls. Unskilled fake starts. You name it and there is undoubtedly a viral social media clip of a call that goes to the benefit of Mahomes and Chiefs.

The story has taken such a thorough grip that Commissioner Roger Goodell turned to it this week and called it a “ridiculous theory.” The NFL Judges Association issued a statement adding, “Officering crews do not work the same team more than twice every regular season. It is insulting and inappropriate to hear conspiracy theories that are somehow 17 official crews consisting of 138 officials clash to help a team. “

The idea is Inappropriate. Has Chiefs been on the lucky side of some creepy calls? You are betting. Are some of Playoff -The numbers a little fished? Kind, kind. Sometimes feels Like Chiefs, more calls get. But it’s probably because they play in more national television games than any other franchise. When there is is A bad call, they benefit because they are the best team of their generation. Their numbers of juices because they have played in more post -season games than anyone in the league in the last three years. They have also had more coaching continuity than any dynastic team in the league history-and velcoachede teams do not cough sanctions.

And yet … the idea that the judges are working to help the bosses is out there. Officials are human. Will the tale play on their minds on Sunday? If there is a call of 50-50, will they pay tribute to their flags knowing that there is a focus on their performance? Maybe the fingers crossed, they will swallow their whistles after the full game that wants to go by any controversy.