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5 reasons the Eagles, Jalen Hurts will defeat the Chiefs and win Super Bowl 2023

Jalen Hurts is no Patrick Mahomes. Nick Sirianni is no Andy Reid. Jason Kelce is no Travis Kelce.

And there’s a reason the Eagles started the season as 30-1 longshots to win the Super Bowl.

Kansas City fans have been comforting themselves with such thoughts. But the sobering fact is the Chiefs have the bigger names but Philadelphia has the better team. Here are five of the many reasons they’ll be Super Bowl champs.

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Weapons out the Wazoo

Take Kelce away from Mahomes, and who really scares you? Take A.J. Brown away from Hurts, and defensive coordinators still get the heebie-jeebies from DeVonta Smith, Miles Sanders and their backups.

Brown and Smith were both in the top 10 in receiving yards. Sanders rushed for 1,269 yards and scored 11 TDs. As good as he’s been, Kenneth Gainwell’s been so productive the coaching staff had to start getting him more touches.

Gainwell surpassed 70 yards rushing in both playoff games and has the fourth-best postseason total among backs. Boston Scott has a rushing TD in three straight playoff games despite getting six or fewer carries.

Facing the Eagles’ offense is like playing Whac-A-Mole. If one guy is taken out, another is going to pop right up.

Jalen Hurts Delivers

Mahomes gets more attention than a Chinese spy balloon, but don’t be surprised if he’s upstaged by the other quarterback.

That would be Hurts, the guy who lost his starting job at Alabama to future Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, humbly played second fiddle for a year and then transferred to Oklahoma, where he finished second in the Heisman balloting. Doubts followed him to the NFL, where he’s gone from being a questionable second-round pick to a solid starter to an MVP candidate in three years.

Hurts showed his potential in October 2021, when he passed for 387 yards and two TDs against the Chiefs. This year, he went 14-1 as a starter. The Eagles are 21-3 in Hurts’ last 24 starts.

He’s made a career out of being sold short. A big game Sunday would be nothing new.

EA's Madden Says So

EA’s Madden football franchise is 13-6 since it started making Super Bowl predictions. That means if you’d bet $1 million on all those games, you’d have just about enough money to buy a 30-second ad spot in this year’s game and tell the world how smart you are.

This year, the smart money is on the Eagles. Madden NFL 23’s simulation has them winning 31-17, with Hurts passing for 282 yards and rushing for 88 more.

Ground and Pound

Hurts has a big advantage over most NFL quarterbacks. He operates behind the game’s best offensive line.

It’s led by All-Pro center Jason Kelce. With all due respect to Travis, Jason will be the Most Valuable Kelce on Sunday. He’s joined by Pro Bowler Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, Isaac Seumalo and Landon Dickerson.

K.C.’s defense isn't as good as San Francisco’s, and Philadelphia pounded the 49ers in the NFL Championship Game. The Eagles have rushed for 416 yards in two playoff games, the fourth-highest total in the past 25 years.

The other playoff teams have averaged 62% pass and 38% run. Philadelphia is averaging 37% pass and 63% run. It's run 44 times in its two postseason games, the highest playoff total in 33 years.

A running game eats the clock, which means Mahomes will be sitting on the bench, which is the best way to beat the Chiefs.

The Heat Will Be On

Philadelphia had 70 sacks this season, only two short of the NFL record set by the legendary 1985 Bears. Haason Reddick has turned into Lawrence Taylor in the playoffs, with 3.5 sacks, four QB hits, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Reddick had 16 sacks in the regular season, but he’s hardly the Chiefs’ only worry. Javon Hargrave, Brandon Ingram and Josh Sweat each had 11 sacks.

Kansas City allowed only 26 sacks this season, but few teams dared to blitz because Mahomes is so good at exploiting the vacated areas. Philadelphia won’t have to blitz to get pressure on Mahomes, who says his gimpy ankle is fully functioning.

It better be.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Five reasons the Eagles will defeat the Chiefs in Super Bowl 2023