Mahomes’ magic will give the Kansas City Chiefs just enough on Feb. 9 to become the first National Football League team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.  

While nine other teams have won back-to-back Super Bowls, the 2024-25 Chiefs are the only team to make it back to the Super Bowl immediately following their second consecutive victory.

Looking at most of the offensive statistics for the Chiefs would not seem to show a Super Bowl-bound team, but the magic formula head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes have developed never seems to fail when it counts. 

The Chiefs were viewed as having an extremely weak offense, and as a team that mainly made the playoffs on the backs of an exceptionally strong defense which ranks  top five in most categories. To beat the stampeding Bills would take a miracle. But all it took was the same thing that always gets the job done for the Chiefs: efficiency on key third and fourth downs, a turnover right when it mattered, and just enough Mahomes magic to get them the points to win.

The Bills had more time of possession, more total plays, and more offensive yards. They even had much of America rooting for quarterback Josh Allen to finally make it to the Super Bowl he seemingly deserves. But at the end of the game, the Bills fell to the Chiefs for the fourth time in Allen’s career.

Facing the Chiefs in the Super Bowl are the high flying Philadelphia Eagles, led by their MVP-candidate running back Saquon Barkley. With him in the backfield, the Eagles have a top-five offense in nearly every category. 

The Eagles last made the Super Bowl in 2023 where they were narrowly defeated by the Chiefs 38 – 35. This time, the Eagles have an even better defense and a significantly improved rushing attack. Barkley’s first season with the Eagles, in which he eclipsed 2,000 yards, was by far the best of his career.

Their defense, which has always been a strongpoint under head coach Nick Sirianni, is even stronger this year with a bolstered secondary, beefy interior defensive line, and quick, hard-hitting middle linebackers. 

Unlike the Chiefs, who only beat the Buffalo Bills by a field goal in the American Football Conference Championship game, the Eagles blew out the Washington Commanders in the National Football Conference Championship game by four touchdowns. 

Despite all this, the Chiefs will win Super Bowl LIX.
The Chiefs will not win the Super Bowl by dominating the Eagles on the ground, or by passing over their heads. They will win by getting seven-yard runs on first down, by stopping a tush push on a fourth down late in the third quarter, and by some Mahomes scramble late in the game that will put them in field goal range.

Many fans are quick to blame the referees and cry out that Mahomes gets preferential treatment. But Mahomes’ magic is not getting bailed out by the refs. It is overcoming broken plays and executing schemes to perfection at exactly that moment that matters most.