The Super Bowl rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles is set to be another landmark event – especially for one person.

Serena Williams whipped the fans into a frenzy with her “Crip Dance,” Kendrick Lamar took the rap feud with Drake to a sensationally biting climax—and in the end, Patrick Mahomes wandered through the NFL’s confetti rain as the sad loser.

On Sunday, 218 days after the spectacular Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, the rematch between the revenge-hungry Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will once again be groundbreaking.

Especially for Mahomes. The quarterback with the golden hands has a reputation as a miraculous unleashing artist, virtually unbeatable in big games. Moments of irritating powerlessness, such as when the score was 0:34 during the third quarter of the Super Bowl, are rare and fuel doubts. “When you face the best of the best, you have to take your game to another level,” Mahomes emphasized before the rematch. He asked, “How are you going to respond to that?”

NFL: Doubts about the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes?

That’s exactly what millions of football fans are asking themselves ahead of the clash at Arrowhead Stadium. Mahomes has been in deep pain since February 9 and has watched the 22:40 Super Bowl defeat over and over again for self-analysis. It doesn’t help. “It’s annoying to have lost that game, but to improve, you have to learn from it,” he emphasized: “Part of the game is learning from your mistakes. We need to play our best football to go out there and win.”

That would be important. The Chiefs messed up their season opener in Sao Paulo against the Los Angeles Chargers, losing 21-27.
In the previous regular season, they had only suffered two defeats in total. Mahomes last started a season 0-2 in 2011 – as a high school quarterback. According to ESPN, Sunday will be only the second time the Chiefs have been underdogs in a home game with Mahomes. On average, bookmakers see the Eagles ahead by 1.5 points.

NFL fans tend to overreact after the first game anyway. “Is it too early to doubt the Chiefs?” even ESPN asked in a video.

Eagles and Jalen Hurts play down “revenge” desires

Jalen Hurts could provide the answer. The Eagles’ Super Bowl MVP is less exciting, but he has the better team around him: a tough bunch of go-getters. The defending champions won last week’s explosive duel with the Dallas Cowboys 24-20.

However, Hurts has now played down the revenge aspect. “It’s just another opportunity for us, that’s my approach,” he said. Mahomes will probably see it differently. “We need the right mindset,” he demanded, “our leaders need to step up and show themselves.” He knows that this applies first and foremost to himself.