Why Super Bowl revenge looks a long shot for Chiefs

NFL 2025 season

Dates: 4 September 2025 - 8 February 2026

BBC coverage: The Whole 10 Yards every Tuesday on the BBC website and iPlayer. Live text coverage every Sunday on BBC Sport website and app, and live radio commentary of selected games on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds, with Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday (from 21:00 BST)

It's week two of the NFL season and after two thrilling games won by the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers last week, we now have a Super Bowl rematch. The NFL just knows how to create these match-ups.

The Kansas City Chiefs host the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday and this is going to be very interesting because it's definitely a revenge game. The Eagles beat the Chiefs 40-22 in the Super Bowl and nullified them till late in the third quarter.

I think the biggest difference between the two teams is their roster. You look at the Eagles, they have Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown. You can keep listing all these great players, and I just don't know who the Chiefs have any more. It's Patrick Mahomes... then what is that supporting cast?

Rashee Rice is suspended for their first six games and Xavier Worthy suffered a shoulder injury as he and Travis Kelce ran into each other in last week's defeat by the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil.

That leaves Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster as the main receivers, which puts a lot of pressure on because the Chiefs' run game has not been terrific at all.

The Chargers game was very much the Mahomes show. At one point, he had more carries than anybody else on the field. He put his body on the line multiple times - those hits add up, and you don't want to see your superstar quarterback risking his health so early in the season.

Mahomes had six scrambles and the Chiefs only ran it 11 other times. Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt combined for 41 yards with 10 of those carries, and that's just not sustainable.

After the Eagles, the Chiefs face the New York Giants and then the Baltimore Ravens so, realistically, they could have a 1-3 record after four weeks.

Baltimore is a huge game and with the Ravens losing to the Bills last week, they're going to have a lot to prove as well, to show that they want to be on top.

The Eagles have a tough run defence, and the Giants have a good defence too, so I think that will be telling, to see how the Chiefs are able to run the ball. These two games stacked together, the Chiefs almost have to think about how they are going to prepare themselves to ensure they're firing on all cylinders for the Ravens.

Last year, the Chiefs won so many one-score games, and they're going to have to be much better to do that again. They may be out for revenge against the Eagles but I don't think they have it in them... yet.

Rashee Rice is a huge part of their offensive scheme and, without Worthy, they don't have any deep threat either so, I hate to say it, but I really struggle to see what they'll be able to do. I don't see what their answers are right now.

In the off-season, the Chiefs lost Joe Thuney, who was huge for them on defence, but they did draft a left tackle in the first round, Josh Simmons, to help protect Mahomes more, and brought in another offensive tackle in Jaylon Moore, so they are doing the right things to create strength on the offensive line.

They need to because the AFC West is the toughest it's been in a long time - none of it is given this year. The Chargers beat the Chiefs, the Las Vegas Raiders have got better and Bo Nix has only got stronger with the Denver Broncos.

I still think the Chiefs will make the play-offs but if they carry on like this, I would be concerned.

When Mahomes scrambled against the Chargers, there was nowhere for him to go, whereas in the Eagles' win over the Dallas Cowboys, Jalen Hurts was in control.

The Eagles quarterback could run the ball when he wants to, when he's able to make something happen. He was not forced into a situation where he has to run it, and both he and Saquon Barkley did a fantastic job on the ground. Hurts had two rushing touchdowns and Barkley had the other.

Hurts just knows the timing and how to attack a defence. Then you look at the receivers the Eagles have - AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Jahan Dotson. There's just so many more options, whereas it feels very condensed for the Chiefs.

You have to look at what Eagles general manager Howie Roseman continues to do with his teams. Every time someone zigs, he zags. He's always thinking ahead.

Even though they lost starting right guard Mekhi Becton and released a couple of other players, I feel like they've got even better.

They were still able to add 10 talented rookies from the draft, Barkley signed a contract extension and they have just traded for running back Tank Bigsby.

They've also got one of the younger defensive corps. Jalen Carter wasn't even in the game against the Cowboys after his spitting incident and the Eagles still had a pretty dominant win.

When you get to a Super Bowl, of course the brain drain occurs. Offensive co-ordinator Kellen Moore has become the New Orleans head coach, but Kevin Patullo has been promoted from passing game coordinator and was also Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni's assistant, so he already understands a lot about that role.

This team has done such a great job in the off-season in so many facets – on the field, off the field, front office – so I think they can definitely make it back to the Super Bowl.

But I can't say they're going to win it because of the Bills. That comeback against the Ravens last week... once you've done something like that, you feel like you can achieve anything as a team, and they'll aim to carry that standard.

So I think Bills-Eagles for the Super Bowl. And the Bills had better win it to cap their Highmark Stadium farewell tour. It's what the storytellers want.

Phoebe Schecter was speaking to BBC Sport's Ben Collins