February 3, 2025   3 MIN READ

Trench Warfare

ITB: X Factors, Matchups That Will Determine Super Bowl

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It will be a tightly contested battle for the Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.

On the latest episode of “Inside The Birds,” Adam Caplan and Geoff Mosher were joined by former Eagles tight end Clay Harbor to break down the biggest matchups to watch in Super Bowl LIX. 

Travis Kelce

GETTY IMAGES: Containing Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce will be key for the Philadelphia Eagles to win Super Bowl LIX.

Nolan Smith J.

Clay Harbor: “Patrick Mahomes’ quarterback rating fell 20 points when he was pressured this year. The biggest matchup in my opinion is Nolan Smith. Smith has the opportunity to go against Jawaan Taylor all day. Taylor is a solid player but he has given up seven sacks this year…Smith has come on strong as of late, I really love his quickness. I think it’s a good matchup for Smith because Taylor isn’t a guy that handles quick pass rushers well.”

Travis Kelce

Geoff Mosher: “The Eagles all year long have closed passing lanes and have created turnovers so well. But every time I watch the Chiefs play, I say to myself ‘how the hell does Travis Kelce get open for 41 yards?’ He’s a Hall of Fame tight end.”

Turnovers

Adam Caplan: “You can’t really count on turnovers. I would be surprised if turnovers are a factor in this game.”

Harbor: “The Eagles have 20 takeaways in the last six games. No stat’s more telling when it comes to wins and losses in takeaways…Patrick Mahomes is going to spread it around, he’s going to be efficient. If you can get a punchout like you did last week, if you can sneak a couple of turnovers here, I think it’s more important for the Eagles.”

Mosher: “I think the Chiefs are the team that can least afford to turn the ball over. I say that because they have had to play turnover free. They very rarely turn the ball over and they have won so many last-minute possession games. They are not an explosive offense.”

Steve Spagnuolo

Harbor: “You know Spags is going to gameplan the heck out of this thing…Spags is a guy who might draw up some crazy stuff, he might be working on some blitz that you haven’t seen all year and he’s going to bust it out when you least expect it.”

Caplan: “We know Spags is going to be more aggressive, he’s a really good blitzer, calls them at the right time, believes in his players.”

Mosher: “He has a really good feel for when to call certain plays. It’s when to blitz, when not to blitz, it’s special and that’s why he has as many rings as he does.”

– Benjamin Paul is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.

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