An inside look at the Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl 2025 battle in New Orleans on Sunday night:  

Marquee matchup

Eagles RB Saquon Barkley vs. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo

This game could come down to two former Giants.

Barkley has been unstoppable this season since leaving New York as a free agent.

He set a new team record by running for 2,005 yards during the regular season, coming close to breaking the NFL record. In the postseason, he has been maintaining an average of 147.3 yards over three games and has scored five touchdowns from 66 attempts.

Barkley is only 30 rushing yards away from surpassing the NFL single-season record for combined regular season and postseason yardage, currently held by Terrell Davis with 2,476 yards achieved in 1998. However, for Barkley, the focus is not on breaking records.

“The reason my family and I chose to join the Philadelphia team was to have the chance to compete in the Super Bowl. And now, that opportunity is here,” Barkley explained.

Spagnuolo, 65, won a Super Bowl with the 2007 Giants when he figured out a way to slow down Tom Brady and the undefeated Patriots.

He has added three more with the Chiefs and established himself as one of the great assistant coaches in NFL history.

Sunday, Spagnuolo has to try to stop Barkley, who has been an unstoppable force all season.

“He makes them a little bit more dynamic, especially in the explosive plays,” Spagnuolo said. “We know what he can do when he breaks it out there because he’s so fast.”

Four downs

GOAT chasing: Patrick Mahomes has a chance to add another line to his legacy with a three-peat and a fourth Super Bowl title.

The debate has been raging about whether he can pass Tom Brady in the conversation for the greatest of all time.

Brady won seven Super Bowls. Mahomes is just 29, so he has a shot at eclipsing that number.

Mahomes had a slow start to this season, but he finished strong. He has thrown 13 touchdowns without an interception since the Chiefs lost to the Bills in Week 11.

He had 177 yards and a touchdown against the Texans in the divisional round, and 245 yards and a touchdown against the Bills in the AFC title game.

Mahomes has spent the week downplaying legacy questions, saying he is focused on winning.

“I think you always want to leave a legacy and kind of make your imprint on history,” Mahomes said. “But more than anything, you just want to accomplish a goal that you have with your teammates. When you start in [training camp], your goal is to win the Super Bowl. We know that’s a hard process, we know it’s hard week in and week out, but I’m proud of how our guys have gone about that process.”

The zebras: There will be three teams receiving a lot of attention in this game.

The Chiefs, the Eagles and the officials. The perceived favoritism the referees have given Kansas City in the postseason has become a major storyline.

Some are convinced the NFL wants the Chiefs to succeed.

Others think they get the calls because of Mahomes’ star power, like Michael Jordan got calls in the NBA in the 1990s.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell called the idea “ridiculous” this week. It may be.

But if there is a controversial call that goes the Chiefs way, you can bet the conversation Monday morning will be about the referees, which would be a nightmare for the NFL.

Hurts so good: Though much of the focus on this week has been on Mahomes and his quest for another ring, the other quarterback in this game won’t be overlooked once the game starts.

Jalen Hurts is in his second Super Bowl in three years, but he still feels underrated. Hurts did not have his best statistical season but he did throw just five interceptions and had a career-high 103.7 passer rating this season.

“I’ve evolved as a player [and] as a leader. I’ve been able to grow and learn from different things,” Hurts said. “But ultimately, the flame has been ignited even more in terms of the desire of wanting to win and working to win. You can’t just bank on hoping for results to come without the work.”

Taylor and Trump: The Super Bowl is always about more than the game. From the commercials to the halftime show, there is always a lot more going on than just football.

This year is no different, and expect the Fox cameras to take plenty of shots of the luxury suites. We already know there will be two camera-loving fans there.

Taylor Swift and Donald Trump will both be at the game and will surely get plenty of face time.

Trump is the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl. Swift was one of the stars of the stands last year at the Super Bowl and surely will be again as she cheers on her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.