Super Bowl LIX storylines include Chiefs’ chase for three-peat, rematch with Eagles, and Taylor Swift

Patrick Mahomes. Saquon Barkley. Travis Kelce. Even Taylor Swift.

If the big names in the Big Easy aren’t reason enough to get excited for Super Bowl LIX, there is no shortage of storylines that make this year’s championship bout between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles especially compelling.

Mahomes and his history-seeking Chiefs have become the NFL’s biggest villains, with a sizable segment of fans praying that someone — anyone! — can finally end their dynasty.

But the love-em-or-hate-em Eagles, long among the NFL’s most polarizing teams, aren’t exactly an easy bandwagon to jump on, and their infighting this season prompted speculation about how much they even like each other.

Two years ago, the first Super Bowl meeting between the Chiefs and Eagles delivered an instant classic. With the Chiefs opening as 1.5-point favorites, this year’s big game has a chance to be similarly epic.

Here are the biggest storylines going into Super Bowl LIX at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome on Feb. 9.

Chasing History

The Chiefs seek to become the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls.

Think about that.

With a victory two Sundays from now, Mahomes, Andy Reid and company would achieve a feat never accomplished by all-time winners such as Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Joe Montana or Chuck Noll.

A win would make Mahomes, at age 29, the fourth quarterback with four Super Bowl rings, tying him with Montana and Terry Bradshaw while leaving him three shy of Brady, who won seven.

“I just try to maximize every moment, because you never know what’s going to be your last one,” Mahomes said Sunday after defeating the Buffalo Bills, 32-29, in the AFC Championship Game.

“I know I’m a long way from Tom, so I’ll try to do whatever I can to get close to that.”

Brady, who in 2021 dealt Mahomes his lone Super Bowl loss, will be there to call Super Bowl LIX for Fox.

A victory would make the Chiefs the second team to win four Super Bowls in a six-year span, joining Noll’s Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s.

Rematch

Super Bowl LVII between the Chiefs and Eagles in 2023 featured six lead changes, 73 points, and a 10-point comeback by Kansas City, which won, 38-35, in dramatic fashion.

After the Eagles tied the score with a touchdown and two-point conversion — both on Jalen Hurts runs — with 5:15 left in the fourth quarter, Mahomes engineered a game-winning field goal drive.

Many of that game’s key figures, including Mahomes, Reid and Kelce for Kansas City and Hurts, A.J. Brown and Nick Sirianni for Philadelphia, are back for this year’s rematch.

A first Super Bowl ring would be significant for Hurts and Sirianni, who have been subjected to frequent scrutiny despite their consistent winning.

“We’ve all had to have adversity to be in this moment where we are right now, so adversity is what makes you who you are,” Sirianni said after Sunday’s 55-23 victory over the Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game.

“These guys are hungry, and we’ve got one more to go.”

Saquon on the big stage

The biggest difference between the Eagles of two years ago and the current team is the presence of Barkley, who signed a three-year, $37.5 million contract with Philadelphia in March after the Giants declined to extend the all-world running back.

Barkley’s impact on the Eagles cannot be overstated.

His 2,005 rushing yards in the regular season marked the ninth 2,000-yard campaign in NFL history and led the Eagles to a 14-3 record. He is the runaway favorite for NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Somehow, Barkley has been even better in the playoffs, averaging 147.3 rushing yards per game and totaling five touchdowns through three games. He ran for at least 118 yards in each.

With 30 rushing yards in the Super Bowl, Barkley would break Terrell Davis’ single-season record of 2,476 rushing yards, including the playoffs, which the former Denver Broncos running back set in 1998.

All that’s missing from Barkley’s illustrious résumé is a Super Bowl ring — something he never came close to achieving in six years with the Giants.

Barkley, 27, faces a tough test against a Chiefs defense that limited opponents to 101.8 rushing yards per game during the regular season. Kansas City has been more vulnerable against the run in these playoffs, however, allowing 148.0 yards per game in their two wins.

Taylor Swift

The NFL doesn’t need any help generating Super Bowl ratings, but commissioner Roger Goodell surely isn’t complaining about the extra attention Swift brings.

The pop-music sensation, who, of course, is dating Kelce, grew up in West Reading, Penn., as an Eagles fan, but there’s no question where her loyalty lies now.

The Chiefs are 19-3 in the games Swift has attended, which includes last year’s victory in Super Bowl LVIII.

Swift attended that Super Bowl with an entourage that included actress Blake Lively and rapper Ice Spice. Earlier this month, WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark sat with Swift in a suite at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for Kansas City’s win over the Houston Texans in the divisional round.

Whom Swift comes to this year’s game with will be just one storyline for the pop-culture enthusiasts who tune in more for the quick cutaways to the singer than they do for the football.

Retirement watch?

Reid and Kelce remain under contract beyond this postseason, yet retirement rumors figure to swirl around both again after the Super Bowl.

Reid turns 67 in March, but he signed a five-year extension last spring. A victory would make him the third head coach with four Super Bowl titles, tying him with Noll while leaving him two behind Belichick.

With Mahomes in his prime, Reid could continue his pursuit of Belichick’s record.

Kelce, meanwhile, doesn’t have much to prove. He’s already considered by most to be the greatest tight end ever. His 172 playoff receptions are the most in NFL history.

Innumerable media opportunities await the 35-year-old Kelce, who already hosts a wildly popular podcast, “New Heights,” with his brother, Jason Kelce. The latter retired last offseason after 13 seasons with the Eagles.

But Kelce seems to love playing, and while his statistics dipped the last two seasons, it could be due in part to self-preservation. Kelce made seven receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown against the Texans two weeks ago.