SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
It is almost here. The Kansas City Chiefs meet the Philadelphia Eagles tomorrow for a date with history. The Chiefs are trying to become the first NFL team ever to win three Super Bowls in a row. Here to preview the game for us is NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan. Hey, Becky.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Hey there, Scott.
DETROW: You know, I'm going to start being a contrarian. How big of a deal is this game really, given that the Chiefs have spent a lot of time in the Super Bowl and the Eagles were also just in it a few years ago?
SULLIVAN: Look, I can understand somebody feeling that way. I felt a lot of fatigue myself when the New England Patriots were doing this all the time. But as a football fan, I can't overstate, I think this is a very big deal, even if you are tired of the Chiefs or even if you don't, like, have any love for Philly, because these are two very good football teams, all signs pointing to a close game that'll be fun to watch, no matter what, and then obviously, I think the three-peat is noteworthy.
DETROW: Yeah.
SULLIVAN: A lot of teams we think of as NFL dynasties, like the all-time great teams, didn't do this. The Pittsburgh Steelers of the '70s, the Dallas Cowboys of the '90s, the New England Patriots with Tom Brady - none of them have this feather in their cap. And I think really it's, like, because of that, it's the ultimate feather for, like, sort of NFL greatness.
DETROW: And it's not just that, too. Like, I feel like, we're, like, roughly the same age, and I feel like we came of age as sports fans in this era of three-peats being this...
SULLIVAN: Yeah.
DETROW: ...Big thing. The Bulls, the Lakers, a team I know you love, the New York Yankees, all three-peating - but it actually hasn't happened at all since then. It's been, like - it's been a quarter century.
SULLIVAN: Yeah. And I think for the Chiefs, it comes down to the fact that we are watching two of the greatest to ever do it - not only in football, maybe of any sport - in head coach Andy Reid and their quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
DETROW: Let's talk about the Eagles for a minute and their biggest star of the season - one of the breakout stars of the league as a whole - Saquon Barkley.
SULLIVAN: He came to the Eagles this past offseason after he was let go by the New York Giants. He was good with the Giants, and they let him walk. Now he has joined the Eagles, which are a better team altogether, and he has been amazing. He's had one of the best seasons for a running back ever, highlight after highlight in the regular season and in the playoffs. He is a threat at any moment to break loose for a long touchdown. And the Chiefs, all this past week in New Orleans, have been talking about just what a challenge he is. And so here is Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones talking about Saquon.
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CHRIS JONES: He can jump cut. He can outrun you. He can run you over. He got so many schematics to his game. It's just not no one thing he does. He's so athletic.
SULLIVAN: Obviously, that's a lot of compliments for one guy, and the reason is because he forces teams into a tough choice. You know, do you stack defenders up at the line of scrimmage? Do you sell out to try to stop him short? But then maybe you're opening yourself up to pass plays by having it kind of an emptier backfield. Or what if Saquon gets through that first level, and then he runs free for a touchdown? That's a really hard choice for a team to make, and he's been making teams do it all season long, and that's why the Eagles are here.
DETROW: Yeah. We need to talk about something else that has to do with the Eagles. We need to talk about the Tush Push.
SULLIVAN: Yes. This is a play that the Eagles really have become known for. They've been running it for a few years now. And it's their take on a play that, you know, you might normally call the quarterback sneak. Essentially, the quarterback is standing right behind the center. He takes the snap, and then he immediately jumps slash sort of pushes forward as far as he can into what ends up being this, like, massive pile of football bodies. And you only see it in a situation in which you need, like, a yard, maybe two yards. But that happens several times a game, often, like, in key moments, like on a third down or right on the goal line. You're about to score a touchdown.
And the Eagles have turned this play into an art. They are successful upwards of, like, 80- or 90% of the time. That is way higher than other teams. And so for the Chiefs, you know, I talked to defensive coaches, defensive players, and they said, really, they're not sure that they can stop it at all. And so the best defense for them is going to be to try to just not let the Eagles get into that short yardage situation at all, which - I'll tell them good luck with that.
DETROW: That's NPR's Becky Sullivan. Thanks a lot.
SULLIVAN: You're very welcome.
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