Kansas City Chiefs and the
Kansas City Chiefs were attempting to win their third consecutive Super Bowl, which would have represented an unprecedented
three-peat of Super Bowl victories. The
Kansas City Chiefs entered Super Bowl LIX attempting to become the first NFL team to win three Super Bowls in a row. Under
head coach Andy Reid, the Chiefs finished the regular season 15–2, tied with the
Detroit Lions for best regular-season record in the NFL. The team's quarterback,
Patrick Mahomes, had lower stats than in previous seasons, missing the
4,000-yard passing mark and the
Pro Bowl for the first time as a starter. However, he had seven game-winning drives, tied for second-most of all time. Tight end
Travis Kelce led the team in receiving yards (823), while running back
Kareem Hunt led the team in rushing yards (728). Wide receiver
Xavier Worthy had a productive rookie season with 742 yards and nine touchdowns. The Chiefs acquired wide receiver
DeAndre Hopkins in a mid-season trade with the
Tennessee Titans; Hopkins had 437 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns in five starts. The offensive line included Pro Bowlers
Joe Thuney,
Creed Humphrey, and
Trey Smith, with Thuney and Humphrey also being selected to the AP All-Pro team. The Chiefs' defense was headlined by All-Pros defensive tackle
Chris Jones (5.0 sacks) and cornerback
Trent McDuffie (two interceptions). Other notable players include
George Karlaftis (8.0 sacks),
Nick Bolton (106 tackles), and
Justin Reid (87 tackles). They were a top-four defense for the second straight year under defensive coordinator
Steve Spagnuolo. Super Bowl LIX marked the seventh Super Bowl appearance for the Chiefs, who won Super Bowls
IV,
LIV,
LVII, and
LVIII, while losing Super Bowls
I and
LV. They played in the Super Bowl four times in the past five seasons, winning three of them. Kansas City became the first team to win two consecutive Super Bowls and play in a Super Bowl the following season; the previous eight teams to win two consecutive Super Bowls failed to appear in the game for a third consecutive season. They attempted the first "
three-peat" of three consecutive Super Bowl wins (with the league securing a trademark license from
Pat Riley to allow the use of the word commercially), the first time the same team would have won the NFL Championship three times in a row since the
Green Bay Packers achieved the feat from to , which included their wins of the first two Super Bowls. The last team in the four
North American major professional sports leagues to successfully achieve a three-peat was the
Los Angeles Lakers in the
National Basketball Association (NBA) from
2000 to
2002.
Philadelphia Eagles , quarterback of the
Philadelphia Eagles, led the Eagles to the Super Bowl for the second time in his career, after playing in
Super Bowl LVII during the
2022 NFL season. Under head coach
Nick Sirianni, the
Philadelphia Eagles improved upon their 11–6 record in
2023, going 14–3. This was Philadelphia's fifth Super Bowl appearance, following a win in
Super Bowl LII and losses in Super Bowls
XV,
XXXIX, and
LVII. Quarterback
Jalen Hurts had an efficient season, with career highs in completion percentage, yards per attempt, passer rating, and only five interceptions. However, he only attempted 361 passes due to the high workload from
Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Pro running back
Saquon Barkley, who became the ninth player in league history with
2,000 rushing yards in a season. Hurts also missed the final three games in the regular season due to a concussion and broken finger, but he returned for the playoffs. The Eagles receiving corps included second-team All-Pro wide receiver
A. J. Brown (1,079 yards), wide receiver
DeVonta Smith (833 yards), and tight end
Dallas Goedert (496 yards). The offensive line was one of the best in the league, with
Cam Jurgens,
Landon Dickerson, and
Lane Johnson making the Pro Bowl, as well as Johnson and
Jordan Mailata being selected as All-Pros. Under defensive coordinator
Vic Fangio, the Eagles had the top-ranked defense in the NFL, headlined by linebacker
Zack Baun (151 tackles, five forced fumbles, 3.5 sacks). The defensive front consisted of All-Pro defensive tackle
Jalen Carter (4.5 sacks) and
Milton Williams (5.0 sacks), and outside linebackers
Josh Sweat (8.0 sacks) and
Nolan Smith (6.5 sacks). The secondary had multiple key contributors, including rookie cornerbacks
Quinyon Mitchell and
Cooper DeJean, safeties
Reed Blankenship and
C. J. Gardner-Johnson, and veteran cornerback
Darius Slay.
Playoffs The Chiefs entered the playoffs as the 1 seed in the AFC and earned a first-round
bye. In the Divisional Round, they defeated the
Houston Texans, 23–14. In the AFC Championship Game, the Chiefs beat the
Buffalo Bills, 32–29, making it the fourth time in five seasons that the Chiefs defeated the Bills in the playoffs. The victory was with some controversy, particularly with a disputed spotting of the ball that ended a Bills drive with a turnover on downs, giving the Chiefs the opportunity for the go-ahead score. The Eagles went into the playoffs as the 2 seed in the NFC. In the Wild Card Round, they defeated the
Green Bay Packers, 22–10. In the Divisional Round, the Eagles defeated the
Los Angeles Rams, 28–22. The Eagles went on to defeat the
Washington Commanders in the NFC Championship Game, 55–23, setting a record for the most points scored in a conference championship game.
Pre-game notes The game was a rematch of
Super Bowl LVII, which was played two years earlier, in which the
Chiefs defeated the
Eagles, 38–35.
Patrick Mahomes vs.
Jalen Hurts was the fourth rematch between two starting quarterbacks in Super Bowl history, joining
Eli Manning–
Tom Brady,
Troy Aikman–
Jim Kelly, and
Terry Bradshaw–
Roger Staubach. In each of the previous three instances, the same quarterback won both games. This was the eleventh Super Bowl in New Orleans and the first since
Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. It was also the second Super Bowl in New Orleans for both the Chiefs and the Eagles. The Chiefs defeated the
Minnesota Vikings in
Super Bowl IV at
Tulane Stadium, which was also the first Super Bowl played in New Orleans. The Eagles lost in their previous Super Bowl appearance in New Orleans, falling to the
Oakland Raiders in
Super Bowl XV at the then-named
Louisiana Superdome. As the designated home team in the Super Bowl's annual rotation between the two conferences, the Eagles chose to wear their midnight green home jerseys with white pants. The Chiefs wore their white away jerseys with red pants. Both teams matched the uniforms they wore in Super Bowl LVII. As the designated home team, the Eagles practiced at the host
New Orleans Saints' practice facility in
Metairie, Louisiana, the week leading up to the game, while the Chiefs held their practices at
Tulane University in New Orleans. Like Super Bowl LVII, this game was dubbed the "
Andy Reid Bowl". Reid is the winningest head coach in both Philadelphia and Kansas City's team history. As the Eagles’ head coach from 1999 to 2012, Reid compiled a record, and won one NFC Championship. As the Chiefs’ head coach since 2013, Reid had a record, five AFC Championships, and three Super Bowl victories. As in
Super Bowl LVIII, this game was dubbed by some as the "
Swiftie Bowl" (or "Swiftie Bowl II") due to the
high-profile relationship between Chiefs
tight end Travis Kelce and
pop star Taylor Swift, and Swift's frequent presence at Chiefs games. A survey conducted by
LendingTree in early January determined that Swift's association with the league had a polarizing effect on its fan base; it noted 14% of respondents had increased interest in the league because of Swift but that 10% had lost interest because of her and 17% now hated her influence on the NFL. Like previous Super Bowls involving the Chiefs, Kansas City Indian Center and Not in Our Honor Coalition called for the team to
change its name and stop the use of the
tomahawk chop. The team is not directly named for Native Americans; "Chief" was the nickname of Kansas City mayor
Harold Roe Bartle when the team moved to Kansas City. Bartle was not a Native American; his nickname came from his history of
dressing up as Native Americans while leading a Boy Scout
camp. During the team introductions, actor
Jon Hamm introduced the Chiefs and actor
Bradley Cooper introduced the Eagles. A moment of silence for football executive
Virginia Halas McCaskey who died three days earlier was held before "America the Beautiful" and the national anthem. ==Broadcasting==