Super Bowl LIX will throw up a number of intriguing match-ups when the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs do battle in the big game for the second time in three years.
There will be big-name players dotted all over the field in New Orleans, while the sidelines and coaching booths will be crammed with personnel desperately scheming up their best game plans.
Perhaps the most fascinating - and potentially most decisive - match-up will see Chiefs defensive mastermind Steve Spagnuolo go up against Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
Over the past two seasons, the Chiefs defense has replaced their Patrick Mahomes-led offense as the team’s strongest unit, with Spagnuolo’s gang often carrying their counterparts on the other side of the ball during key stretches of the season.
While this can partly be attributed as the result of a team-building decision, it is Spagnuolo’s genius that has got this defense to this level.
WATCH: Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX for 0.99p (check price in your country here).
Spagnuolo’s fingerprints were all over the AFC Championship game win over the, not least his use of well-timed and varied blitzes to crank up the pressure on Josh Allen. You only need to look at Allen’s forced fourth-down pass to Dalton Kincaid on the Bills’ final possession that sealed the win to see an example of Spagnuolo’s masterful playcalling, while three key short-yardage stops showed that he was also able to nullify Allen’s threat on quarterback sneaks.
Spagnuolo can call on more than four decades of coaching experience, with his career taking in stints in the college game, NFL Europe and as an NFL head coach with the St Louis Rams, in a journey which began before the man tasked with getting the better of him on February 9 was even born.
At the age of 36, Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is seven years into his coaching career but comes off the back of a 2024 campaign which has seen the Philadelphia offense hit new heights, including an NFC Championship game which saw them put 55 points on the board.
GettyImages
The Eagles’ running game has steamrolled over opponents this year, with Saquon Barkley breaking the 2,000-yard barrier, while quarterback Jalen Hurts has been able to play a more restrained, less risky style of football which has seen him put up extremely efficient numbers, including just five interceptions for the season.
This has led to talk that Moore is a future head coach in waiting amid links to the vacant post with the New Orleans Saints, but the former Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback will no doubt be keen to put that to the back of his mind as he sets on devising a gameplan that will outfox Spagnuolo.
Given Barkley’s irresistible form this season, It would be a major surprise if Moore were to deviate from his run-first strategy against the Chiefs, but he must be ready for a front that will press and blitz from the get-go.
While Hurts has been restrained in the passing game this season, Moore may have to lean more on his QB's dual-threat ability and seek opportunities to go against the Chiefs secondary that will sometimes leave space to attack.
What is clear is that both the Eagles offense and Chiefs defense are better than they were two years ago in Super Bowl LVII and this battle between the seasoned veteran Spanguolo and the upstart Moore will go a long way to determining where the Vince Lombardi trophy ends up.
Watch Super Bowl LIX live on DAZN for just £0.99p
One of sport's greatest occasions is with us, Super Bowl LIX, as Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles go at it once again, in a repeat of the 2023 NFL showpiece.
Watch the Super Bowl live and in full on DAZN for just £0.99p / $0.99 (check price in your country here).
Click here for more details and to buy.
More Super Bowl
- How to watch Super Bowl LIX
- Super Bowl 2025 halftime show: Who is performing?
- The best Super Bowl halftime shows of all time
- Who has won the most Super Bowls?
- Which NFL teams have never won a Super Bowl?
- Buy NFL Game Pass