PHOENIX — A few minutes after the Kansas City Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes landed in Phoenix on Sunday afternoon, the pilot hung a “Chiefs Kingdom” flag out of the window as players, coaches and staff got off the plane and walked across the runway.
About an hour later, it was the Philadelphia Eagles who arrived in Arizona, with an “It’s a Philly Thing” flag fluttering in the runway as quarterback Jalen Hurts, coach Nick Sirianni and others made their way to a fleet of buses.
And with both teams on the ground, Super Bowl LVII is just one week away. The Chiefs (16-3) will face the Eagles (16-3) at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 12 at State Farm Stadium in nearby Glendale, and Fox will televise the game.
Both teams landed at Goldwater Air National Guard Base in ideal Phoenix winter weather: bright sunshine and temperatures in the low 70s. Team personnel occasionally stopped to take pictures and videos on the runway.
Christian Okoye, the former running back who had a bright but brief NFL career spent entirely with the Chiefs from 1987-92, was on hand to pass out hats to Kansas City’s players as they got off the plane. Known as the “Nigerian Nightmare” while earning two Pro Bowl nods, he lives in Southern California and made the short trip to Phoenix.
“They called me and wanted me to come over here and welcome the team,” Okoye said. “So I said ‘Yes, of course’ — my team’s over here getting ready to win the Super Bowl.”
Oddsmakers are expecting a good game, though they disagree with Okoye and are giving the Eagles a slight edge. Philadelphia opened as a 1 1/2-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
The Chiefs advanced to their third Super Bowl in four seasons when Harrison Butker made a 45-yard field goal with three seconds left to push them past the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, in the AFC championship game on Jan. 29.
That thrilling finish came a few hours after the Eagles routed the San Francisco 49ers 31-7 in the NFC title game. They have looked dominant in the playoffs so far, also beating the New York Giants 38-7 in the divisional round.
Kansas City’s playoff opener was a 27-20 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars, with Mahomes sustaining an ankle injury that forced him to miss part of the game before returning.
Philadelphia is back in the Super Bowl five years after beating the New England Patriots 41-33. Now a mostly new generation of Eagles — led by Hurts, a second-round draft pick in 2020, and Sirianni, in his second season leading Philadelphia — are trying to win the franchise’s second Super Bowl title in its fourth appearance in the big game.
The teams will both take part in “Super Bowl LVII Opening Night” on Monday in downtown Phoenix, where all the players and coaches from both teams will be present for the annual extravaganza that has grown from what used to be known as media day.
Then it’s down to business. The Chiefs will practice throughout the week at Arizona State’s football facilities, while the Eagles will prepare at the Arizona Cardinals’ practice facility.
There are no shortage of storylines: Kansas City coach Andy Reid goes against his former team — his 14-year Eagles tenure (1999-2012) included leading them to Super Bowl XXXIX in February 2005 — and Sirianni began his NFL coaching career as a Chiefs assistant from 2009 to 2012.
Hurts and Mahomes, both NFL MVP finalists, will make this the first matchup of Black starting quarterbacks in the Super Bowl — “I think it’s history. I think it’s something that’s worthy of being noted,” Hurts said recently — and because both played their high school football in Texas, one of them will become the fourth Lone Star State quarterback in a run of six Super Bowls to win a championship.
There’s also a brother-against-brother showdown between Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Eagles center Jason Kelce, with both of Donna’s boys All-Pro first-team selections this season.
“Cool scenario to be in, you know?” Travis said this past week. “My mom can’t lose.”