The Super Bowl race is narrowed down to four teams, with the Chiefs looking to advance to the championship for a third time
By Lucienne Brooker — sports@theaggie.org
As the National Football League (NFL)’s 2024-25 season draws to a close, all eyes are on the four teams fighting for a Super Bowl LIX victory. Ticket demand has soared, increasing dramatically from past conference championship playoff games with many fans tuned in to see who will be crowned champions this year.
Sports betting websites are overwhelmingly picking the Kansas City Chiefs to win their third Super Bowl in a row. Finishing the season ranked No. 1 in the American Football Conference (AFC) West, the Chiefs have been a dominant force in recent years. They have appeared in four consecutive Super Bowls since 2019 and won three of them under the guidance of Head Coach Andy Reid. As last year’s champion, the Chiefs have a lot to live up to — most fans still haven’t gotten over their overtime defeat of the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.
Led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, the Chiefs only lost twice during their regular season. However, one of those defeats came at the hands of the Buffalo Bills — a team they recently won against in the AFC Championship on Jan. 26. While this was like a tight match-up to Kansas City, winning 32-29, the Chiefs will be heading to Super Bowl LIX.
Their opponent, the Buffalo Bills, pulled off a tight two-point win over the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 19 to set up their match with the Chiefs. Despite having made it to the final match four times, the Bills have yet to win a Super Bowl championship. They currently hold the record for most appearances with no victories and were looking to alleviate themselves of that burden this year, having lost only four times this season prior to their game against the Chiefs.
On the other side, experts were predicting a high-scoring and exciting game for the Washington Commanders versus the Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams boast strong offenses, so it was likely to come down to whose defense played a better game. The Commanders have won three Super Bowls, although none in the last 30 years. They haven’t appeared in the playoffs at all since 2020, with many people viewing the team as a wildcard despite their high-scoring performance this season. Even with five losses, they never failed to score less than 15 points and were looking to give the Eagles a real test.
The Eagles, on the other hand, have had playoff success in recent years with their Super Bowl win in 2017. However, that was their only win in four appearances. Additionally, the Eagles never scored less than 15 points this season. The home match against the Commanders on Jan. 26 was set to provide them with a boost, as they are notorious around the league for having one of the most die-hard fan bases — a prediction that rang true with an Eagles victory of 55-23.
The Super Bowl will take place between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 9 at 3:30 p.m., PST. The match will be hosted at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana for the first time in over a decade and will feature a halftime performance from Kendrick Lamar. Lamar also headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in 2022.
Aggie football fans can catch the action at the Super Bowl Watch Party hosted in the Memorial Union Games Area recreation room and play a game of football bingo. Additionally, head over to the Memorial Union Information Desk at any time during the week before the match to answer Super Bowl trivia questions and get the chance to win a $50 Amazon gift card. Although the actual game is over 2,000 miles away, there will be plenty of opportunities for UC Davis students to get involved and have some fun during the Superbowl.
By Lucienne Brooker — sports@theaggie.org
