NEW ORLEANS — Will the Kansas City Chiefs three-peat?
Will the Philadelphia Eagles win their second-ever Super Bowl title?
We’ll know late Sunday night, following the conclusion of Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome.
Here are just a few of the storylines for what is expected to be a competitive matchup. The game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. MST and will be televised on Fox.
Mahomes vs. Hurts, Round 2
Two years ago, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs rallied to beat Jalen Hurts and the Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII.
Can Hurts and the Eagles get some revenge in the Superdome?
This will be the fourth rematch between starting quarterbacks in the Super Bowl, joining Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Jim Kelly, and Eli Manning and Tom Brady.
In each of the previous three cases, one quarterback went unbeaten against the other. Bradshaw was 2-0 against Staubach, Aikman was 2-0 against Kelly and Manning was 2-0 against Brady.
That doesn’t appear to bode well for Hurts.
The Eagles held a 24-14 halftime lead over the Chiefs when they met two years ago in Arizona, but Mahomes threw two fourth-quarter touchdowns to give Kansas City a 35-27 lead.
Even though Hurts then led a 75-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run from the Philadelphia — his third rushing TD of the game — and a subsequent two-point conversion tied the game, Mahomes led one more drive that ended with a Harrison Butker 27-yard field goal with seven seconds to play.
While personnel have changed on both sides — the Chiefs lean harder on their defense, while the Eagles now have 2,000-yard rusher Saquon Barkley — the play of both Mahomes and Hurts will again be a major factor in Super Bowl LIX.
Andy Reid chases more records
Five years ago, Andy Reid was trying to break through and earn his first Super Bowl title as a head coach when Kansas City played the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV.
Now, he’s won three Super Bowls as the Chiefs coach, and if Kansas City wins on Sunday, he’d become only the third head coach to win four or more Super Bowls, joining Bill Belichick (six Super Bowl wins) and Chuck Noll (four).
If Kansas City wins Sunday, Reid — the former BYU offensive lineman and graduate assistant — would also become the first head coach to ever lead his team to three straight Super Bowl victories.
There have been eight other times that teams have won back-to-back Super Bowl championships, but none has ever three-peated. This is the first time that any franchise has played in three straight Super Bowls with a chance to three-peat.
On Sunday, Reid will make history by coaching his 45th career postseason game as head coach, passing Belichick (44) for the most in NFL history.
He could also move one step closer to Belichick for career postseason victories — Belichick has 31, while Reid has 28.
Another classic in New Orleans?
This will be the 11th Super Bowl hosted by New Orleans — tied for the most among host cities, along with South Florida — and the first since 2013.
It will also be the eighth time the Superdome has hosted the Super Bowl.
The first eight Super Bowls in New Orleans were blowouts, though the last two in the Big Easy have been decided by three points and gone down to the final minute.
In Super Bowl XXXVI on Feb. 3, 2002, the New England Patriots won their first Super Bowl when Brady drove the Patriots for the game-winning field goal with seven seconds remaining in a 20-17 victory over Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams.
In Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3, 2013, the Baltimore Ravens made a goal-line stand in the final two minutes and beat the San Francisco 49ers 34-31.
In that game, former BYU tight end Dennis Pitta scored on a 1-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter to give Baltimore a 14-3 lead.
That was the last time a former Cougar has scored a touchdown in a Super Bowl. Something like that won’t be possible Sunday, unless Kingsley Suamataia makes a catch on a tackle-eligible play and rumbles in for a score.
Other Utah ties in Super Bowl LIX
In addition to Reid, Suamataia is a former BYU offensive tackle who prepped at Orem High. The rookie could play a handful of snaps, primarily on special teams, for Kansas City.
Suamataia, though, is the only Utah tie who could play in the game. Former Utah and Timpview High star Britain Covey was ruled out of Super Bowl LIX with a neck injury and remains on injured reserve for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Former East High defensive tackle Siaki “Apu” Ika is on the Chiefs’ practice squad, and he spent time on the Eagles’ practice squad earlier this year as well.
There are three assistant coaches on Reid’s staff who are Utah ties as well. Kansas City assistant running backs coach Porter Ellett graduated from BYU, while defensive quality control coach Alex Whittingham prepped at Brighton High and played at the University of Utah under his father, Utes coach Kyle Whittingham.
Spencer Reid, Andy Reid’s son, is in his second season as the Chiefs’ assistant strength and conditioning coach. He is a former BYU assistant and a Utah grad.
While Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore isn’t a Utah tie, he has connections to the Beehive State. Moore, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, visits BYU and Provo during the offseason, the Deseret News reported earlier this week.
Moore is also the reported frontrunner to land the open New Orleans Saints head coaching job. If he takes the position, he would be the second Latter-day Saint head coach in the NFL, joining Reid.