Super Bowl Sunday is a day foreign to many cities, teams and fanbases. But in the Kansas City metro, it is becoming somewhat of a familiarity.
The Chiefs will be playing in Super Bowl LIX, their fifth Super Bowl in the last six years. Nearly one year to the day after the Chiefs repeated their Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers, they now have a chance to repeat over the Philadelphia Eagles, only two years on from what was dubbed by fans as the “Kelce Bowl.” If the Chiefs are to repeat as NFL champions, they would become the first ever franchise in NFL history to win the Super Bowl in three consecutive seasons.
While the Chiefs in the Super Bowl is a familiar sight, Washburn has a new head football coach for the first time in 23 years. Zach Watkins, a lifelong Chiefs fan who grew up in Independence, Missouri, only a few miles away from Arrowhead Stadium, offered his thoughts on the big game.
“[I’m hoping] we get a really good and entertaining game,” Watkins said. “Chiefs to win.”
Watkins said he is always confident the Chiefs can win, especially thanks to their quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, lauding his unique ability to make plays “when it matters most.”
Watkins also said that he could see the game being low-scoring or high-scoring, but that no matter what he expects an even matchup.
Reflecting on the Chiefs’ 15-2 regular season, Watkins acknowledged that it was a season with many close victories, but he also said it doesn’t matter how a team wins.
“[All] you’re going to remember is how many games you won, how many games you lost, not always how you did [it,]” Watkins said. “I think when you keep winning close games like that, you have confidence that no matter what the situation is, you’re going to win.”
R.J. Mitchell, a Kansas City native and senior defensive lineman on the Washburn football team, said he believes this is the Chiefs toughest opponent in the last two seasons, adding that he believes this iteration of the Philadelphia Eagles is even better than the one the Chiefs beat 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII, citing the addition of running back and 2024 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, Saquon Barkley.
“It’s gonna be a rough game,” Mitchell said. “The Chiefs have been having a hard time stopping the run, so [Barkley] is going to be a big person to watch out for.”
Mitchell said that he thought some of the Chiefs’ wins this season could only be described as “miracles,” and also said he would “indulge the media” by admitting that the refereeing played a part in the Chiefs’ close wins this season.
Mitchell predicted what he referred to as a low-scoring game, 28-21 Chiefs.
If the Chiefs do win their third consecutive Super Bowl title, they would stake a strong claim for the greatest NFL dynasty of all time–something to be debated heatedly by football fans.
Watkins said a so-called “three-peat” would be special to the NFL, and special to the city of Kansas City.
Edited by Morgan Albrecht
