• The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs held their first full practices Wednesday in New Orleans. Both teams are at full strength for the 2025 Super Bowl.
• The Chiefs know they must corral running back Saquon Barkley to have success.
• The Eagles will key on quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his connection with Travis Kelce.

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The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs held their first full Super Bowl practices Wednesday, Feb. 5, in the New Orleans area. The Chiefs spent 90 minutes working out at Tulane University. The Eagles were 20 minutes away at the Saints practice facility in Metairie, Louisiana.

Job number one for the Chiefs’ defense will be to stop the Eagles’ running game, led by quarterback Jalen Hurts and the NFL’s rushing champ, Saquon Barkley. Barkley ran for over 2,000 yards in the regular season in his first year with the Eagles. In three playoff games, he has dominated for 442 yards and five touchdowns. The Chiefs know exactly what they’re up against, says star cornerback Trent McDuffie.

“One-hundred percent, y’know, you gotta respect him like, this year, last year, he’s a great back,” said McDuffie. “And he can really do it all, so there’s definitely moments you’re watching film, and you’re like dang, how did he do that? There’s definitely times I’ve said that a lot,” McDuffie said.

The Eagles defense has to deal with one of the all-time greats in Patrick Mahomes, who has a 17-3 record in the postseason. He isn’t flashy: he just continually makes the right plays to put his team in a position to win. He will lean on tight end Travis Kelce who tends to play big in the biggest games.

It’s a 1-2 punch directed by head coach Andy Reid that opens all the other possibilities says Eagles defensive lineman Brandon Graham.

“Playing against Andy Reid, who’s a wizard out there, you gotta be able to play great situational ball against them. You gotta be able to dominate your box like Jalen [Carter] say, and you gotta make sure you’re not the weakest link out there by doing your job.”

Graham, the veteran defensive lineman, may be a big factor. He tore his triceps against the Los Angeles Rams in late November and said afterward he was done for the season and possibly his 15-year career. The longer the Eagles went in the playoffs the more time Graham had to return. He could play on Super Bowl Sunday for the first time since the injury.

Getting their defensive leader back would be a huge emotional lift for the Eagles. The Chiefs on the other hand, are as healthy as they have been all season, according to Reid.