An in-depth preview of Super Bowl LVII: Breaking down the X's and O's between Chiefs and Eagles

Super Bowl X-factors

Chiefs' Kadarius Toney and Mike Danna

Kansas City Chiefs: Kadarius Toney & Mike Danna

Since being traded from the Giants, Toney has once again dealt with lower-body injuries (which along with some of the interpersonal relationships, were the reason a New York team devoid of WR talent was ready to move on from a first-round pick just a year-and-a-half later). He has only played 133 total snaps for KC, but he’s caught 20 of 26 targets for 216 yards and he’s carried the ball six times for an additional 73 yards, with two combined touchdowns.

For the regular season, Toney was the only wide receiver on the team who finished above 56th for his position in PFF’s rankings (WR20). Mecole Hardman is currently listed as doubtful for Sunday nd the Chiefs need a guy they can use as eye-candy on jet sweep fakes and orbit motions, but also to create some cheap offense at times (on screen passes and at times as the outlet, if the defense doesn’t account for a guy like him).

We saw this on Toney’s debut with the Chiefs at Jacksonville, when he was left all alone in the flats off a sweep fake. So his status for the game due to the ankle sprain and what he can provide will be an important factor.

I don’t think many casual NFL fans are familiar with the name Mike Danna. A fifth-round pick for the Chiefs in 2020, his role Spags’ defense has increased all three years and I’d say he’s one of the more underrated pass-rushers and overall players in football.

Danna has missed four games this year, but when available, he’s played a career-high 54% of defensive snaps. This has led to new personal top-marks in sacks (five) and additional pressures (16). He also had three tackles for loss and a couple of forced fumbles during the regular season.

Even though first-rounder George Karlaftis has started every game, these last two weeks he and Danna have played basically the exact same amount of snaps. I could see the latter play a lot of strong-side defensive ends on early downs, allowing Frank Clark to chase from the backside and be soloed up when the Eagles go to play-action. This while Danna takes care of combo-blocks between the tackle and tight-end at the point of attack, fighting over down-blocks and funneling the ball back inside.

The third-year man can be effective rushing off the edge, but mostly it’s what he can bring reducing inside and going against guards which could make a difference.

Eagles' Landon Dickerson and Reed Blankenship

Philadelphia Eagles: Landon Dickerson & Reed Blankenship

Unlike the other three names I brought to the table in this discussion, Landon Dickerson is far from a little-known commodity. However, how close he is to 100 percent on Sunday could be a key factor.

We saw him writhing in pain late in the NFC Championship against San Francisco, holding his arm and exiting the field. MRIs later revealed that he avoided any major structural damage, but was diagnosed with a hyperextended elbow, which could have lingering effects.

Whether it’s punching with that arm, keeping in place to stymie charging pass-rushers or the torque he can create to move/shield defenders in the run game, there’s very little room to hide the injury at that position. How effective he can be will be a huge deal, because while we talk a lot about the center and right tackle for this unit, Dickerson has arguably had as good a season as either of them.

Going back to the ESPN metrics I mentioned a couple of times by now, Philly’s left guard finished the regular season with the highest run-blocking (80%) and second-highest pass-blocking win rates (97%) respectively. I’m not sure how comfortable Philly can be with leaving him one-on-one right now with Chris Jones, when the Chiefs maybe mug up both A-gaps.

On the eve of the NFL season, the Eagles traded for Chauncey Gardner-Johnson from the New Orleans Saints, who ended up being tied for the lead-league with six interceptions. Due to some injuries, we saw Blankenship get extended playing time and I think he’s hung in very well.

If Philly decides to deploy CGJ in the slot more regularly to counter what Travis Kelce presents, I could see Blankenship be a major part of the gameplan in three-safety sets.

His ability to close down windows in two-high coverages and make plays on the ball when challenged vertically (one INT and two PBUs) could be huge. More importantly, they’ll need him to continue to excel as an open-field tackler and he’s only missed two of 47 tackling attempts as a pro. Other than Jordan Nose at nose, Blankenship may be the only other Eagles rookie with significant playing time in this game.