We’ve been here before.
The Kansas City Chiefs are making their third straight trip to the Super Bowl — and their fifth trip in the last six years.
This time could see Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes elevate his Kansas City team to the same elite championship level as superstars in other sports — with his name among the all-time greats like Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter.
Super Bowl 59 is the 11th time that the event is being hosted in New Orleans, the site of the Chiefs’ first-ever championship victory way back in 1970, tied with Miami for the most times as a city host.
Security precautions will be tight around the Superdome: New Orleans experienced a car attack on New Year’s Day that killed 15 people and injured numerous others. And Kansas City itself had a mass shooting at last year’s Super Bowl victory rally, which killed one and injured more than two dozen others.
So it’s likely that any victory celebrations may be scaled down — or at least look different than before.
But first, the Chiefs have to win. Here’s everything you need to know about the potentially history-making Super Bowl 59.
Where and when to watch the 2025 Super Bowl
Super Bowl 59 is being held at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. It will be televised in Kansas City on WDAF, FOX 4, and Nickelodeon at 5:30 p.m. Central Time.
Streaming is available on Fubo (try for free), Tubi and foxsports.com.
TelevisaUnivision will broadcast the game in Spanish in Kansas City on KUKC, channel 20. It’s the company’s second national broadcast of an NFL game.
Kansas City-based Tico Sports will also stream a Spanish-language radio broadcast of the game at Tico-Sports.com.
Who is performing the Super Bowl halftime show?
Fresh off his sweep of Grammys wins, Kendrick Lamar will be taking over the Apple Music halftime show at the Superdome. His most recent album, GNX, came out in November.
He'll be joined by R&B artist SZA, who also appeared on GNX and will be embarking on a stadium tour with Lamar this spring. (No Kansas City dates, unfortunately — you'll have to go to St. Louis if you want to see them in person.)
The national anthem will be sung by Jon Batiste.
How the Chiefs got here
Kansas City’s path to the Super Bowl was actually a lot smoother this season than last.
The Chiefs' come-from-behind overtime victory against the San Francisco 49ers in 20-2024 capped off a tumultuous season, where a trip to (let alone a win in) Super Bowl 58 was never guaranteed. Last year, the defending champs actually had to travel for the AFC Championship, pulling off the victory in Baltimore.
But this regular-season the Chiefs earned the No. 1 seed in the conference by winning 15 of their 17 regular-season games. That gave them the right to host both the Divisional game and AFC Championship en route to the Super Bowl.
The inevitable clash boiled down to the Chiefs taking on the second-seeded Bills at Arrowhead Stadium. The Bills had already beat the Chiefs, 30-21, during the 2024 regular season, but ever since Josh Allen became Buffalo’s starting quarterback, the Bills have been winless in four postseason contests against the Chiefs.
A stalwart fourth-quarter Chiefs defense allowed Kansas City to hold on for a 32-29 victory. Mahomes rushed for two touchdowns and passed for one in the win.
“Being able to win it at Arrowhead, and you get that (Lamar Hunt) trophy on that stage, you look around and there’s not a seat empty,” said Mahomes after the game.
Mahomes cited a well-rounded team as one of the Chiefs’ big factors toward this year’s Super Bowl run.
“The defense stopped Josh (Allen), one of the best quarterbacks in the league, in critical situations to give us a chance to run time out,” said Mahomes. “It takes everybody and we’ve done it so many different ways now.”
Due to a series of injuries during the season, the Chiefs patched things up with moves that dipped into their past.
Running back Isiah Pacheco rested up for the playoffs in the season’s final regular-season game at Denver, but missed nine games earlier in the season because of a broken leg. To take his place, the Chiefs signed Kareem Hunt, who the team unceremoniously dumped in 2018 after a video emerged of Hunt assaulting a woman.
But after five seasons with the Cleveland Browns, Hunt was on his couch when Reid summoned him back. (“It looks like he’s grown up some,” Reid said of his decision.) In Pacheco’s absence, Hunt became the Chiefs’ most reliable back in short-yardage situations, and he capped the game-opening drive of the AFC Championship with a 12-yard touchdown run.
“I was just taking it all in,” said Hunt after the podium celebration died down. “It was making it feel real. It didn’t feel really real at the time (in the game’s final moments) — to know that you’re heading to the Super Bowl.”
At wide receiver, Hollywood Brown was one of the Chiefs’ high-profile offseason acquisitions, but didn’t make his Kansas City debut until Dec. 21 because of a shoulder injury. Second-year receiver Rashee Rice, a key part of last year’s Super Bowl championship, was lost for the season with a knee injury in the fourth game of the season.
As a result, the Chiefs went out and acquired established veteran receivers like DeAndre Hopkins and JuJu Smith-Schuster, a member of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl team that beat the Eagles two years ago. Last year, Smith-Schuster played in New England but was released by the Patriots this year.
While the offense scrambled for continuity, the defense under coordinator Steve Spagnuolo remained steady as it did last year.
What to watch for against the Eagles
While Patrick Mahomes has proven he can make things happen with his legs, as well as his arms, the key will be how fast he gets rid of the ball in passing situations.
Keep an eye on the left side of the Chiefs offensive line to see how well it will protect Mahomes from a solid defensive line.
Going into the playoffs, the major question mark on the Chiefs offense was at left tackle, a revolving door this season. Four different players have made starts at that position.
In the NFL Divisional game against Houston, and the AFC Championship against Buffalo, Joe Thuney shifted over from his left guard spot to start at tackle.
Reid, who got his first Super Bowl ring in 1997 as an offensive line coach of the Green Bay Packers, has shown no indication that he’ll change the lineup in this Super Bowl.
The other key factor in the rematch from two years ago in Phoenix is poise.
In that 2023 game, the Eagles enjoyed a 10-point halftime lead. But while Rihanna entertained the crowd in Arizona during the intermission, the Chiefs regrouped and a hobbled Mahomes regained enough strength from a first-half ankle injury to rally his troops.
The Chiefs won, 38-35, when Harrison Butker kicked the game-winning field goal as time ran out. Mahomes threw three touchdown passes to earn the game’s MVP honors.
Mahomes was asked last week about starting out quicker in this game against the Eagles.
“We’ve played a lot of good teams in the Super Bowls, a lot of good defenses,” Mahomes said. “We’ve done a good job of figuring it out, but if we can start fast, obviously, it would help out.”
The Chiefs have played in enough close games this season to know how to pull them out for a win in the end.
The Eagles and Chiefs made history in 2023 in the first Super Bowl to feature two Black starting quarterbacks: Mahomes and Jalen Hurts. Both will be leading their squad again this year.
But the difference in the Eagles from two years ago to now is having running back Saquon Barkley in the backfield. Much like Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who sat out the final game and missed out on a 1,000-yard reception season in 2023, Barkley got some extra rest at the end of the regular season after eclipsing the 2,000-yard rushing mark.
Although he fell 100 yards short of breaking Eric Dickerson’s NFL record for most rushing yards in one season (2,105), he did set a league record with seven touchdown runs of more than 60 yards and is widely considered a finalist for regular season MVP.
What’s at stake for the Chiefs and Eagles
This is Kansas City’s seventh Super Bowl appearance — trailing only five other NFL teams for the most — but the most talked about aspect of Super LIX is the history the Chiefs would make by winning their third straight.
They would be the first NFL team to do it in the Super Bowl era. Although you probably won't be seeing the phrase "three-peat" anywhere on their official merch.
It would also extend the Chiefs playoff winning streak to 10 games, which would tie them with the New England Patriots for the all-time best in the postseason.
In the Super Bowl era, the Eagles took home their first and only Vince Lombardi trophy in 2018, with former Chiefs backup quarterback Nick Foles leading them.
Foles that year replaced the injured Carson Wentz, who’s now the Chiefs backup to Mahomes.
Will Kansas City throw a parade and rally if they win?
While it may seem premature to ask, it's a question on everybody's mind after what happened last year: At least 24 people were injured and local DJ Lisa Lopez-Galvan died at a mass shooting near the end of the Chiefs' previous victory rally on Feb. 14, 2024.
A source confirmed to KCUR that Kansas City does plan to host a parade like they’ve done in years past if they beat the Philadelphia Eagles, but they will not host a rally at Union Station. The high insurance cost for large gatherings was a factor.
This year, the team and their families, as well as Mayor Quinton Lucas and Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe, will celebrate at an exclusive gathering at Arrowhead Stadium, before the team begins its parade through the city.
The city has plans for entertainment throughout the route for fans to enjoy while they wait to see the team.
More details will likely be available on Sunday night, if/when the Chiefs secure the win.
Will Taylor Swift be at the Super Bowl again?
Travis Kelce’s girlfriend, global popstar Taylor Swift, has been a regular at Arrowhead Stadium for two seasons now. Along the way, she's helped change the face of the NFL fandom and transformed Kansas City.
After attending the AFC Championship in Kansas City last month, bets are on that she’ll be back in the stands at the Superdome. Especially if there's a chance she'll get to celebrate with Kelce on the field again.
Plus, she doesn’t need to fly back from Japan this time.
KCUR's Gabe Rosenberg and Savannah Hawley-Bates contributed to this story.
