Where the Super Bowl will be won and lost

The biggest stars in the NFL get all the headlines but the deciding factor in Sunday's Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles could be the contest between two men not even on the pitch.

The tactics of opposing head coaches Andy Reid and Nick Sirianni could be the difference between victory and defeat.

It is often called a violent chess match, and if you have ever seen inside a playbook and seen each play drawn up in Xs and Os fashion, you would have to agree.

Hours and hours go into positioning each and every player on each and every play, with just one tactical tweak or one missed assignment possibly deciding what colour confetti will be falling inside the Superdome in New Orleans come Sunday.

So what makes the Chiefs the NFL's mentality monsters? What do the Eagles need to do to end their reign and where will the game be won and lost?

Well, it helps having one of the best quarterbacks of all time in Patrick Mahomes and a coach in Reid who has continually tweaked and developed his squad to build a commanding dynasty.

The Chiefs have changed over the past few years, from a high-powered passing attack with Mahomes flinging the ball all over the field to this season being led by the defence.

There is no ego even in their biggest stars Mahomes and Travis Kelce, who never worried about having a statistically poor season as they knew the sacrifice could well result in a historic ending.

Their greatest strength, however, is their winning mentality, which shows up when edging close games - a NFL record of 17 one-score games (decided by eight points or fewer) in a row have gone their way, including 12 this season.

And they have found all kinds of ways to win them, including creating late turnovers and blocking field goals - anything they can muster to get the job done.

Reid has built a winning machine that never knows when the game is up and that will be a huge benefit on Super Bowl Sunday. When the biggest game of all is on the line, there is a huge advantage in knowing they have been there and done it.

They find comfort in being uncomfortable, they see opportunities to win rather than worry about losing, and they can stay loose when others tighten up. That is a massive positive in games this big.

The Eagles have the better team. They have the top defence in the NFL, are dominant on both offensive and defensive lines, have a dual-threat quarterback with elite receivers and in Saquon Barkley they have the biggest x-factor in the league.

And still, although they may not need to play a perfect game, they need near-perfect execution because just one mistake could cost them.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts knows this all too well, as he had the game of his life in the last Super Bowl between the two, yet his fumble - his only turnover in seven play-off games - cost a touchdown as the Chiefs triumphed in a close game. Of course they did.

According to 'Next Gen' stats, teams facing the Chiefs have dropped 11 passes, missed five kicks, lost four fumbles and twice failed with two-point conversions in the last three play-off campaigns.

Those points are crucial in close games, and the Chiefs have taken advantage time and again to now stand on the brink of history.

The Eagles have everything they need to prevent the three-peat and beat the Chiefs, but they have to avoid beating themselves first.

Can the Chiefs stop Barkley?

Star running back Barkley is just 30 yards short of the NFL record for a single season and is the big weapon for the Eagles. He can score from anywhere and is as dangerous in the fourth quarter as the first.

The Chiefs have not not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 18 games though, and if they can neutralise his threat they could be in business.

...but Hurts could steal the show

Of course, if the Chiefs put everything into stopping Barkley, that could allow Hurts the chance to reproduce his performance from his last Super Bowl - when he ran for 70 yards and three rushing touchdowns and threw for 304 yards and another score.

It was one of the greatest quarterback displays in Super Bowl history, but is largely forgotten thanks to his one key error and the result. With receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith truly elite, and Hurts a powerful runner, the Chiefs cannot afford to overlook him.

Watch out for Mahomes the runner

The Eagles defence will be swarming all over Mahomes, but they have to be careful not to get too aggressive and allow him to wriggle free because he is a lethal scrambler in the play-offs.

Mahomes is not especially quick, but he is nimble, and what makes him dangerous is that on broken plays his telepathy with tight end Kelce is so good that defenders never know if he will attempt an ambitious throw or tuck and run.

He proved the difference against the Buffalo Bills, with two rushing touchdowns and ran for seven first downs in the play-offs to keep drives alive.

Although he threw three touchdowns against Philadelphia in their previous Super Bowl meeting, his late 26-yard scramble was crucial to the Chiefs winning - and that was on a bad ankle.

The battle of the defensive monsters

The big names on offence get all the headlines, but there are two defensive big beasts playing in the Super Bowl on each defensive line that could decide this game.

Kansas City's Chris Jones and Philadelphia's Jalen Carter can both wreck a game from anywhere along the defensive line and, although they may not have gaudy sack numbers, they often pop up in big moments and exert telling pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

Jones in particular attracts double teams, which can make space for others - but ultimately one of these two players battling in the trenches could have the telling defensive play of the game.

Away from star names such as Mahomes, Barkley, Hurts and Kelce, who else could have a big game?

Dallas Goedert of the Eagles is an elite tight end, and the Chiefs have struggled to defend that position all season - giving up the most yards and third-most catches per game to tight ends this season.

Tight ends are a match-up nightmare as they are too quick for linebackers but too big and strong for defensive backs. Goedert has already shown that in the play-offs and leads the Eagles in catches, targets, receiving yards and big plays.

And once he gets the ball he is so hard to stop, as he has compiled 123 yards after the catch during this play-off run.

Xavier Worthy clocked the fastest 40-yard dash in history at the NFL Combine and the rookie receiver's speed has been deadly ever since he scored with his first touch in the league this year.

Worthy often receives quick, flat passes from Mahomes to get him into space on the outside, where he can turn on the afterburners and cause real problems.

After a receiving and rushing touchdown against Buffalo in the AFC Championship, a similar impact in New Orleans could win the team a third straight Super Bowl.