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These former ACC players could have an impact in deciding Super Bowl LIX
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Chiefs vs. Eagles?
Yawn.
Unless you’re a fan of either team or sports bettor (the Chiefs are favored by 1.5 points, per FanDuel), your excitement level for Super Bowl LIX probably ranks somewhere between standing in line at the DMV and doing your taxes.
It’s such an unpopular matchup that given the choice between Kansas City, Philly and a meteor colliding with Earth, a majority of respondents to a recent social media poll said they’d be pulling for the meteor.
But if you’re an ACC fan, there’s at least one other alternative that doesn’t involve a celestial disaster.
There are a baker’s dozen players (8 for the Eagles, 5 for the Chiefs) with connections to the conference on the active rosters of the participating teams.
Not all of them will get as much TV time as Taylor Swift. But some, including these 5 players, could have an impact on who wins and who loses the Lombardi Trophy:
If the game is on the line, bet on Butker
No kicker has ever been named a Super Bowl MVP. But if it’s ever going to happen, this might be the year. And Harrison Butker is the kicker.
The controversial former Georgia Tech kicker has played a major role in deciding the outcome each of the past 2 years. His 27-yard field goal with 8 seconds remaining provided the winning margin in the Chiefs’ 38-35 victory in 2023, the last time they met the Eagles in the big game. Then last year against the San Francisco 49ers, he hit a 29-yarder with 3 seconds left to send the game into overtime, setting up his team’s 25-22 win.
Butker missed 4 weeks in November after undergoing surgery to repair the meniscus in his left knee. But he appears to be healthy and back in top form. After missing his first field goal attempt upon his return, against Cleveland on Dec. 15, he’s made 7-of-8 since. Including all 4 in the postseason.
If you feel like taking a flier on a longshot, Butker could be your man. He’s +20000 to be the Super Bowl MVP, according to DraftKings sportsbook. If you’re looking for a safer bet, he’s -164 to make 2-plus field goals.
If anyone can make Patrick Mahomes Sweat, it’s Josh
Eagles edge rusher Josh Sweat restructured his contract and took a pay cut last offseason to remain with the Eagles so he could get another shot at getting the Super Bowl victory that barely eluded him and his teammates 2 seasons ago.
The former 4th-round pick from Florida State was a nonfactor in that first matchup against Kansas City, recording only 1 tackle and 1 hit on Mahomes. He’s using that disappointing performance as motivation in Round 2 against the Chiefs and their star quarterback.
Sweat, who will become a free agent after Sunday’s game, went 11 games without a sack earlier in the season. But he’s hit his stride at just the right time and is back to his Pro Bowl form heading into Sunday’s Super Bowl rematch. He has recorded 5 sacks, 7 quarterback hits and 12 tackles over the past 5 games. His 8 total sacks and 16 pressures lead the Eagles.
One for Joe Thuney’s thumb
It will take something highly unusual for Thuney’s name to appear in the boxscore on Sunday. But that doesn’t diminish the role he will play for the Chiefs. The All-Pro left guard will be one of those trying to keep Sweat and others on the Eagles’ defense out of the backfield and out of Mahomes’ face.
Like Sweat, the former NC State star also has an incentive to play well. He was forced to watch last year’s Super Bowl victory against the 49ers from the sideline after suffering a pectoral injury earlier in the playoffs.
Even though he didn’t get to play in that game, he did earn a Super Bowl ring. It was his second as a member of the Chiefs, to go with the 2 he won earlier while he was with the New England Patriots.
If the Chiefs win Sunday, Thuney will become only the 3rd player in NFL history to earn 5 Super Bowl rings. Hall of Fame defensive end Charles Haley also has 5 (3 with Dallas, 2 with the 49ers) while Tom Brady has 7 (6 with the Patriots, 1 with Tampa Bay).
Jeremiah Trotter, Andy Reid deja vu … sort of
Twenty years ago, a linebacker named Jeremiah Trotter played for the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX. His coach that day in Jacksonville was Andy Reid.
Sunday in Las Vegas, another Jeremiah Trotter will be playing linebacker for Philadelphia. And Reid will also be there. Only this time, he’ll be coaching the opposing team as the Trotters join a select group of fathers and sons to both play on the NFL’s biggest stage.
“Jeremiah, his father, was one of my favorite players,” Reid told George Stockburger of Yahoo! Sports earlier in the week. “That’s a great deal for the family.”
The original Jeremiah Trotter, who spent 8 seasons with the Eagles and is a member of the team’s Hall of Fame, had a team-leading 8 tackles against the New England Patriots in 2005. But it wasn’t enough to prevent a 24-21 defeat.
Trotter Jr., a rookie from Clemson, is still trying to find his niche as a professional. He has started only 1 game, recording 25 tackles and a half-sack in limited action. However, because starting linebacker Nakobe Dean is sidelined with a knee injury, Trotter Jr. could find himself playing a more prominent role against the Chiefs.
A Super ending to DeAndre Hopkins’ journey from rock bottom
The veteran wide receiver from Clemson admits that he was “almost losing the love for this game” as he languished in the negativity surrounding the rebuilding Tennessee Titans earlier this season. But only a few days after hitting rock bottom during a 34-10 loss to Buffalo on Oct. 20, Hopkins’ mood – and his football fortunes – took an abrupt turn for the better when he was traded to the Chiefs.
Hopkins is a 5-time All-Pro selection with the Houston Texas and Arizona Cardinals who was once considered to be among the top tier or elite NFL receivers. Now 32, those days are behind him. But he’s proven to be a valuable addition to Kansas City’s offense as a secondary threat alongside talented rookie Xavier Worthy. In 10 games with the Chiefs, Hopkins has made 41 catches for 437 yards and 4 touchdowns.
This will be his first Super Bowl appearance. He’s so appreciative of the opportunity after 12½ seasons with non-contending teams that he made it a point to thank his former organization for making it possible during Monday’s Super Bowl media day circus.
“It meant a lot for the Titans to trade me to the Chiefs,” Hopkins said, via a video posted by Nick Suss of The Tennessean. “Without them I wouldn’t be in this situation. So I’ve got to give Nashville and (the Titans’ management) thanks.
The other guys
Besides Butker, Sweat, Thuney, Trotter Jr. and Hopkins, the other players with ACC ties in Super Bowl LIX are:
Chiefs: Starting S Chamarri Conner (Virginia Tech), backup TE Noah Gray (Duke).
Eagles: OG Mekhi Becton (Louisville), CB Avonte Maddox (Pittsburgh), TE EJ Jenkins (Georgia Tech), backup QB Kenny Pickett (Pittsburgh), RB Will Shipley (Clemson) and WR Johnny Wilson (Florida State).
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
