SB LIX: Final moves by Eagles, Chiefs
Philadelphia activates star defensive end Brandon Graham
NEW ORLEANS — Key stories about Super Bowl LIX just kept on coming Saturday, the day before the big game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
After the Pro Football Writers of America pool reporters dutifully filed their stories, the teams kept on making news. The biggest was that the Eagles’ star defensive end Brandon Graham was taken off injured reserve and activated.
He will be available to suit up against the Chiefs on Sunday, although he is officially listed as questionable. But the chance to ever run out before the kickoff is precious to Graham, at 36 the oldest Philadelphia player, is one of four remaining Eagles from the SBl LII-winning team.
Before the season began, he said it would be his last. Then it appeared his career might end even sooner than he wanted.
In week 12, Graham was placed on IR with a torn triceps, an injury which he initially believed would end his 15th season. But as the Eagles marched forward in the 2024 playoffs, Graham's shot at a return grew. He was designated to return to practice last week during the bye preceding Super Bowl LIX and has been limited in each session throughout.
During his media availability throughout Super Bowl week, Graham has been optimistic about a potential return.
"I might not be talking as much because I'm trying to save my energy because it has been two months since I've played, but I am excited," he said on Wednesday. "Working with the strength staff, the trainers, I feel like we've got a good little regiment that will make sure they bridge me back into everything."
Philadelphia's defense has thrived in Graham's absence by virtue of its pass rush. The Eagles have generated 11 sacks, forced 10 turnovers, and only allowed five touchdowns in the three playoff games leading up to Super Bowl LIX.
Graham produced 3.5 sacks, six tackles for loss, two pass breakups, and a forced fumble in 11 games played this season. He will look to contribute in any way he can on Sunday.
The Chiefs announced Saturday that they activated cornerback Steven Nelson and linebacker Swayze Bozeman from the practice squad.
Nelson, 32, was drafted 98th overall by the Chiefs in 2015, playing four seasons with the franchise before leaving just as the dynasty was beginning. The former Oregon State Beaver went on to play parts of five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Houston Texans.
Now on to the official pool reports:
Philadelphia Eagles Saturday Pool Report
Philadelphia Eagles Practice
Feb. 8, 2025
By Tom Rock
Pro Football Writers of America
METAIRIE, La. — The Philadelphia Eagles spent less than an hour on the field in their final preparations during a Saturday walk-through at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center on the day before Super Bowl LIX.
Head coach Nick Sirianni described the team as “hungry” and “ready to roll.”
“When you have two weeks off [since the NFC Championship Game],” he said, “it’s like, ‘Let’s go!’”
With players wearing sneakers, sweats or shorts, and practice jerseys – there were no helmets but a few donned baseball caps to protect from the sun on a warm 78-degree late morning – the offense and defense jogged through plays against scout teams at opposite ends of the field. That was followed by situational football covering various end-of-half/end-of-game scenarios. Sirianni said the team does that every day and typically emphasizes it a little longer on Saturdays. Finally, a few special teams plays were executed before the team quickly hopped back on its fleet of buses and headed to the Caesars Superdome for a team photo.
After that Sirianni hoped to make the rest of Saturday as close to what the team has done the night before every other game this season.
“Stay off our feet, relax, night meetings, and get ready to go,” he said. “Everyone will go through the routine that they’ve been going through the entire 20-whatever weeks we’ve been doing this now… You don’t get to this point and change up what is important to your team and your core values.”
Those values, he said, are “Tough, Detailed, Together.”
The Eagles went through this process two years ago when they faced Kansas City in Super Bowl LVIII. Sirianni said there were some tweaks made based on that experience.
“Slightly different stuff with our schedule, things that we thought we could have done better the last time,” he said.
As for the gameplan and vibe of the squad compared to two years ago?
“It’s a different team. We’re a different team,” he stressed. “We’ve just been preparing and we’re up for the challenge.”
It has been a long season for the Eagles that started with a Week 1 game against the Green Bay Packers in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Sirianni laughed when asked if that opener felt like a lifetime ago.
“It feels like a lifetime ago we played Green Bay in the playoffs,” Sirianni joked. “So twice with Green Bay. But we’re excited for the challenge and going through our normal stuff.”
Now that journey is down to its final hours.
“I’ve tried to preach to the guys that everyone else is here for the enjoyment and the experience,” Sirianni said. “We’re here to play a football game. We’re here to make sure that all the work we put in for the last however many weeks – it feels like a long time – is to play our best football at the end of the year. We’re ready for the challenge against a really good team.”
Philadelphia also elevated Khari Blasingame and Nicholas Morrow for the game and placed Nick Gates on injured reserve.
🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈🏈
Kansas City Chiefs Saturday Pool Report
Kansas City Chiefs Practice
Feb. 8, 2025
By Luke Johnson
Pro Football Writers of America
NEW ORLEANS, La. — The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up their week of Super Bowl LIX preparations with a short walk-through practice at Tulane’s Yulman Stadium Saturday morning.
The session lasted approximately 30 minutes, with Kansas City walking-through a mock game. Reid said the players will get some free time Saturday afternoon before gathering for a team meeting in the evening.
“I thought the guys worked hard, they got done what they needed to get done,” Coach Andy Reid said about the week as a whole. As for Saturday’s mock game, Reid said, “that was going back through the game plan and making sure they refined it and got it down to where they can function at a high level against a good football team.”
The Chiefs practiced in the uniforms they will wear Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, with white jerseys and red pants, and after Chiefs owner and CEO Clark Hunt addressed the team upon the conclusion of practice, everybody made their way to a set of risers positioned at the end of the field for a team photo.
The next time Kansas City takes the field, it will be to play for its third consecutive Super Bowl title, and fourth in the last six seasons.
Having been through the week leading up to the Super Bowl in now six different locations, Reid said he enjoyed the experience in New Orleans this week.
“It’s been great,” Reid said. “The people have been phenomenal. The law enforcement people who have chaperoned us around like crazy have been great; we appreciate all that. I just think this city rolled out the red carpet. It’s a great place to have a Super Bowl."