We have finally made it into the final football game of the 2022 NFL season, the Super Bowl. Super Bowl LVII will take place in Arizona on February 13, and the game will feature Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. We know there’s still some time before these injuries become relevant for the upcoming game, but some might still be in the coming days, so we’re here to tell you about them. Let’s dive in.
Quarterbacks Still Ready to Go
At various times in the past weeks, there were quite a few concerns with quarterbacks Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles and Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. Recently, Hurts missed two games because of a shoulder issue, which is a great loss for the team.
However, he returned to help the Eagles secure the top seed in the NFC with a win against the New York Giants in the season finale. In the three games after a short hiatus due to injury, he ran the ball 29 times. He may not have approved the 15-carry mark he usually hits in the regular season, but he still performed stellarly.
On the other hand, Patrick Mahomes injured his ankle in the Division Round in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mahomes just threw 326 yards and 2 touchdowns with a final standing of 23-20 win against the Cincinnati team in the AFC championship, even though he wasn’t even close to his 100% during that time. Nevertheless, people can feel his pain when he rolled on the left side and tried to balance on his injured ankle as he threw the ball in the game against the Bengals.
He then clearly hobbled on the sidelines, and it seems we will be expecting him to play with a tender ankle in the final game against the Eagles. Still, Mahomes is the favored player to win the Most Valuable Player award in the Super Bowl. With the fate of these QBs still relatively unknown, the Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles game will be an interesting one.
Defensive Players Still on the Mend
When looking at the Eagle’s side of the injury reports regarding defensive players, there isn’t much to be concerned about, hopefully until the day of the game. With defensive end Derek Barnett’s rib, defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu, and linebacker Shaun Bradley’s wrist injury, there’s not much to report about since these three players are on the injured reserve and will most likely not be back in the time of the game.
For the Chiefs, however, there’s a lot to talk about. The talks are mostly about the availability of linebacker Willie Gay and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. Gay is still dealing with a shoulder injury, and Sneed is currently undergoing concussion protocols before they can play.
Recently, Sneed and Gay finished second and third on the Chiefs in tackles throughout the regular season. Gay played between 60 to 80% of the defensive snaps, making him very valuable to the team. However, he was only in the game for 25 snaps during the AFC title tilt.
On the other hand, Sneed played all defensive snaps 12 times this season. However, he was only there for 4 against the Bengals. If they aren’t able to play for the Super Bowl, it will surely affect the lines significantly, especially the totals, which are at 50.5 currently.
Kadarius Toney Injury
It might not surprise you that Kadarius Toney has been injured. It was big news when it happened. After four snaps and three route runs, Toney caught a pass, moved, slipped, and fell. You can then see him hopping off the field. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game a few minutes later.
It’s important to know that Toney has only played 11 games this year, including the playoffs, all the while he was racking up injuries throughout the season. Many people are hopeful, however, that he can play since he didn’t injure his hamstring. Currently, he’s on a two-week rest and will heal until the Super Bowl.
JuJu Smith-Schuster Injury
Pretty early on in the AFC championship game, JuJu Smith was removed from the field, and you can see his knee being wrapped up in tape. Of the 52 dropbacks from Patrick Mahomes, Smith-Schuster was on the field for only 22 routes and only played 31 of the 69 offensive plays of the team. He could only play a few snaps after the original injury, and now, he has to recover for two weeks before the Super Bowl. It’s still vague whether he will play for the Super Bowl, but until the practice reports arrive, we will never know for sure.
Final Words
Based on the injury reports, it’s more likely that the Eagles will win since they don’t have much to offer in terms of injury reports. However, there’s still much time before the game begins, so there’s still a lot of room for development. But right now, the favorite team to win the Super Bowl is the Philadelphia Eagles, and with very few injury reports compared to the Chiefs, it’s most likely.