The excitement has been steadily growing, but it's finally Super Bowl Sunday and we're ready for the big game. Super Bowl LVII is destined to be a good one, as it will feature two of the NFL's most explosive teams, promising a potential shootout for the Lombardi Trophy. Now, what better way to prepare for the 57th Super Bowl than by soaking up 57 important things to know for the big game? We've got you covered right here, with all the basics -- and a little more:
1. Super Bowl LVII will pit the Chiefs against the Eagles, marking the first time the teams have faced off in a championship game.
2. This is the Chiefs' third Super Bowl appearance in four seasons. They last appeared in 2020 and last won in 2019.
3. This is the Eagles' second Super Bowl appearance in six seasons. They last appeared -- and won -- in 2017.
4. Both the Eagles and Chiefs faced quarterback Tom Brady in their last Super Bowl appearances. Philly upset Brady and the Patriots, 41-33, to win in 2017. Kansas City, meanwhile, fell to Brady and the underdog Buccaneers, 31-9, in 2020.
5. Before winning their most recent titles, both the Eagles and Chiefs endured 30-plus year championship droughts. Philly's 2017 victory, its first-ever Super Bowl title, came 57 years after its 1960 NFL championship. And Kansas City's 2019 victory came 50 years after the team's 1969 Super Bowl win, its first and only other Lombardi Trophy run.
6. The Eagles are making their third Super Bowl appearance in as many decades, with their third different head coach and quarterback pairing: They previously advanced to Super Bowl XXXIX in 2004 with Andy Reid (HC) and Donovan McNabb (QB), then won Super Bowl LII in 2017 with Doug Pederson (HC) and Nick Foles (QB). Now, they enter Super Bowl LVII to cap 2022 with Nick Sirianni (HC) and Jalen Hurts (QB).
7. Sirianni is in just his second season as Eagles head coach, following in the footsteps of Pederson, who also advanced to the Super Bowl in his second year on the job.
8. Andy Reid, the Chiefs' coach since 2013, famously spent his first 14 years as an NFL head coach with the Eagles. He still ranks as the winningest coach in team history, going 130-93-1, with nine playoff appearances and five NFC Championship berths, from 1999-2012.
9. Like his longtime Eagles QB Donovan McNabb, Reid was a bittersweet icon during his Philly tenure: beloved for his sustained success, but critiqued for his inability to "get over the hump." The Eagles infamously lost three straight NFC Championship games from 2001-2003, before advancing to Super Bowl XXXIX in 2004 and falling 24-21 to the Tom Brady-led Patriots.
10. Doug Pederson, who both played and worked under Reid, needed just two seasons as Eagles coach to do what his esteemed predecessor never could: win it all. But Reid finally claimed his first Super Bowl win two years later, when the Chiefs beat the 49ers, 31-20, in 2019's Super Bowl LIV.
11. The Eagles are just two years removed from a 4-11-1 finish that led to Pederson's dismissal. The team's only Super Bowl-winning head coach spent just five seasons on the job, before returning to the sidelines as the Jaguars' coach this year. Reid, meanwhile, led the Chiefs to four playoff appearances in his first five years as K.C.'s head coach (2013-2017), but his standards have raised even higher since QB Patrick Mahomes burst onto the scene.
12. Mahomes was drafted the same year the Eagles won their first Super Bowl, but spent most of his rookie season as the Chiefs' backup QB. Since replacing Alex Smith as the full-time starter in 2018, he's never failed to lead a top-10 offense in terms of points scored per game.
13. At just 27, with five seasons of starting experience, Mahomes is already considered one of the best QBs to ever play the game. He led the NFL with 50 touchdown passes during his 2018 breakout, became the youngest QB to ever win Super Bowl MVP in 2019, went 14-1 as a starter en route to another Super Bowl bid in 2020, and has averaged nearly 40 TD passes per season in the two years since.
14. Besides his record early-career production, Mahomes has broken the mold at his position. Specializing in acrobatic arm angles, last-second throws and clutch freestyling, he's combined with Reid's creative play-calling to star as one of the league's most improbably indefensible talents. It's as if, some say half-jokingly, he plays a different sport than everyone else.
15. Both Mahomes and Eagles QB Jalen Hurts are finalists for the 2022 NFL MVP award. Mahomes previously won in 2018.
16. Assuming Mahomes wins MVP, he has a chance to become just the fifth QB in NFL history to win both two MVPs and two Super Bowls, after Hall of Fame legends Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, Tom Brady and Johnny Unitas -- all of whom accomplished the feat over the age of 30.
17. Hurts is in just his third NFL season, and second as the Eagles' full-time starter. At 24, he is the youngest QB in team history to ever advance to the Super Bowl, after Nick Foles (29, 2017), Donovan McNabb (28, 2004) and Ron Jaworski (29, 1980).
18. Hurts is the second Eagles QB to reach the Super Bowl after previously backing up Carson Wentz, the team's starter from 2016-2020. Wentz notably flirted with an MVP candidacy in 2017 before a late-season knee injury forced Foles into action, setting the stage for a historic playoff run by the latter. Three years later, the Eagles drafted Hurts as a second-round pick, and the rookie replaced a struggling Wentz late in the 2020 season.
19. Hurts stood out as a promising runner from 2020-2021, guiding the Eagles to a playoff berth in his first year as a starter. But he took a seismic leap as a fully fledged QB in 2022, showcasing not only tough, elusive rushing ability but improved accuracy, touch and confidence throwing downfield. He finished with 35 total TDs, including 13 on the ground, the most by any QB.
20. Among all QBs who started at least 15 games in 2022, Mahomes (8.1) and Hurts (8.0) ranked first and second, respectively, in average yards gained per pass attempt.
21. Hurts had a roller-coaster journey even before his NFL ascent: notoriously confident coming out of Channelview High School in Texas, he became Alabama's first true-freshman starter in more than 30 years, leading the Crimson Tide to a national championship appearance. As a sophomore, he led the team back to the national title game, only to be replaced at halftime by future Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa. He helped lead Alabama to a third straight championship appearance the following year, filling in for an injured Tagovailoa, before transferring to Oklahoma and emerging as a Heisman finalist.
22. The Eagles are 16-1 this season when Hurts is starting, including playoffs, and have gone 22-4 in his last 26 starts dating back to last season. The Chiefs are on a five-season streak of winning 12+ games and reaching at least the AFC Championship Game, and are the first team to reach three Super Bowls in a four-year span since the Patriots (2016-2018, 2001-2004).
23. Hurts and Mahomes, who is biracial, will be the first pair of Black starting QBs in Super Bowl history. Hurts previously became the first Black starting QB at the University of Alabama to win a national championship.
24. Both QBs have battled injuries late this season. Hurts missed two games with a shoulder sprain before returning to clinch the Eagles' No. 1 seed, while Mahomes played through a high-ankle sprain in the Chiefs' two playoff victories. The latter could be seen limping during K.C.'s AFC Championship win over the Bengals, but did not miss a snap in a stellar performance.
25. The Eagles and Chiefs took reverse strategies to help their young QBs in the lead-up to 2022. K.C. traded star receiver Tyreek Hill to the Dolphins in exchange for a package of draft picks, turning instead to veteran free agents JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Philly, meanwhile, traded its first-round pick to the Titans for new No. 1 wideout A.J. Brown, a longtime friend of Hurts who proceeded to post career numbers (88 catches, 1,496 yards, 11 TDs) in his Eagles debut.
26. Without a star-studded WR corps, the Chiefs lean heavily on tight end Travis Kelce, who, like Mahomes, sets the standard at his position. Still in his prime at 33, the big man has gone seven straight years with at least 85 catches and 1,000 receiving yards. This postseason alone, he's racked up 21 catches for 176 yards and three TDs in two games.
27. Kelce is the younger brother of longtime Eagles center Jason Kelce, 35, who's spent his entire 12-year career in Philly. The elder Kelce is known in Eagles Country not only for his decade-long run as one of the NFL's most athletic linemen, but also for his unforgettable full-throated speech at the 2017 Super Bowl parade.
28. The Kelce brothers have earned a combined 14 Pro Bowl nods, 12 All-Pro honors and two Super Bowl rings. They are the most accomplished NFL siblings this side of Peyton and Eli Manning. And now they'll become the first brothers to ever square off in a Super Bowl.
29. The last time the Eagles and Chiefs played, in October 2021, the teams combined for 932 yards and 61 first downs in a 42-30 shootout win by Kansas City. This year, they both led their respective conferences in points per game, and they each enter Super Bowl LVII having scored exactly 546 points from Week 1 until now.
30. The last time the Eagles were in the Super Bowl, they combined with the Patriots to account for 1,151 total yards, the most ever recorded in any NFL game -- regular season or postseason.
31. Both the Chiefs and Eagles went 14-3 in the regular season. K.C. edged the Jaguars (27-20) and Bengals (23-20) to claim the AFC title, while Philly routed the Giants (38-7) and 49ers (31-7) to win the NFC.
32. Both teams also paced the NFL leaderboard in sacks this year. The Eagles led the league with a franchise-record 70 QB takedowns, while the Chiefs finished second with 55. K.C. sacked Joe Burrow five times to win the AFC Championship, while Philly logged three sacks and knocked two different 49ers QBs out of action in the NFC title game.
33. The Chiefs' pass rush is led by defensive tackle Chris Jones, a four-time Pro Bowler who tied a career high with 15.5 sacks and 29 QB hits this season. Jones is widely considered one of, if not the best player at his position, much like the Eagles' Fletcher Cox during the height of his career.
34. Cox remains on Philly's front, and is just one of four starters remaining from the Eagles' last Super Bowl team. The other three are Kelce, right tackle Lane Johnson and defensive end Brandon Graham, who is Philadelphia's longest-tenured athlete in his 13th season as an Eagle.
35. While Cox and Graham are still vital pieces of the Eagles' defense, Philly's NFL-best front is headlined by Haason Reddick, who stars as a stand-up rusher from the linebacker spot. Reddick has local roots, growing up in New Jersey and playing at Temple, but is in his first season with the Eagles. A prized free agent acquisition after five years with the Cardinals and Panthers, he's racked up a career-high 19.5 sacks and six forced fumbles, including playoffs.
36. Besides Reddick, the Eagles have three other defensive regulars with double-digit sacks: Graham (11), fellow defensive end Josh Sweat (11), and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (11).
37. Under defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, in his second year as one of Nick Sirianni's top assistants, Philly tied for third in total takeaways this year, logging 17 interceptions. Six of them came courtesy of safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, while starting cornerbacks Darius Slay Jr. and James Bradberry each had three.
38. Slay is one of the Eagles' most colorful personalities, contrasting the softer-spoken but equally physical Bradberry, and is enjoying the first playoff victories of his 10-year career. The five-time Pro Bowler, acquired via trade in 2020, never won a single postseason contest in seven seasons with the Lions.
39. The Chiefs have been more vulnerable defending the pass, surrendering an average of 220 yards per game as opposed to the Eagles' 180. They also rank 16th in points allowed per game (21.7), whereas the Eagles rank eighth (20.2). Their secondary is decidedly younger, with four different rookies -- Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Bryan Cook and Joshua Williams -- logging significant snaps at cornerback and safety.
40. Kansas City's success stems largely from unmatched efficiency with the ball in its hands: When Mahomes isn't feeding Kelce, he's finding possession receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (933 yards, 77.2 catch percentage) and utility backs Jerick McKinnon (512 yards, 78.9%) and Isiah Pacheco (92.9%) with relative ease. Only the Bills had a better third-down conversion rate (48.7%) this year, and Mahomes easily led the NFL with a career-high 5,250 passing yards.
41. When they aren't hitting a wide-open Kelce over the middle, the Chiefs specialize in moving players around, deploying running backs as quasi-receivers and vice-versa. Since trading Tyreek Hill, who starred as one of the NFL's top vertical threats, they've leaned more on gadget-type weapons like McKinnon, Pacheco and wideouts Kadarius Toney and Mecole Hardman.
42. Where the Chiefs set the standard for daring play design, especially in the red zone, the Eagles match it with situational aggression. This year only three teams had more fourth-down attempts, and not a single team with at least 20 tries had a better conversion percentage (68.8). Five years after famously leaning on bold calls under Doug Pederson to win it all, the Eagles also set an NFL record for most QB sneaks under Sirianni, with Hurts converting on well over 90% of his attempts.
43. Both offenses have been powered by some of the game's sturdiest O-linemen. Six of the team's combined 10 starters up front earned Pro Bowl nods this year: left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., left guard Joe Thuney and center Creed Humphrey for the Chiefs; and center Jason Kelce, right guard Landon Dickerson and right tackle Lane Johnson for the Eagles.
44. Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata entered the NFL as a seventh-round draft pick in 2018, having never played American football. The mammoth-sized Australia-born lineman (6-8, 365) is a converted rugby star.
45. Whereas the Chiefs are more tailored to win through the air, the Eagles have taken on Hurts' identity as a multi-dimensional winner in 2022, cruising with both a physical, old-school, run-heavy attack and a more aggressive downfield passing game. Fourth-year veteran Miles Sanders has teamed with Hurts to lead the former, logging a career-high 1,269 yards on the ground, while reserves Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell have also shared touches in crunch time.
46. Philly's aerial attack includes one of the NFL's most imposing receiver duos in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. The former uses his scary combo of size (6-1, 225) and speed to justify his personal slogan, "Always Open." But Smith has been just as, if not more, reliable showing off deadly route-running and body control despite his uniquely slender frame.
47. Two of the NFL's trustiest playoff kickers are returning to the Super Bowl stage. The Chiefs' Harrison Butker has gone 20 for 23 on postseason field goals since 2017, while the Eagles' Jake Elliott has gone a perfect 13 for 13 during the same stretch.
48. Chiefs general manager Brett Veach spent his first nine seasons as an NFL staffer in Philadelphia, working alongside Eagles GM Howie Roseman from 2004-2012. Whereas Veach has only worked in tandem with Reid as K.C.'s personnel chief, Roseman has now led Philly's front office alongside four different coaches: Reid (2010-2012), Chip Kelly (2013-2015), Doug Pederson (2016-2020) and Nick Sirianni (2021-present).
49. Sirianni was hired by the Eagles in 2021 after three years as the Colts' offensive coordinator under Frank Reich, who previously served as Pederson's OC during Philly's last Super Bowl run. Sirianni began his NFL coaching career as an offensive assistant with the Chiefs, who hired him from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2009.
50. Sirianni is the third different head-coaching hire by Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie to reach a Super Bowl despite initially drawing zero interview opportunities from other NFL teams.
51. The Chiefs and Eagles have only met nine times in history, with K.C. owning a 5-4 advantage. Reid is 6-0 as part of the all-time series, going 3-0 as Eagles coach with wins in 2001, 2005 and 2009; then 3-0 as Chiefs coach with wins in 2013, 2017 and 2021.
52. The teams enter with a combined seven games of Super Bowl experience. The Chiefs lost Super Bowl I (1966) to the Packers, beat the Vikings in Super Bowl IV (1969), beat the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV (2019) and lost to the Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV (2020). The Eagles lost Super Bowl XV (1980) to the Raiders, lost Super Bowl XXXIX (2004) to the Patriots and beat the Patriots in Super Bowl LII (2017).
53. Kickoff for Super Bowl LVII is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 12.
54. State Farm Stadium, in Glendale, Arizona, will host the championship, marking the third time the Super Bowl has been played at the venue and the fourth time the state of Arizona has carried the game. The last Super Bowl in Glendale closed the 2014 season, when the Patriots rallied to beat the Seahawks, 28-24.
55. The Eagles will be the official "home" team, with the NFL alternating designations for each conference on an annual basis. That means they'll use the stadium's home locker rooms and choose their uniforms, while the Chiefs will call the opening coin toss.
56. Grammy Award-winning pop star Rihanna will headline this year's halftime show, with country music star Chris Stapleton singing the pre-game national anthem.
57. The climactic finale of the 2022 season will broadcast on Fox with a crew of Kevin Burkhardt (play-by-play), Greg Olsen (color commentary), Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi (sideline reporting), and Mike Pereira (rules analysis). Streaming will also be available on fuboTV.