By LUT WILLIAMS BCSP Editor
Super Bowl LVIII kicks off this Sunday in Glendale, Arizona pitting the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs against the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles in the game to determine the champion of American pro football.
Kickoff for the game is set for 4:30 p.m. MST (6:30 ET) and will be carried live nationally on Fox. Both teams enter the game at 14-3.
Black college players in Super Bowl LVII
Both teams will feature prominent and significant players from the black college ranks.
Philadelphia has seven-year veteran defensive tackle Javon Hargrave out of South Carolina State.
Kansas City has rookie defensive backs Joshua Williams out of Fayetteville State and Bryan Cook who played collegiately at Howard and Cincinnati.
Javon Hargrave
Hargave, who wears No. 97 for the Eagles, had a career year in the 2022-23
season. The former third-round draft pick by Pittsburgh played in all 17 regular season games for the Eagles in his third season with the team after playing his first four years with the Steelers.
This season he posted a career-high 11 sacks, reaching double-digits in sacks for the first time in his career. Hargrave tied for second on the team with two others with his 11 sacks.
He had 60 tackles on the season (3.53 per game), fifth best on the team, with 37.0 solo stops. Hargrave was also credited with 16 quarterback hurries. He will be a key component of the Eagles’ pass rush and run defense.
Hargave also had one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries while playing 64% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps.
Bryan Cook and Joshua Williams
Cook was taken in the second round of this year’s draft while Williams went to the Chiefs in the fourth round. Cook wears No. 6 and plays primarily at safety while Williams wears No. 23 and is a cornerback.
Both rookies were key contributors for the Chiefs. Both played in 16 of the 17 regular season games.
Williams finished with 39 tackles, tied for 11th best on the team, while Cook had 27, 16th best. Williams had 27 solos while Cook had 19. Each had one tackle for loss. Williams had one regular career-high 11 sacks, reaching double-digits in sacks for the first time in his career. Hargrave tied for second on the team with two others with his 11 sacks.
He had 60 tackles on the season (3.53 per game), fifth best on the team, with 37.0 solo stops. Hargrave was also credited with 16 quarterback hurries. He will be a key component of the Eagles’ pass rush and run defense.
Hargave also had one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries while playing 64% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps.
More interesting facts
Among the more interesting facts of Super Bowl LVII is that it will for the first time match two African-American starting quarterbacks in Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts.
Additionally, the game will have brothers on opposite teams. Travis Kelce is the Chiefs’ all-pro tight end while brother Jason Kelce is the Eagles’ all-pro center.
This will be Kansas City’s fifth Super Bowl, following wins in Super Bowls IV and LIV, with losses in Super Bowls I and LV. The Chiefs also won the American Football League championship in 1962.
It will be Philadelphia’s fourth Super Bowl, following a win in Super Bowl LII and losses in Super Bowls XV and XXXIX. The Eagles also won three pre-Super Bowl NFL championships in 1948, 1949, and 1960.
As the designated home team in the Super Bowl’s annual rotation between the two conferences, the Eagles chose to wear their green home jerseys with white pants. The Chiefs will wear their white away jerseys with red pants.
