The Super Bowl Winner Will Accomplish An Interesting Feat
The Super Bowl matchup is set. NFC Champion, the Philadelphia Eagles will face off against AFC Champion, the Kansas City Chiefs. Phoenix, Arizona will be the host city with the game occurring at State Farm Stadium. Interesting enough, whoever wins the Super Bowl, would have had more wins in Glendale during the 2022 season, than the home team Arizona Cardinals.
A Disappointing Season In The Desert
The Arizona Cardinals finished the 2021 season with a promising 11-6 record and lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champion the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round. This season was supposed to an improvement with quarterback Kyler Murray signing a five year extension in July. The Cardinals started the season 2-2 before going 2-11 the rest of the way including losing the final seven games. Injuries stacked up, which sputtered any chance of momentum.
In 2022, the Cardinals had nine home games going just 1-8. Their lone home victory was against the New Orleans Saints back in Week 7 by a score of 42-34. Both of this year’s Super Bowl teams have already been to Glendale as a visiting team earlier in the season, so they both equal the Cardinals with one win in Arizona.
The Cardinals lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week One 44-21. Murray was effective throwing for nearly 200 yards, two touchdowns, and no turnovers, but the defense was no match for the Chiefs. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed over 75% of his passes for 360 yards, and five touchdowns.
Arizona fared a little better in their Week Five matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles but still lost 20-17. The Eagles built up a 14-0 lead, so the Cardinals had to play catch-up the entire game. Murray had an interception compared to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts who played mistake free and produced a combined 300 yards of offense (passing and rushing). Arizona nearly tied it to force overtime, but a missed Matt Ammendola field goal prevented the comeback bid.
The Home Team Hosting The Super Bowl Streak Is Over
A Super Bowl team never hosted the big game in their home stadium until Super Bowl 55, which was just two years ago. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended up winning that game over the Chiefs in a reduced crowd due to the pandemic at their own Raymond James Stadium. A year later, the Los Angeles Rams did the same thing. They hosted and won the Super Bowl at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium.
The Cardinals were looking to make it three years in a row, but instead the Super Bowl winner will either be Philadelphia or Kansas City. Whoever wins the game could claim Arizona their second home as they would have won more times in that stadium this season than the Cardinals did.