In this age of the salary cap, free agency and NFL parity, any team can – in theory – beat any other on any given Sunday.

By this logic, we should not be preparing for a second Super Bowl in three years between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.

But what this – and the continued excellent of the Andy Reid-led Chiefs over the past seven years – shows us is that the cream always rises to the top and the best-run franchises are able to put themselves in contention every year.

But how different will this year’s rematch of Super Bowl LVII, which saw the Chiefs triumph 38-35 over the Eagles, be from the 2023 clash? DAZN News takes a look what has changed – for better or for worse – for each franchise over the past two seasons.

Philadelphia Eagles

Coaches

Starting with the coaching staff, Nick Sirianni remains in charge of the Eagles and now has a 53-23 record over his four years calling the shots.

Success in the NFL usually comes with the byproduct of seeing your coaching staff picked apart, with Sirianni’s offensive coordinator from the 2022 Super Bowl run Shane Steichen being hired by the Indianapolis Colts as their new head coach, while his defensive counterpart Jonathan Gannon landed the top job with the Arizona Cardinals.

Their replacements Brian Johnson and Sean Desai struggled in 2023 and were replaced by Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio, who have both enjoyed excellent seasons, so you can argue that the Eagles are better served in this department than they were two years ago.

• WATCH: Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX for 0.99p (check price in your country here).

Offense

One name jumps out here, as the acquisition of Saquon Barkley this offseason was perhaps the year’s best free agent signing, with the former New York Giant transforming how the Eagles play.

No NFL team ran the ball more than the Eagles did in the regular season, meaning the more balanced 2023 offense has been superseded by a run-heavy unit.

While this has improved the Eagles’ offense overall, it has come at the slight cost of losing some of the dynamism that Jalen Hurts is capable of. Whereas before, Hurts could take an offense apart with both his arms and his legs, he now finds himself in a position where risk-taking is discouraged, as a stout defense and superb running game is an age-old formula to success in the NFL.

Defense

Fangio is one of the game’s most shrewd defensive minds and his version of the Eagles defense sees a lot more variety in their pass coverage packages, while his ability to disguise his fronts has caused issues for opponents all season.

In terms of personnel, the Eagles have added a number key pieces from their previous Super Bowl appearance at all levels. Second-year defensive tackle Jalen Carter is now one of that unit’s leaders, while Zack Baun has developed into one of the NFL’s best linebackers and rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell has hit the ground running. This is again a better unit than the Chiefs had to deal with in 2023.

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Kansas City Chiefs

Coaches

What perhaps separates the Chiefs from the NFL’s wannabes is their ability to keep their core coaching staff intact. Andy Reid is still able to call on offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and defensive guru Steve Spagnuolo, who helped mastermind the win over the Eagles 24 months ago.

Nagy has been able to demonstrate a mixture of styles and the skill to adapt to changing personnel at a time when the team have put more resources into their defence, which has been masterly steered by Spagnuolo, who is perhaps the best coordinator the modern day NFL has ever seen.

As for Reid, he continues to deliver and should the Chiefs triumph in New Orleans, he will be only 28 wins behind Bill Belichick in the all-time list of head coach wins and only two rings behind him.

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Offense

As mentioned above, the Chiefs’ offense has had to adapt in recent years and the days of an explosive passing attack featuring the likes of Tyreek Hill are long gone.

The current Chiefs side can be far more attritional at times, with their heavy use of multiple tight ends and Mahomes’ quick wits keeping the ball moving. Rookie wideout Xavier Worthy’s threat has continued to grow in recent weeks, while Travis Kelce continues to be Mahomes’ favourite target, as evident in the Divisional Round win over the Houston Texans when the 35-year-old hauled in seven passes for 117 yards, his first 100-yard effort of the entire season.

So is this Kansas City offense better or worse than 2023? It’s certainly efficient when it has to be and more wily, but it’s hard to argue that there has been any improvement.

Defense

Last year was the first in the Chiefs’ current run where the defense could seriously be considered a better unit than their Mahomes-led offense and Spagnuolo’s group has continued to kick on. Getting Chris Jones re-signed last offseason was huge and the development of their young players under Spagnuolo’s guidance has seen this defense reach a new height.