In a rematch from two years ago, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs will face down in New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX. The stakes are at an all-time high, with the Chiefs aiming at becoming the NFL's only team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
The game, which will air on Fox at 6:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, will be the Eagles' chance to not only stop Patrick Mahomes but also get revenge after losing the 2023 Super Bowl when Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker made a short field gold in the last eight seconds of the game.
While the neither of the three New York teams made it to the big game, New Jersey will be represented by five players who were born in the Garden State and play for the Super Bowl-bound teams.
So, who are the players representing the tri-state area?
Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco
The Vineland, New Jersey, native will make his third consecutive Super Bowl appearance on Sunday as the Chiefs' running back. Pacheco, who has Puerto Rican heritage, also played football with the Rutgers Scartlet Knights from 2018 to 2021, until he was drafted by Kansas 251st overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.
According to Rutgers University, he is the first running back in NFL history to start and win two championships in his first two seasons.
Eagles quarterback Kenny Picket
The 2022 first-round pick from Oakhurst, New Jersey, will make his Super Bowl debut as a backup quarterback with the Eagles. He played in five regular season games and the Eagles vs. Commanders NFC championship.
According to his team biography, Pickett grew up as an Eagles fan as his dad grew up in the Philly area and then moved to New Jersey. He prepped at Ocean Township High School, where he was rated as "the nation's No. 10 pro-style QB" BY 247Sports.
Chiefs OL C.J. Hanson
The rookie from Wyckoff, New Jersey, will close his first NFL season with the Kansas City Chiefs with a trip to the Super Bowl as his team looks to obtain its third consecutive championship. The seventh-round pick did not start for DePaul Catholic High School until his senior year, which made him a no-star recruit because of his lack of game experience.
He earned a full-time starting role with Holy Cross two years after joining the program.
Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
While Trotter attended St. Joseph's Prep high school in Philadelphia, he grew up in Hainesport Township, a town 24 miles outside of Philly. He made his first career start in the Eagles' 20-13 win over the New York Giants and recorded 11 tackles.
He is the son of former linebacker and Eagles Hall of Famer Jeremiah Trotter, who played eight seasons with Philadelphia and is considered as the pulse of the Eagles' dominant defense in the early 2000s.
Eagles long snapper Rick Lovato
A member of the Eagles' Super Bowl roster in 2017 and 2022, the Middletown, New Jersey, native will make his third championship appearance as the team's long snapper.
Lovato has deep New Jersey roots. After graduating from Old Dominion University, he returned to the Garden State to work at his family's deli in Lincroft while training at the same time to earn a sport in the NFL. He played a total of four games with the Green Bay Packers and the Washington Redskins before being acquired as a free agent by Philadelphia in the 2016 season.
