Super Bowl LVII will pit the top seeds of the AFC and the NFC against each other. It also pits what could be the best brothers in the league.
Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce will face his older brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, in Super Bowl LVII on February 12. It will be the first Super Bowl that will have a pair of brothers facing off. , and has already been dubbed the “Kelce Bowl.”
The Chiefs’ Kelce could have better explained how family feels coming into the game.
“Great stage to be in. My mom can’t lose. I’ll leave it at that,” Travis Kelce said after the Chiefs’ AFC Championship Game win over the Cincinnati Bengals. “It’s going to be an amazing feeling to play against him and obviously I respect everyone in the Eagles organization.”
Travis Kelce added that he won’t “talk too much trash” before and during the game out of respect for his brother. Meanwhile, Jason Kelce set the tone for the game after the Chiefs won on Sunday evening.
“I’ve officially made being a Chiefs fan this season!!” the great Kelce tweeted on Sunday.
While the Kelce brothers already seem to be having fun making Super Bowl history, they aren’t the first set of brothers to go head-to-head against each other for a championship.
Here are some other notable brothers who faced off for a title.
Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams
Arguably the two greatest women’s tennis players in history, the Williams sisters were no strangers to each other on the court.
The siblings met 31 times in singles matches, with Serena winning 19 of them. Nine of those 31 matches reached the final of a Grand Slam tournament. Serena won seven. They met in the Wimbledon final four times, with Serena winning the championship in three of those cases. In 2008, Venus beat Serena in the Wimbledon final. A couple of months later, Serena got her revenge in the US Open quarterfinals, beating her sister in a two-set thriller that required tiebreakers in each set, winning 7–6 (6), 7 -6 (7).
The sisters played on the same side though much of their careers as well. They won 22 doubles titles together, including 14 Grand Slam titles and three Olympic gold medals.
Steph Curry vs. Seth Curry
Arguably three of the greatest three-point shooters in NBA history come from the same family.
The sons of legendary shooting guard Dell Curry squared off in the 2019 Western Conference Finals. Steph Curry’s Warriors bullied his younger brother’s Trail Blazers team, winning the final three games of the series as they rallied from deficits by double digits in every game en route to a sweep.
Steph averaged 36.5 points per game in that series while shooting 42.6% from 3-point range. Seth, who was a role player for the Blazers, scored 6.3 points per game while making 37.5% of his shots from beyond the arc.
Aaron Nola vs. Austin Nola
The brothers’ story was also recently made in MLB baseball.
In the 2022 NLCS between the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Diego Padres, pitcher Aaron Nola and catcher Austin Nola became the first two brothers to face off in MLB postseason history.
The brothers squared off in Game 2. With Aaron on the mound for the Phillies, Austin grounded out in the first at-bat between the two brothers in the second inning. Three innings later, Austin got the comeback against his younger brother, hitting an RBI single that started a rally for the Padres that helped them win Game 2.
Nola’s RBI single against his younger brother led to a funny moment with his father, AJ Nola, who didn’t know how to celebrate the moment.
Aaron laughed, though, when his Phillies team won the final three games of the series to take home the NL pennant.
John Harbaugh vs. Jim Harbaugh
Before there was the Kelce Bowl, there was the Har-bowl.
John Harbaugh’s Ravens team finally made its third AFC Championship appearance in his first five seasons as head coach in 2012. His younger brother, Jim, was waiting for him in the Super Bowl , however, as he won the NFC in just his second season as the 49ers’ head coach.
The big Harbaugh got the Ravens off to a good start with a 28-6 lead in the second half. But when the power went out in the Super Bowl, the younger Harbaugh plotted his comeback. The 49ers made it a 31-29 game with 9:57 left, but missed the 2-point conversion that would have tied it. Harbaugh’s 49ers had one more chance to win the game while trailing 34-29, but fell short.
Dominant brothers of the NFL
Not only will they be facing each other in Super Bowl LVII, but Travis and Jason Kelce are also arguably the best players at their respective positions in recent memory.
Travis Kelce became the second all-time leader in playoff receiving yards (1,467) and playoff touchdowns (15), behind Jerry Rice in both categories.
On the other hand, Jason Kelce has been named a first-team All-Pro five times in his career. He is a mainstay for the Eagles as they look to win their second Super Bowl.
Here are some other dominant brothers in the NFL.
JJ and TJ Watt
Arguably two of the best pass rushers since the turn of the century, the Watt brothers have racked up accolades over the years.
JJ became the second player to win three Defensive Player of the Year awards in NFL history in 2015 after winning the award in 2012 and 2014. Watt recorded 20.5 sacks in two of those three seasons The NFL legend called it a career after 12 seasons in 2022, finishing with 114.5 career sacks and 27 forced fumbles, as he likely will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
TJ has had a similar rise to his older brother. After being drafted in the back half of the first round by the Steelers in 2017, Watt became one of the best pass rushers in the game in 2019. In 2021, he won the Defensive Player of the Year award when he tied Michael Strahan’s record for most. sacks in a single season (22.5), making the Watt brothers the first pair of brothers to win the award.
Ronde and Tiki Barber
Identical twins had identical NFL careers.
Ronde was one of the best safeties in the NFL in the first decade of the 21st century. He earned five All-Pro nominations (three first team) during his 16-year career. A year after leading the league with 10 interceptions in 2001, Barber played a pivotal role in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quest to win Super Bowl XXXVII. He recorded a 92-yard pick-6 in the NFC title game in what was a dominant performance for him as he added four pass deflections.
Tiki’s run was somewhat short, but the runner still enjoyed a very effective 10-year career. Barber peaked in the final three seasons of his career, as the former New York Giant earned all three Pro Bowl honors during that stretch. He rushed for 1,860 yards on 5.2 yards per carry in 2005 as he finished his career with 10,449 rushing yards, making him one of 31 players in NFL history to reach 10,000 rushing yards.
Sterling and Shannon Sharpe
The Sharpe brothers dominated the receiving game in the 1990s.
Sterling Sharpe was a force for the Green Bay Packers, earning three first-team All-Pro awards and five Pro Bowls over his seven-year career. He led the league in receptions three times, recording a game-high 112 in 1993. He also led the league in receiving touchdowns twice, recording a game-high 18 touchdowns in 1994, which was his final season as he retired before hour due to neck injuries.
Shannon Sharpe was one of the greatest tight ends of all time, even though that wasn’t his original position. After struggling at receiver in his first two seasons in the league, the Broncos converted Sharpe from receiver to tight end, a move that boosted the career of Sharpe and the Broncos. He helped the Broncos win back-to-back Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998, earning a first-team All-Pro nod in each season. During his 14-year career, he earned five All-Pro and eight Pro Bowl nominations, adding a third Super Bowl title with the Ravens in 2000.
At the time of his retirement, Sharpe was the all-time leader in receptions (815), yards (10,060) and touchdowns (62) among tight ends.
Peyton and Eli Manning
This list obviously wouldn’t be complete without the Manning brothers.
Peyton was one of the most decorated quarterbacks in NFL history, winning a record five MVPs and two Super Bowl titles. He also holds the single-season records for passing touchdowns (55) and passing yards (5,477), both of which he set in the Denver Broncos’ memorable 2013 campaign. He actually set the single-season touchdown record with the Indianapolis Colts in 2004 before that, as he finished third all-time in passing touchdowns (539) and passing yards (71,940).
Eli wasn’t as dominant as his older brother, but he certainly had his highlights. He led the Giants to two Super Bowl titles, including in 2007 when they defeated the New England Patriots 18-0 in one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history. He beat New England again in the Super Bowl in 2011, throwing for 296 yards and a touchdown to win his second Super Bowl MVP. Manning also finished his 16-year career with four Pro Bowls.
The Manning brothers have also been dominant in their post-playing days. They’ve won over NFL fans with the popular “Manningcast” and will coach each other in the 2023 Pro Bowl, making for some fun moments.
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