After two polar opposite playoff runs, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs will face off in Super Bowl LVII. Philadelphia has demolished both the Giants and 49ers en route to their 3rd Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. On the other side, Kansas City has had to be much more resilient in clinching their Super Bowl LVII berth. Both of their games being decided by 1 score.
Philadelphia and Kansas City both enter Arizona with a 16-3 record, the #1 seed in their respective Conferences. Additionally, they’ve both scored 546 points, include the playoffs. The storylines for this matchup could go on forever. For the first time in Super Bowl history, we will see two brothers competing against each in Travis and Jason Kelce. The starting quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes, are the front runners for NFL MVP. There are questions surrounding Patrick Mahomes, after suffering a high ankle sprain in the Divisional Round against Jacksonville. Perhaps the most notable storyline is Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid coaching against his longtime team in Philadelphia. Reid took the Eagles to 5 NFC Championships, 1 Super Bowl and 6 division titles in his tenure with the team. Strap in because Super Bowl LVII has all the makings of an instant classic.
Kansas City Chiefs (+104) at Philadelphia Eagles (-122) – Sunday, 6:30pm EST
Kansas City comes into Super Bowl LVII after two tough fought football games. They had to put out the streaking Jaguars late season fire and kick a last second field goal to take care of the Bengals in the AFC Championship game. If they aren’t battle tested enough, this is their 3rd Super Bowl appearance in the past five seasons with Patrick Mahomes at the helm. This team is no stranger to the big stage.
Mahomes is coming off a career high in passing yards (5,250) and has continued this brilliance into the postseason. The Chiefs quarterback sustained a high ankle sprain early in the Divisional Round game against the Jaguars and still managed to throw for over 300 yards and 2 touchdowns in the AFC Championship game. The ankle will not be an issue as they are set to face a ferocious Eagles defense. Kansas City’s offensive line will be the key to this offense getting anything going on Sunday. They have yet to face a defensive line as physical and as talented as Philadelphia. Kansas City activated running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire this week which will add an extra threat to this offense should they use him. The Chiefs have found a good balance between running backs Jerick McKinnon and Isiah Pacheco. Kansas City lives and dies by the pass game and will be up against a pass defense that is just as good.
The Chiefs’ defensive unit comes in around mid-pack in both yards allowed per game (351), passing yards allowed per game (220.9) and points allowed per game (21.7). They will be facing the 9th ranked passing offense and the 5th ranked rushing offense in the NFL. They have been stingy against the run, especially this postseason. The leading rusher against them this postseason was Travis Etienne, who ran for just 62 yards in the Divisional Round game. Kansas City has yet to face a running attack quite as efficient as Philadelphia’s run game. This will be the key for this defense.
As good as Philadelphia is in the passing game, it will be essential to make quarterback Jalen Hurts beat them with his arm. The last thing this defense wants is extended time on the field which keeps the ball out of Mahomes’ hands. The Chiefs will be entrusting rookie cornerback Trent McDuffie and 3rd year corner L’Jarius Sneed to shut down wide receivers AJ Brown and Devonta Smith, both 1,000-yard receivers this season.
Kansas City Chiefs Notable Injuries: WR Mecole Hardman (IR)
Philadelphia’s playoff run couldn’t differ any more from the Chiefs run to the Super Bowl. The Eagles have had the luxury of pulling their starters in both games this postseason. They routed their NFC East division rival, New York Giants, 38-7 in the Divisional Round. They then followed this up by annihilating San Francisco 31-7 in the NFC Championship game. After going 1-2 in their final 3 regular season games, Philadelphia has gotten back to their midseason form. MVP candidate Jalen Hurts’ stats have not jumped off the page these past two games. However, he has played mistake free football.
The Eagles offense is a powerhouse starting with their offensive line. The unsung hero in the Divisional Round was running back Kenneth Gainwell. Gainwell rushed for 112 yards and 1 touchdown. Miles Sanders rushed for 90 yards as well. The Philadelphia offense is following the same running back by committee strategy that led them to a Super Bowl victory in 2018. In the NFC Championship game, the Eagles’ offense played mistake free football and hung a casual 31 points on the NFL’s number 1 defense in San Francisco. The recipe for this offense and Jalen Hurts is simple. Run the football and don’t make mistakes. If they do these things, Chiefs’ defense will be in shambles all night.
Perhaps the most exciting matchup of Super Bowl LVII will be seeing the number 1 passing offense in Kansas City pitted up against Philadelphia’s number 1 pass defense. The Eagles’ defense has had a historic season all around. They had 70 sacks this season, good for 3rd all time. They have been relentless all year at getting after the quarterback. This has never been more evident than it was in the NFC Championship game. Not only did they knock Brock Purdy out of the game, but they even knocked out backup Josh Johnson as well. Haason Reddick has become an instant favorite in Philadelphia this season and continues to shine on football’s biggest stage. Reddick has 3.5 sacks this postseason as well as a force fumble and fumble recovery against the Niners. He currently leads all defensive players in Super Bowl MVP odds (+3400). Reddick is just one of many dogs on this Philadelphia’ defensive line. They have been the best all season at getting after the quartback and Sunday will be their biggest test of the season.
Philadelphia Eagles Notable Injuries: N/A
Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl 57 Picks
It is always difficult to bet against superstars especially one as talented as Patrick Mahomes. However, Philadelphia has the better roster in this matchup. Kansas City has not seen a rushing attack quite as good as the one the Eagles possess. Keeping Mahomes off the field will be the key and Philadelphia has the weapons on offense to do exactly that. The front four for the Eagles’ defensive line is still continuing to peak this late in the year and will make it incredibly difficult for Mahomes to do what he does. In the end, Philadelphia will prove to be too strong for Kansas City and will capture their 2nd Super Bowl victory in franchise history.
Final Score: Philadelphia 27 – Kansas City 17
Wicked Wager – Eagles ML (-122)
Wicked Player Prop: AJ Brown Anytime Touchdown Scorer (+120)