Super Bowl Sunday is nearly here, bringing excitement and anticipation ahead of the biggest sporting event of the year.
With the Kansas City Chiefs (15-2) and Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) set to square off at the Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 9 for National Football League (NFL) glory, here is everything you need to know before choosing which team to root for (or against).
Five Key Storylines:
With Super Bowl LIX filled with storied franchises, superstar talent and marquee matchups, the narratives are endless. Here are five of the biggest storylines ahead of the championship game.
Super Bowl LVII Rematch
Super Bowl LIX will mark the second time in three years that the Eagles and Chiefs will meet in the Super Bowl after a thrilling Super Bowl LVII that saw Kansas City victorious, 38-35, to begin their reign of back-to-back titles.
But the Eagles, who are destined to re-write the ending of Super Bowl LVII, have stated that they’ve been dreaming of redemption since the conclusion of their Super Bowl loss two years ago.
Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni said in a press conference on Jan. 28 that their team is using the heartbreaking loss from 2023 as motivation while learning from the lessons the game taught them.
Sirianni’s message of being “tough, detailed and together” will be looked upon to overcome the forthcoming hurdles in the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, are looking for déjà vu after outscoring the Eagles 24-11 in the second half of Super Bowl LVII to steal the title. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes passed for three touchdowns in the contest while Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw one and rushed for three touchdowns in the defeat.
Will history repeat itself, or will the Eagles find a way to slay the dragon that is the Kansas City Chiefs?
Chasing History
Three consecutive titles — that’s the achievement the Chiefs hope to reach if they’re able to successfully withstand a determined Eagles team on Sunday.
No team has ever won three Super Bowls in a row, and only nine have won twice straight, with the most recent being the New England Patriots who won back-to-back titles a couple of decades ago in 2003 and 2004.
The first of the Chiefs’ back-to-back Super Bowl championships came against the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII in Arizona before defeating the San Francisco 49ers in overtime, 25-22, only a season ago.
The last big-four sports team (NHL, NFL, NBA and MLB) that won three straight championships was the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers from 2000-2002, and now only 60 minutes of football are standing in the Chiefs’ way of a spot in the history books.
Catching the G.O.A.T.
We’ve seen LeBron vs. M.J., Ronaldo vs. Messi, Gretzky vs. Lemieux and now we have Brady vs. Mahomes.
Yes, Tom Brady’s seven Super Bowl rings are still in the distance, but if Patrick Mahomes can win a fourth at the age of 29, the gap is narrowed, especially since Brady only had three at that same age.
Mahomes has already won two league MVPs — Brady only won three over his entire career — and the Chiefs’ quarterback is only one Offensive Player of the Year award behind Brady. Similarly, Mahomes is only three All-Pro selections short of matching Brady despite (likely) a decade or more of football still ahead of him.
So no, the outcome of this game won’t distinguish the G.O.A.T., but it would go a long way in potentially swaying one guy over the other.
Fun Fact: Making matters more interesting for the casual viewer, Brady will be the colour analyst on the NFL on FOX’s broadcast of the Super Bowl alongside play-by-play commentator Kevin Burkhardt.
Barkley vs. Spagnuolo
One of the more intriguing matchups of Super Bowl LIX is the battle at the line of scrimmage.
Saquon Barkley, one of the five MVP finalists from this season, became the ninth running back in NFL history to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in a single season. Barkley followed up his sensational regular season with a 123-scrimmage-yard performance in the NFC Divisional Round against the Green Bay Packers before breaking loose for three rushing touchdowns in Philadelphia’s trouncing of the Washington Commanders, 55-23, in the NFC Championship.
But the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, one of the brightest defensive minds in the game who’s leading one of the league’s top defences, hopes to shut down Barkley, who’s poised to win Super Bowl MVP if the Eagles come out victorious.
The battle at the line of scrimmage when Philly is on offence is one of the more interesting battles that will determine the outcome of the game. Spagnuolo’s blitz packages, including a corner blitz that seemingly ended the game against the Bills, may force the Eagles’ hand to throw the ball more — something they’ve done scarcely all year, ranking 29th of 32 teams in passing yards per game in the regular season (187.9) while finishing second in rushing yards (179.3).
But if Barkley and the Eagles are able to break through the line of scrimmage via their number-one ranked offensive line, it could be a long night for the Chiefs’ defence.
Officiating
Whether you like it or not, it wouldn’t be appropriate to highlight a Chiefs game without discussing officiating. The topic of discussion by many fans for the last few years — with greater emphasis this year after Kansas City’s two playoff wins this season, 24-14 against the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional Round and 32-29 over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship — has been the alleged “favouritism” in officiating towards the Chiefs.
While conspiracy theorists have pointed to Xavier Worthy’s catch in the AFC Championship that appeared to may have hit the ground and Josh Allen’s potential first down in the fourth quarter of that game, which was ruled short and changed the complexion of the game, league officials have stated that there is no substance to the perceived bias towards Kansas City.
It will be interesting to see how officiating will play into the narratives drawn from the Super Bowl and if any questionable calls will undermine the outcome of the game in the eyes of fans.
Head-to-Head:
Kansas City leads the all-time series against Philadelphia 6-5, which includes winning four of the last five matchups dating back to the 2013 season, highlighted by their Super Bowl LVII triumph in 2023.
However, the Eagles have the slight edge in points scored (275 to 273) and defeated the Chiefs in their last meeting in November 2023.
11/20/23 — Philadelphia Eagles 21, Kansas City Chiefs 17
02/12/23 — Kansas City Chiefs 38, Philadelphia Eagles 35
10/03/21 — Kansas City Chiefs 42, Philadelphia Eagles 30
09/17/17 — Philadelphia Eagles 20, Kansas City Chiefs 27
09/19/13 — Kansas City Chiefs 26, Philadelphia Eagles 16
09/27/09 — Kansas City Chiefs 14, Philadelphia Eagles 34
10/02/05 — Philadelphia Eagles 37, Kansas City Chiefs 31
11/29/01 — Philadelphia Eagles 23, Kansas City Chiefs 10
09/27/98 — Kansas City Chiefs 24, Philadelphia Eagles 21
10/11/92 — Philadelphia Eagles 17, Kansas City Chiefs 24
10/22/72 — Philadelphia Eagles 21, Kansas City Chiefs 20
Fun Fact: The Chiefs are designated as the road team for Super Bowl LIX and the road team has won eight of the 11 matchups (72.7 per cent) in the Eagles-Chiefs all-time series.
Predictions:
Predicting the outcome of any sporting event is hard, and this being the biggest game of the year makes it astronomically so. Here is my attempt at picking the winner, final score and Super Bowl MVP of Super Bowl LIX.
Super Bowl Winner: Kansas City Chiefs
It’s hard to bet against the Chiefs, who have only lost three playoff games in the Patrick Mahomes era (17-3 record) and seemingly always find a way to grind out a win on the biggest stages.
Kansas City’s active streak of winning 17-straight one-possession games (wins of eight points or less) is a testament to the Chiefs’ dawg mentality of fighting hard for every yard on each play regardless of the score.
Expect Kansas City to claw their way to another tight victory, something they’ve done in all three of their 21st century Super Bowl victories.
Score: 30-27
It’s going to be a close one, as it always seems to be in Chiefs games this season.
If there is a trend in Kansas City’s three titles under Mahomes, it’s that they start slow but rally in the third and fourth quarters, scoring 31, 25 and 38 points in each of their three titles since 2020.
The Eagles have also been explosive, tallying 35 points in their Super Bowl loss in 2023 and eclipsing 55 points to advance to the Super Bowl. Philadelphia is also the league leader in postseason points per game, averaging 35 points a contest while the Chiefs rank fifth with 27.5 points per game.
While it’s unlikely either team will hit the 50-point plateau in this one, expect a high-scoring matchup with both teams trading touchdowns late.
Super Bowl MVP: Patrick Mahomes
Typically, the quarterback of the winning team is named the Super Bowl MVP, and you should expect nothing different this time around. The three-time Super Bowl MVP is the front-runner to win his fourth if the Chiefs claim the title, but the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts may have something to say about that.
The last time a non-quarterback won Super Bowl MVP was in 2022, when the Los Angeles Rams’ Cooper Kupp notched eight catches, two touchdowns and 92 yards. Kupp is one of only two non-quarterbacks (including Julian Edelman in Super Bowl LIII) to win Super Bowl MVP in the last decade.
Fun Fact: In the 58 years of the Super Bowl, only one player — Chuck Howley in Super Bowl V — won MVP on the losing team.
Fun Bets:
For non-football diehards, the Super Bowl is a great way to party with friends and bet on things that seem irrational to win (or in many cases, lose) money on, but elevate the experience. Here are my predictions for some fun prop bets during the Super Bowl.
Length of Anthem: 121 seconds (2 minutes, 1 second)
Honestly, betting on the anthem is a crapshoot with every hold of a note or every quick transition of a verse making or breaking your bet.
New Orleans singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, Jon Batiste, is slated to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the length of his rendition is unknown.
After tabulating the average anthem length of the last 10 Super Bowls (120.5 seconds), my prediction takes the easy way out, rounding the average to the nearest whole second.
Coin Toss: Tails
Literally a 50/50 chance: heads or tails.
Over the 58 previous Super Bowls, heads hit 28 times — including last year — with tails hitting 30 times, highlighting the even chance of either outcome.
Following the famous mantra, “Tails never fails,” my pick is in hope that heads isn’t hit for a second consecutive year while acknowledging the totally arbitrary perceived success of tails in coin tosses.
Halftime Show First Song: “Money Trees”
For those that weren’t aware, the Apple Music Halftime Show features Kendrick Lamar in what will be the rapper’s second Super Bowl Halftime Show appearance after featuring in the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show alongside megastars Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and 50 Cent.
With over 70 singles and 22 Grammys to his name, it’s hard to pinpoint which song he’s going to open the show with, but “Money Trees” is one of my personal favourites, making it my selection for the Halftime Show’s opening song.
Gatorade Colour: Purple
If my prediction is correct and the Chiefs are victorious, then purple seems like a safe bet.
After Kansas City’s last two Super Bowl triumphs in 2023 and 2024, Andy Reid — head coach of the Chiefs — was dunked in purple Gatorade by his team and it would be odd if the Chiefs changed their Gatorade preferences after the success they’ve endured with purple electrolytes in their systems.
However, if the Chiefs don’t win and in fact the Eagles’ Sirianni is bathed in Gatorade, yellow or green is a leading candidate as that was the colour of Philadelphia’s Gatorade after they drenched Sirianni following their NFC Championship win a couple of weeks ago.
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Whether you’re looking forward to the entertaining Super Bowl commercials, snacking with friends or want to enjoy what should be an exhilarating game of football, Super Bowl Sunday can’t come soon enough with fans eager to see the league’s top two teams battle for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Catch all the action on TSN and CTV on Feb. 9 beginning at 10 a.m., with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m.
For information about the Super Bowl, visit nfl.com.