The University of Phoenix Stadium is the arena. The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles are the teams. Super Bowl LVII is the event.
The stage is set for Sunday’s showpiece fixture in the National Football League and fans will see either the Chiefs or the Eagles celebrating Super Bowl glory this weekend.
Undoubtedly one of the great sporting events of the year, the Vince Lombardi Trophy awaits the winning team and both organisations have enjoyed success in recent times.
The Eagles, buoyed by one of the great Super Bowl plays with the Philly Special, prevailed at Super Bowl LII while the Chiefs – competing in their third Super Bowl in four years – were victorious at Super Bowl LIV.
There really is very little to split the two teams. If you’re struggling to make your pick, there are plenty of NFL odds and predictions at covers.com to help ahead of Sunday’s big game.
Soaring Eagles Unstoppable?
The early sports betting markets have the Eagles as narrow favourites (4/5) and Philadelphia supporters will be quietly confident of a second Super Bowl success in six years.
With a regular season record of 14-3, the Eagles clinched the number one seed in the AFC Conference and home advantage throughout the playoffs certainly helped.
In fact, Philadelphia demolished their rivals en route to the Super Bowl – first defeating the New York Giants 38-7 before a similarly destructive 31-7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
A historic matchup@JalenHurts | @PatrickMahomes | #SuperBowlLVII pic.twitter.com/rtoGVNGv1l
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) February 7, 2023
Jalen Hurts was simply sublime throughout the regular season, recording a 22-6 touchdown to interception ratio while completing 66.5% of his pass attempts.
In addition, he offered a viable threat in the running game. Hurts finished the season with an impressive 760 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns in 15 appearances.
A well-oiled machine on offence, the Eagles are one of the most effective teams in the NFL at moving the chains and they are worthy favourites for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Reddick Leading Defence
The Philly defence has been outstanding this season as well, notching 70.0 sacks to lead the NFL. To put this into perspective, the Chiefs are next best with a combined 55.0 sacks.
With concerns over Patrick Mahomes and his mobility, the Philadelphia defensive front will be smelling blood and we should expect a fast start from the Eagles in that regard.
Haason Reddick is the player to keep an eye on. He finished the 2022 regular season with 16.0 sacks and leads the postseason statistics with 3.5.
Eagles' Haason Reddick reveling in journey to Super Bowl LVII after early career struggles: "I'm here, baby"https://t.co/GpLj2Lg23t pic.twitter.com/Mdlotq99rI
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) February 7, 2023
The 13th overall pick from the 2017 NFL Draft has been playing with a chip on his shoulder this season, having failed to impress the Carolina Panthers last term.
He could be a dark horse for the Super Bowl MVP award. Defensive players rarely win the accolade but Reddick is a contender if he can make a big play or two.
Experience Key For Chiefs
Appearing in the Super Bowl for the third time in four seasons, the Chiefs have that crucial big game experience and Andy Reid is among the best head coaches in the NFL.
In Reid and Mahomes, the Chiefs have an edge at the two most important positions but of course there are no guarantees that either will bring their A-game on Sunday night.
However, as mentioned by Jason Bell in his NFL blog last week, there is something about the Kansas City Chiefs that gives them an edge whenever they take to the field.
While the Eagles have blown their rivals away, Kansas City are more battle hardened after coming out on top in two one-score games in the postseason.
Now unbeaten in seven straight games, the Chiefs have clicked into gear in recent months and an extra week off to get healthy could prove decisive.
Super Bowl LVII Prediction
While it won’t go down as the highest scoring Super Bowl of all-time, this looks like it could be a bit of a shootout between two of the best quarterbacks in the game.
A lot will depend on the fitness of Mahomes but if he’s good to go then the Chiefs will take some stopping in Arizona this weekend.
Anything can happen in the Super Bowl and this one is tough to call but Mahomes is the X-Factor and he can make the difference in a close encounter.
Super Bowl score prediction: Kansas City Chiefs 31-28 Philadelphia Eagles
