The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will square off in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12, with NFL immortality on the line. Both of these teams have established themselves as the best in the league, and this clash is full of intriguing subplots.
This will be the first Super Bowl in which two brothers, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Eagles center Jason Kelce, will square off. This is also the first Super Bowl with two Black starting quarterbacks. Andy Reid will become the fifth head coach in Super Bowl history to face his previous club. This hasn’t happened since 2014.
What will the outcome of this match be? Will Patrick Mahomes’ exploits continue, or will the Eagles’ rushing assault triumph? We’ll break down five early bold Super Bowl LVII predictions below.
During the regular season, the Eagles and Chiefs led the league in sacks, with Philadelphia recording 70 and Kansas City getting 55. This is the third Super Bowl involving the top two sacking teams, and the first between teams that had at least 55 sacks during the regular season. Our big prediction is that Mahomes will be sacked five times, a lifetime playoff high for him.
Five sacks of Mahomes, a playoff record
Mahomes has only been sacked five times in his career, and that was against the Arizona Cardinals in 2018. Mahomes was sacked four times in his first Super Bowl play against the San Francisco 49ers. Mahomes was sacked three times in Super Bowl LV against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, despite having a shaky offensive line.
Teams have used many strategies to defend Mahomes. Some have tried blitzing him, while others have sat back with two high safeties. Mahomes has done well against both. In any case, the Eagles ranked first in pass-rush grade this season, according to PFF. In the biggest game of the year, Philadelphia will depend on its strengths.
A touchdown is thrown by Travis Kelce
The Kansas City Chiefs‘ standout tight end was clearly high following the AFC Championship victory against the Cincinnati Bengals. “My body, Burrowhead!” We believe Kelce will throw a touchdown pass to Kadarius Toney in the red zone, something “special” against the Eagles. Kelce is a dynamic red zone danger who can exploit openings in zone coverage or grab a shovel throw up the middle for a touchdown. Coach Reid should come up with something unique in the red zone in Super Bowl LVII.
Kelce has only attempted one pass in the playoffs in his career. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers, that effort resulted in a 2-yard touchdown.
Super Bowl record is set by Jalen Hurts
Hurts is primed to shatter one Super Bowl record in particular, so this may be our least daring prediction. Steve McNair holds the Super Bowl record for most running yards by a quarterback, with 64 yards in Super Bowl XXXIV. Hurts hasn’t rushed for 64 yards since Week 14, but we predict he’ll carry for 65 yards in Super Bowl LVII.
Hurts averaged 50.7 running yards per game this season, only a touch less than the 52.3 he averaged in 2021. His 760 regular-season running yards are second among quarterbacks to reach the Super Bowl, trailing only Russell Wilson in 2014.
Super Bowl MVP candidate C.J. Gardner-Johnson makes his case
The versatile defensive back will play a significant role in the Super Bowl. Ceedy Duce should be able to assist guard Kelce in the passing game as well as as a blitzer. The former Saint has only four career sacks, but he’s the type of guy that induces turnovers in some way. We witnessed that in the divisional round against the New York Giants, when his pressure on Daniel Jones led the quarterback to throw an interception to James Bradberry. Gardner-Johnson will have 1.5 sacks and an interception in the Super Bowl, putting him in contention for Super Bowl MVP.
Despite the game entering OT, the under is successful
This season, the Chiefs topped the AFC in points scored per game with 29.2, while the Eagles led the NFC with 28.1. This will be the seventh Super Bowl involving the highest scoring offenses from each conference. Surprisingly, both clubs scored 546 points this season, including playoffs. On Feb. 12, we predict that the Chiefs and Eagles will score the same number of points in regulation, putting the game into overtime.
This will be the second Super Bowl to go to overtime, the first being Super Bowl LI, in which the Atlanta Falcons blew a 28-3 lead. While Philadelphia and Kansas City will have more time to score points, those who have tickets for the Over will be disappointed. The under will win this game, with the Eagles winning 23-20.
