The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles face off at Super Bowl LVII on Sunday night at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Both Kansas City and Philadelphia finished with a 14-3 SU regular season record and both were the top seeds in their respective conference. Kansas City has played two close playoff games, beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-20 in the Divisional round before eking out a 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Title Game.
Meanwhile, the Eagles have had an easy route to the Super Bowl. Philadelphia defeated the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers by an aggregate score of 69-14. During the NFC title game, Philadelphia took advantage of an injury-depleted 49ers team which lost its third and 4th string quarterbacks to injury during the game.
These two teams have played 9 times in the past, with the Chiefs leading their all-time series 5-4. The last time these teams met however was way back on October 3, 2021, when the Chiefs defeated the Eagles 42-30.
The Eagles are currently slight -123 Moneyline favorites at online sportsbook BetOnline with the Chiefs coming back at +103 odds.
The spread has moved up and down since opening. Kansas City opened as the 2.5-point favorites to win Super Bowl LVI. The line swung as far as -2.5 points for the Eagles before settling at -2 for Philly. Then when the Kansas City betting money came, those odds dropped to -1.5 for the Eagles.
On the other hand, the number on the total has been bullish. It opened at 48.5 and is now at 50.5 and could still climb with a couple of days left to bet.
Let us look at the betting trends and make our Super Bowl LVII predictions:
The market on the Chiefs isn’t as high as you would expect. But that’s because Kansas City had close games with both the Jaguars and Bengals. The Chiefs are also dealing with injuries on both sides of the ball.
Patrick Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain against the Jaguars. Wide receivers Kadarius Toney, Juju Smith-Schuster, and Mecole Hardman all left the AFC title game with injuries. Defensive standouts Gay and Sneed were also hurt in that game. Those players however have two weeks between their injuries and Super Bowl LVI so the Chiefs had the time to heal up.
The Eagles massacred their previous two playoff opponents winning by an aggregate score of 69-14. Last weekend, Philadelphia took advantage of a 49ers team that ran out of quarterbacks and was forced to play with an injured Brock Purdy because they had no one else to play behind center.
The Chiefs are 7-11-1 ATS this season while the Eagles are 10-9 ATS this year, including 2-0 ATS in the postseason.
Kansas City has not missed Tyreek Hill at all this season. Prior to Sunday’s game. The Chiefs saw their 3 wide receivers get hurt last Sunday and although they had two weeks to heal up, they will be facing a Philadelphia Eagles team that led the NFL in quarterback sacks.
Philadelphia also has the best rushing attack in the NFL and with a dual-threat QB, they should be looking to run the football at Super Bowl LVII. That may be the formula to beat the high-scoring Kansas City machines. While the Chiefs’ defense has improved in recent weeks, they still lean on the arm of Patrick Mahomes to win games.
But not only will Mahomes be facing the best pressure defense in the league, but he will also be playing two weeks after suffering a high ankle sprain. Sure, he’s not missed action due to that injury, but if he’s still hurting, facing the Philly pass rush could be a tough task.
I can see the Eagles running the football as much as they can, limiting Mahomes’ trips to the field. Jalen Hurts will hurt the Chiefs with his arm and legs. This one will be close to what the oddsmakers are predicting. But I think the Eagles will win a tightly-contested Super Bowl by keeping Mahomes on the bench.
Prediction: Philadelphia Eagles
Both the Chiefs and Eagles have gone under in each of their last two postseason games and have produced more under games in their recent games, with Kansas City going 4-1 to the under in their last five assignments and the Eagles hitting the under in each of their last four games.
The current total is lower than the closing total of the previous six Super Bowls. That may be surprising given the offensive prowess of both teams. However, both KC and Philadelphia also play with excellent defensive teams which are often overshadowed by how good their offenses have been.
The Eagles were one of the best defensive teams in the NFL during the regular season. They have a very good defensive line that produced a league-best 70 sacks last season.
Their secondary also offered excellent protection against the deep ball and allowed an average of only 1.2 passing touchdowns per game.
As in the previous seasons, the Kansa City defense has stepped up when it mattered most. Their aggressive defensive line is among the best in pressuring opposing quarterbacks. The pass rush was on full display last weekend, registering 5 sacks against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Both teams have excellent offensive units. But you have to think that the Eagles’ best shot at winning this game is to run the football and slow down the Mahomes machine. To do that, they need to slow down the game and keep him off the field.
The under is 9-3 in the combined last 12 games played by the Eagles and Chiefs. The over has not hit since the Eagles were last in the Super Bowl five years ago.
Prediction: Under 50.5
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