Chiefs vs. Eagles (-1.5)

Sunday @ 5:30

Chiefs by Brady Goodman

The Kansas City Chiefs are returning to their third Super Bowl in four years. This time will be the first where Mahomes and company are the underdog (the Chiefs enter the game as 1.5 point underdogs). In Super Bowl 54, the Chiefs were favored by 1.5. In Super Bowl 55, the Chiefs were favored by 3. For the Chiefs to win it all, they will need great production from Travis Kelce. With a banged up receiving core, Mahomes will likely look in Kelce’s direction a little more than normal. If any of the Chiefs receivers will go off, though, watch for Marquez Valdez-Scantling. In the AFC Championship, Valdes-Scantling had a career day, catching 6 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. He hadn’t caught more than 4 catches all year, but when some of the Chief’s main guys went down, he really stepped up. The Chiefs have played through a considerably tougher road to the Super Bowl, much harder than the Eagles’ path. The Eagle’s defense has proved how easy their path was, holding Daniel Jones and an injured Brock Purdy/Josh Johnson tandem to a combined 14 points. The Eagles’ defense gave up 20.2 points per game in the regular season, but were exposed by the likes of the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers in the second half of the year. These two high-powered passing offenses were able to exploit the Eagles’ secondary through their deep passes and yards after reception. Travis Kelce happens to be one of the league leaders in yards after catch, so expect him to also have a big day. 

Brady’s pick: Chiefs win 31-25

Eagles by Matt Durburg

The Philadelphia Eagles are returning for their first Super Bowl appearance since Nick Foles carried the team through the playoffs in 2018. Led by Jalen Hurts, the Eagles have had an outstanding season. However, it is worth noting that their playoff route has been extremely easy. First round bye, win vs. an average Giants team, and a win against the 49ers 4th string quarterback. Their regular season credentials are much different, having beaten some good teams in the Cowboys and the Vikings. Jalen Hurts has also not looked his best the past two weeks. He has thrown for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns in both of their playoff wins combined. Surprisingly, their point differentials don’t follow suit. Even with those numbers from Hurts, they are still putting up lots of points and not allowing very many either. In the playoffs they have outscored opponents 69-14. That is a huge margin and it will be worth remembering come Sunday. If they can shut down QB Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense (which is very hard to do), then they will win this game. The Eagles find ways to score with three very solid running backs in Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell, and Boston Scott. All three have been incredibly influential in the playoffs. The only way the Eagles will pull off a win is if the Chiefs offense is shut down, and if the run game stays intact throughout the game. Being led by Jason Kelce at center, the Eagles offensive line and run game has been tearing up the league. Their O-line is the heart and soul of the team and they shouldn’t have a hard time against a slightly above average Chiefs front 7. Where problems may lie for the Eagles is with their secondary. “I think this Kansas City pass game will expose what we thought we were going to be able to expose before some unfortunate circumstances,” said San Francisco 49ers star receiver, Brandon Aiyuk. This can definitely be true as NFL players spend hours on end in film study analyzing their opponents. If they saw a weakness, I’m sure the Chiefs can find it too.

Matt’s pick: Chiefs win 27-24