09/02/2025
Sports Lowdown says:
Eagles 31, Chiefs 27
Article by: Alan Zlotorzynski
BSN SUPER BOWL LIX PREVIEW: FROM JAWAAN TAYLOR & CJ GARDNER-JOHNSON TO THE COMMERCIALS, THIS IS EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BIG GAME:
Later today, Super Bowl LIX will kickoff in New Orleans in the Super Dome. This marks the eighth time a Super Bowl has been played at the Superdome, and the 11th time the game has been held in New Orleans. No other city besides Miami has hosted as many Super Bowls.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET. and It will be broadcast on Fox with the following crew: Kevin Burkhardt (play-by-play), Tom Brady (color commentary), Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi (sideline reporting), and Mike Pereira (rules analysis).
BSN PREDICTIONS:
Since it is unlikely you will read this entire post BSN’s ALAN Z would like to give his prediction now.
While the Eagles certainly have more than enough talent to beat Kansas City and enough talent to beat them by more than one score it’s just hard to pick against the Kansas City Chiefs, especially in the Super Bowl.
For the most part, recent Super Bowls have been closer affairs and that bodes well for the Kansas City Chiefs considering they have won 17 straight one possession games which is tied for the most in NFL history.
At 9-2 this season in games decided by eight points or less, the Eagles aren’t bad in close games either but it’s not 17 straight.
The Chiefs have scored 30 or more points just three times this season but are averaging 31 points per game in their three Super Bowl wins under Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.. Two weeks is a long time to prepare for two of the best ever at their crafts.
ALAN SAYS:
“While the football analyst in me says the Eagles should win, Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes simply don’t lose in these games and until someone other than Tom Brady beats these two In this game, it’s hard to pick against them. With two weeks to prepare for a great Eagles team, I’ll take the Chiefs for the first ever Super Bowl three-peat.”
ALAN’S PREDICTION
CHIEFS 33 EAGLES 28
BSN’s Jackson Robb Prediction
CHIEFS 34 EAGLES 28
BSN’s Caleb Brown Prediction
CHIEFS 35 EAGLES 31
LOCAL STORY LINE:
Two former Cocoa Tigers give Brevardians an opportunity to cheer for each team. The Chiefs Jawaan Taylor and Eagles Chauncey Gardner-Johnson are 2015 graduates of Cocoa High.
The dynamic duo grew up playing youth football together for Rockledge and after their playing days at Cocoa both starred for the Florida Gators before entering the 2019 NFL Draft.
Taylor was selected in the second round by the Jacksonville Jaguars and Gardner-Johnson in the fourth round by New Orleans.
This is the second Super Bowl for both Jawaan and CJ and the fifth straight Super Bowl a former Cocoa Tiger has his name attached to one of the two teams playing in the big game.
However, this is the first time the game features two local Tigers.
Previous Cocoa Tigers to play in the big game include:
2021 Jamel Dean Tampa Bay
2022 Javian Hawkins LA Rams
2023 CJ Gardner-Johnson Phi.
2024 Jawaan Taylor KC
2025 Taylor (KC) & Gardner-Johnson (Phil.)
LAYING A FEW BUCKS DOWN ?
For the bettors out there The Chiefs opened as 2-point favorites, per SportsLine consensus odds. They are currently 1.5-point favorites over the Eagles, according to the oddsmakers. The opening Over-Under point total for Super Bowl LIX was 49.5, per SportsLine.
For those wondering, this season, the Chiefs are 9-10 and Eagles 13-7 against the spread.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is the betting favorite to win Super Bowl MVP, which would be his fourth such honor. Barkley is next in line on oddsmakers' list of favorites for the game's top individual award.
HALFTIME & COMMERCIALS Grammy-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar will headline the halftime show.
Advertisers are shelling out close to $8 million on average for a 30-second spot during Super Bowl LIX. AD execs estimate that around 51 minutes of advertising has been sold for the approximately three to four hour broadcast this year, making the total amount of ad sales somewhere in the hundreds of millions.
If you don’t like surprises you can check out the commercials preview by clicking ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
https://youtu.be/Tx2DPYeVngw?si=jJlTlMWTOh3OjFDg
THE GAME ITSELF
The AFC and NFC have each won 29 Super Bowls giving the winner a one game lead for their respective conference. The AFC has won 16 of the 24 Super Bowls played since 2000.
This is the second straight year we are treated to a rematch in the Super Bowl and ninth time overall in the 59 year history of the game.
THE TEAMS:
The Kansas City Chiefs are playing in their third straight Super Bowl and fifth in the past six years. This is the seventh appearance for Kansas City in the Super Bowl and they are 4-2 all-time in the big game.
KC finished as the No.1 seed and comes into the Super Bowl with a 17-2 record. The Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans 23-14 in the divisional round and the Bills 32-29 in the AFC Championship Game.
PAST SUPER BOWLS:
SB I GB 35 KC 10
SB IV KC 23 MINN 10
SB LIV KC 31 SF 20
SB LV TB 31 KC 9
SB LVII KC 38 PHIL 35
SB LVIII KC 25 SF 22 (OT)
Philadelphia is 17-3 and the No.2 seed in the NFC. They defeated the Packers in the Wild Card round, 23-10, the Rams 28-22 in the divisional round and they crushed the Commanders, 55-23 in the NFC Championship game.
The Eagles are playing in their third Super Bowl in the past eight years. Philadelphia will be playing in their fifth Super Bowl overall and are 1-3 in their previous four.
PAST SUPER BOWLS:
SB XV OAK 27 PHIL 10
SB ###IX NE 24 PHIL 21
SB LII PHIL 41 NE 33
SB LVII KC 38 PHIL 35
Series record: Kansas City leads 6-5, including a win in the Super Bowl two years ago in Glendale, Arizona.
Last meeting: Jalen Hurts ran for two second-half TDs as Philadelphia rallied for a 21-17 win over the Chiefs on Nov. 20, 2023.
NFL RANKINGS:
Chiefs offense: overall (16), rush (22), pass (14), scoring (15)
Chiefs defense: overall (9), rush (8), pass (18), scoring (4)
Eagles offense: overall (8), rush (2), pass (29), scoring (7)
Eagles defense: overall (1), rush (10), pass (1), scoring (2)
Turnover differential: Chiefs plus-6; Eagles: plus-11
Chiefs players to watch: QB Patrick Mahomes and DT Chris Jones
QB Patrick Mahomes may have gotten off to a pedestrian start to the season, but he finished with a flourish, throwing 13 touchdown passes without an interception since the Chiefs’ Week 11 loss to Buffalo. He threw for 177 yards and a score against the Texans in the divisional round and 245 yards and a TD in avenging that loss to the Bills in the AFC title game. Mahomes has thrown for 1,071 yards and seven TDs in his four previous Super Bowls, and needs two TD passes to tie Terry Bradshaw for third most and 58 yards to tie John Elway for fourth most in NFL playoff history.
According to Pro Football Focus Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones was the NFL's best pass-rushing interior lineman this season (91.0 grade), recording six sacks, 15 quarterback hits and 51 hurries. He finished second in total pressures (74), win rate (18.1%) and pressure rate (14.6%). Jones is the best interior defensive player in the NFL and he always plays his best football when the lights are the brightness. Expect no different later today against the Eagles
Eagles player to watch: RB Saquon Barkley, LB Zack Baun
RB Saquon Barkley had a franchise-record 2,005 yards rushing yards in the regular season, just 101 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season record. He has been even better in the playoffs, averaging 147.3 yards through three games with five TDs on just 66 attempts. He needs 30 yards rushing to break the NFL single-season record, including the playoffs, that Terrell Davis (2,476) set during the 1998 season.
Eagles LB Zack Baun led all linebackers in Pro Football Focus’ overall grade this season (90.1), largely because of his stellar play in coverage (91.7). He was targeted 64 times and allowed 51 catches for 354 yards. He forced three incompletions, broke up three passes and picked off another. Baun led the position in coverage stops (33) and surrendered an 88.4 passer rating when targeted. Most of his targets came against zone coverage (40), and he was targeted 22 times as a slot defender (second most).
The All-Pro linebacker sports a 77.0 PFF overall grade in the playoffs and ranks in the top three in PFF run-defense grade (81.9) and PFF pass-rush grade (90.6). His coverage grade has dipped (63.2), as he’s allowed 15 catches for 139 yards.
Key matchup: Chiefs front seven vs. Eagles offensive line and rushing attack: KC’s defensive line against the Philadelphia offensive line is the biggest key to the game and the one that will likely decide its outcome.
In six seasons under defensive coordinater Steve Spagnolia the Chiefs have never allowed a 100 yard rusher in the post season.
The Eagles led Super Bowl 57 by as many as 10 points but could not put the Chiefs away. Many believe the rushing attack Philadelphia possesses this season could be capable if they can grab another double digit lead in the second half of this years game.
Philadelphia ran for a franchise-record 3,048 yards this season, tied for the sixth most in NFL history. The Eagles are the second team in NFL history with at least 3,000 yards and 25 or more TDs rushing and most of that load was shouldered by Saquon Barkley.
Barkley is the ninth player in NFL history with at least 2,000 yards rushing in the regular season. He has seven TD runs of at least 60 yards this season, including the playoffs.
The former Nittany Lion is averaging 147.3 yards through three playoff games with five TDs on just 66 attempts.
The Eagles offensive line has three of the 10 highest graded players on Pro Football Focus in the game. Both offensive tackles Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson are No.1 and No.6 ranked according to PFF.
There’s also guard Landon Dickerson (No.10) and all five Eagles offensive linemen received AP All-Pro votes with Johnson (fifth) and Mailata (first) earning the All-Pro designation.
To combat the best offensive lineman in the league Chiefs Defensive tackles Chris Jones and Tershawn Wharton along with defensive ends George Karlaftis and Mike Danna will be counted upon to not only slow down Barkley, but put pressure on Eagles QB Jalen Hurts in the passing game. And when Philadelphia gets into third- and fourth-and-short, those big fellas will be tasked with stopping the infamous “tush push.”
SERIES NOTES:
The Chiefs are going for an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl title by bookending a win over San Francisco with victories over Philadelphia. Two years ago, the Chiefs rallied for a 38-35 victory at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
This is only the second time two teams have met in the Super Bowl twice in a three-year window following the Bills and Cowboys, who met after the 1992 and ’93 seasons. Philadelphia did face the Chicago Cardinals for the NFL title after the 1947 and ’48 seasons.
STATS & STUFF:
All told, nine pairs of teams have been part of a Super Bowl rematch, with Chiefs-Eagles being the latest. Only one set of franchises has done so thrice: The Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. But let's dive deeper into every encore performance at the pinnacle of football.
The Chiefs are the first team to play in the Super Bowl five times in a six-year span. They are going for a record third straight Lombardi Trophy and fifth overall.
Kansas City is the fourth team to appear in three straight Super Bowls after Miami (1971-73), Buffalo (1990-93) and New England (2016-18).
Chiefs coach Andy Reid and Eagles counterpart Nick Sirianni represent the fifth rematch of coaches in Super Bowl history.
Reid is coaching in his 45th postseason game, breaking Bill Belichick’s record. He has 28 postseason wins, trailing only Belichick (31) for most in NFL history.
Mahomes is 48-10 as a starter since 2022, the best mark in the NFL. Jalen Hurts is No. 2 at 42-12.
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce has an NFL-record 174 catches in the postseason. He needs 207 yards receiving and three TDs to break those records of 2,245 yards and 22 TDs held by Jerry Rice.
Mahomes has a Chiefs record 581 yards rushing in the postseason.
RB Isiah Pacheco is second with 498.
Mahomes needs three TD passes to pass Joe Montana and Aaron Rodgers (45) for second most in NFL playoff history. Tom Brady had 88.
Mahomes is trying to become the first player to be Super Bowl MVP in three consecutive seasons. He could also move within one of Brady’s record with his fourth MVP overall.
Nick Sirianni will join Joe Gibbs and Mike Tomlin as the only NFL head coaches to make the Super Bowl twice within their first four seasons.
The Eagles led the NFL in total defense at 278.4 yards per game for the seventh time in franchise history.
Philadelphia ranked No. 1 in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (174.2) for the second time in the past three years.
The Eagles are plus-27 in turnover differential from Week 8 through the postseason.
Hurts is 48 of 69 for 505 yards with three TD passes and no interceptions along with 122 yards rushing and four TDs in three postseason games.
Eagles DT Jalen Carter has 12 pressures, five QB hits, two sacks and a forced fumble in the postseason.
Eagles WR A.J. Brown had 1,079 yards receiving this season, his third straight with at least 1,000, despite missing three games to injuries.
WR DeVonta Smith had a career-best eight TD catches, joWalden Custom Buildersarold Carmichael as the only Eagles since at least 1970 with at least seven in three consecutive seasons
This SUPER BOWL LIX PREVIEW IS SPONSORED BY Walden Custom Builde
