Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes (L) will face off with his Philadelphia Eagles opposite Jalen Hurts in Super Bowl LVII on Monday. Photos / AP
Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes (L) will face off with his Philadelphia Eagles opposite Jalen Hurts in Super Bowl LVII on Monday. Photos / AP
Super Bowl LVII kicks off on Monday at 12.30 pm NZT featuring a rare matchup of the NFL’s top two teams from the regular season: the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles and Chiefs were the league’s only 14-game winners this season and this Super Bowl will be just the sixth occasion since the NFL’s 1970 merger that the squads with sole possession of the two best records in the regular season meet for the championship.
The game will be played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
How can I watch?
Both Sky Sport and Spark Sport are airing the Super Bowl from midday, and you can live stream the Super Bowl online with their respective streaming services.
The Alternative Commentary Collective is teaming up with the TAB and Sweat Shop Brew Kitchen in Auckland to bring the biggest Super Bowl Party in the country. The ACC will be hosting pre and post-match festivals and giving away a heap of food and beverage vouchers, plus there will be a special Super Bowl menu and TAB bonus bets up for grabs.
And of course, more screens than you’ll ever need to catch every big hit and touchdown.
Plus, everyone who attends on the day goes in the draw to win a trip for two to Los Angeles thanks to our mates at Air New Zealand’s Grabaseat.
Odds
Head-to-head - Eagles $1.77, Chiefs $1.97. Super Bowl MVP - Mahomes $2.25, Hurts $2.25, Travis Kelce $14, AJ Brown $15, Miles Sanders $21, DaVonta Smith $26. Total points - Over 50.5 $1.83, Under 50.5 $1.90
There are many storylines for this Super Bowl, but the duel between Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes is right at the top of the list.
Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is thrilled aspiring NFL players all over the world will get to watch two Black quarterbacks face each other for the first time in the Super Bowl.
He’s also pleased they get to watch two really, really good quarterbacks.
“I’m really excited for both quarterbacks, what they can represent to a ton of kids,” Sirianni said as part of the Super Bowl media build-up. “Not only are they two African-American quarterbacks, but they’re the two best quarterbacks in the NFL this year. First-team All-Pro, second-team All-Pro.
“They both play at the highest level.”
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, right, and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts speak to the media ahead of Super Bowl LVII. Photo / AP
The significance of Monday’s matchup isn’t lost on Mahomes.
“I think about it a lot,” Mahomes said. “The quarterbacks that came before me — Shack Harris, Doug Williams — that laid the foundation for me to be in this position. It goes across all sports. If you think about Jackie Robinson and the people who broke the colour barrier in baseball, I wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for them.
“To be lucky enough to be in this position — and play against another great guy like Jalen — it will be a special moment. I’m glad we’re here today, but how can we keep moving forward? How can we motivate kids who are younger, who want to follow their dreams to be a quarterback?”
Meanwhile, Mahomes says he doesn’t expect to be limited by a lingering ankle injury on Monday.
“You won’t know exactly how it is until you get to game day,” he said. “I mean, I definitely move around better than I was moving last week or two weeks ago. So it’s just trying to continue to get the treatment and the rehab and get it as close to 100 per cent and then rely on some adrenaline to let me do a little bit extra when I’m on the field.”
Back in the Super Bowl five years after winning the first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history, the Eagles took a different path to reach this one. They’re slight favourites against the Kansas City Chiefs, after outscoring the Giants and 49ers 69-14 in the playoffs.
In their previous appearance, the Eagles became the first No. 1 seed to enter the playoffs as a home underdog. After sneaking past Atlanta in the divisional round, they were underdogs against Minnesota in the NFC championship game. They routed the Vikings and went on to beat Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the favoured New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
During that run, players embraced their underdog status, brought dog masks to the games and wore them around Minnesota for Super Bowl week. No need for any extra motivation this time around.
The Eagles (16-3) are getting much of the hype, even against Mahomes and the Chiefs (16-3).
With Hurts leading a high-powered offence and Haason Reddick headlining a stingy defence, the Eagles have been dominant throughout much of the season.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs had a tougher path to this point. They beat the Jaguars 27-20 in the divisional round and edged the Bengals 23-20 on a field goal in the final seconds. Mahomes played with a badly sprained ankle against Cincinnati. An extra week off has helped but he’ll face a ferocious, relentless pass rush.
“They’re one of the top defences in the league for a reason,” Mahomes said. “They get after the quarterback, so it’ll be a great challenge for us to go out there and try to have some success.”
The Eagles realise playing against Mahomes is a tougher challenge than Daniel Jones and the Giants, and Brock Purdy/Josh Johnson and the 49ers.
“Mahomes is a tremendous talent,” Reddick said. “I don’t know if you can contain him. He’s that good.”
The Chiefs have a significant edge in experience as they make their third appearance in this game in four years. Coach Andy Reid is 1-2 in Super Bowls, including a loss with the Eagles 18 years ago. Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni has never coached in a Super Bowl.
AP’s Pro Picks is tipping talent to win over experience. The Eagles are stacked, they’re healthy and they’ve been the more impressive team since Week 1.
Have they won it before?
The Chiefs have appeared in three of the last four editions of the Super Bowl and now have a 2-2 record in the NFL’s premiere event. Wins in 1970 and 2020 have been balanced by losses in 1967 and 2021. However, the team is undoubtedly the most dominant the NFL has seen since the New England Patriots’ run of appearances and wins between 2015 and 2019.
Meanwhile, the Eagles won their only previous Super Bowl in 2018 after losses in 1981 and 2005.
Will it be a close game?
Expect a tight tussle in Arizona with Mahomes’ offensive brilliance is countered by the Eagles’ defensive mastery.
A deep rotation of defensive linemen provides the Eagles’ with constant pressure that makes opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable and often leads to them ending on the ground.
Few teams have gotten to the quarterback more frequently this season than the Eagles, who are closing in on the NFL’s most prolific season ever when it comes to sacks.
Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick (7) sacks San Francisco 49ers quarterback Josh Johnson during the first half of the NFC Championship. Photo / AP
However, Mahomes was the best quarterback in the league this season at avoiding sacks, with only 10.2 per cent of pressures turning into sacks, according to Pro Football Focus.
Mahomes was sacked three times in his previous Super Bowl appearance two years ago against Tampa Bay when he was constantly on the run behind a banged-up line.
Kansas City has bolstered the line since then, but Mahomes knows it will be difficult against the Eagles.
“They’re on like a historic sack rate and the way they’re able to get to the quarterback,” Mahomes said. “So everybody knows that everything starts up front. It’ll be a great challenge for our offensive line to try to do what they can.”
Chiefs controversy returns
Two years ago, while the Chiefs contested Super Bowl LV, Native American protesters were calling for the team to drop their name, logo and trademark “war chant” where fans make a chopping-hand gesture mimicking the Native American tomahawk. They even hired a plane to fly around the area. Before game day, there were two online petitions and billboards of protest erected in Kansas City.
With another Super Bowl appearance, protesters will be there again.
Fights against appropriation of tribal cultures and images have been going on for decades — not just with the Chiefs but with multiple teams across different sports. Native Americans say using iconography and words with Native connotations demeans them and perpetuates racist stereotypes.
A woman wearing Native American clothing attends a "No Honor in Racism Rally" march before an NFL football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Kansas City Chiefs in 2015. Photo / AP
It was a year ago this month that the Washington Football Team was anointed the Commanders. That move came after 18 months of pressure to drop the Redskins, which was seen as a racial slur.
The Chiefs have made efforts to address concerns about cultural insensitivities going back a decade but always stop short of altering their name or fan-favourite gestures and chants.
This Super Bowl protest is significant in that it is happening in a state where a quarter of the land belongs to Native Americans.
Halftime’s shining stars
Halftime headliner Rihanna is promising “a jam-packed show” as she attempts to continue a tradition of superstar musical acts stealing the limelight during the sport’s biggest occasion.
In what will be her first live performance in seven years, the new mum says she’s excited to show off her catalogue of hits to the world.
“When you become a mom, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you can take on the world, you can do anything. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages of the world,” Rihanna said. “There’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all.
“Deciding how to maximise 13 minutes but also celebrate — that’s what this show is going to be. It’s going to be a celebration of my catalogue in the best way that we could have put it together.”
A nine-time Grammy Award-winner, Rihanna has 14 No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits, including “We Found Love,” “Work,” “Umbrella” and “Disturbia.” She and rapper A$AP Rocky recently welcomed her first child.
Rihanna poses for a photo after a halftime show news conference ahead of Super Bowl LVII. Photo / AP
Country music star Chris Stapleton will sing the national anthem, while R&B legend Babyface will perform “America the Beautiful.” Actor-singer Sheryl Lee Ralph will also perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
And while New Zealand viewers may not see them live, the tradition of airing extra special TV adverts during halftime will continue in the US.
Big name advertisers from Netflix to Google are paying as much as US$7 million (NZ$11m) for a 30-second spot during the big game, in order to capture the attention of the roughly 100 million viewers who tune in each year.
In order to get as much of a return on investment for those millions, most advertisers release their ads in the days ahead of the big game to get the most publicity for their spots.
In the ads released so far, John Travolta and “Scrubs” stars Donald Faison and Zach Braff sing a T-Mobile themed version of “Summer Nights” from “Grease,” Adam Driver creates multiple versions of himself for Squarespace, and Alicia Silverstone reprises her “Clueless” character for online shopping site Rakuten.
