The Details
Football fans, it’s time. We are just over 48 hours away from Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. Here. We. Go.
- Where: Caesars Superdome in New Orleans
- When: 6:30 pm ET/3:30 pm PT
- Watch: The game will be broadcast on FOX.
- Commentators: Kevin Burkhardt will be doing the play-by-play, while Tom Brady will provide color commentary (the G.O.A.T. talking about the G.O.A.T.). The sideline reporters are Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi.
The Fun Facts
- New Orleans is hosting the Big Game for the 11th time (eighth time in the Superdome), which ties Miami for the most times playing host.
- Bonus fun fact: The last time New Orleans was the host, there was a 34-minute power outage. I was there. It was bananas.
- Jon Batiste will sing The Star-Spangled Banner, while Christian singer Lauren Daigle and jazz musician Trombone Shorty will collaborate on America the Beautiful. R&B vocalist Ledisi will perform Lift Every Voice and Sing.
- Including the playoffs, the Chiefs and the Eagles combined for 34 wins this season, which is the most by Big Game opponents ever.
- In the past 25 seasons, three teams have appeared in the game four-plus times. You guessed it! They are the Patriots, the Chiefs and the Eagles.
- This will be the ninth Big Game rematch ever (the teams met two years ago, with Kansas City coming out victorious).
The Halftime Show
22-time Grammy winner (including nine last weekend), Kendrick Lamar is the halftime-headliner and he will be joined by SZA. Three years ago, at SoFi Stadium, Lamar was on the main with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, May J. Blige, Eminem and 50 Cent.
The big question – ok, my big question – is whether or not Taylor Swift will make an appearance for their collaboration on “Bad Blood”. The other big question – and this one may not just be mine – is will Lamar perform “Not Like Us”. All will be answered on Sunday.
The Teams
- The Chiefs are going for a three-peat, which would be NFL history, as no team has done it before. And they have a deal with Pat Riley to use the term he coined, so phew.
- Patrick Mahomes can become the first player to be named Super Bowl MVP in three straight seasons and can become the second player (Tom Brady is the first) to win four Super Bowl MVP awards.
- Kansas City has played in seven Super Bowls and five of the last six. They have won four.
- The Eagles have won one Super Bowl in five appearances. They’d REALLY like to double that number.
- Chiefs’ head coach Andy Reid will become the only head coach to face his former team in the Super Bowl twice.
- Eagles’ head coach Nick Sirianni has taken Philadelphia to the postseason in his four seasons in the position, but he has yet to win a Super Bowl.
The Game
And now, let’s talk the football. The Chiefs have their eyes on three in a row, but this Philadelphia Eagles team will give them their toughest Super Bowl match-up since Patrick Mahomes has been QB1.
The Saquon Barkley Effect will be huge for Philadelphia, obviously, but there’s a wrinkle. The Kansas City defense has been more effective defending the run than the pass, but it did allow 149 and 147 yards rushing in their two playoff games. Should Kansas City somewhat contain Barkley (like that’s a thing), the Philly offense will have to adjust, and for a team with a star quarterback in Jalen Hurts and pretty fantastic wide receivers, they’re not the best at that.
The Eagles’ defense is scary, but the Chiefs’ defense has been what’s kept an average offense – not the Patrick Mahomes part – in the game and winning close ones. Part of the offensive issues was injuries, and Kansas City is certainly healthier than it’s been in some time. The Eagles don’t like the deep pass, so long Mahomesian drives will be key.
The X-factors are, of course, Barkley and Mahomes. If Barkley is his prolific self and the Philadelphia defense does what it does, they will hoist the Lombardi Trophy. That being said, I do not pick against Patrick Mahomes. Let’s go!