The NFL season comes to a spectacular finish on Sunday as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles looking to retain the Vince Lombardi Trophy and become the first team to win it in three successive seasons.
The Chiefs beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl two years ago and that game finished 38-35, so expectations are high that we will see another thrilling encounter.
The venue for this year’s finale is the Superdome in New Orleans, with the game set to kick off at 11.30pm GMT on Sunday, 9th February.
Tip 1: Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl – 5/6 with bet365
The Chiefs have looked more formidable as the season has gone on and they have been ruthless in the playoffs so far after going 15-2 in the regular season to become the top seeds in the AFC.
The Missouri-based team dispatched the Houston Texans in the divisional round before overcoming the Buffalo Bills – the team many observers considered the biggest threat to their hopes of another title – in the AFC Championship game.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes already has three Super Bowl MVP awards under his belt at the age of just 29 and he is the man that many bettors will want on their side when the pressure is on in big games.
Innovative head coach Andy Reid, who took the Eagles to the Super Bowl 20 years ago, combines with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to form a duo who can outthink most opponents tactically.
They are awash with offensive options with wide receiver Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown now back up to speed after playing only four games this season due to injury.
In his absence the team leaned on Juju Smith-Schuster and veteran DeAndre Hopkins to support star tight end Travis Kelce, while rookie Xavier Worthy has made rapid strides and now plays a key role.
With Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt at running back, the Chiefs’ varied offence could prove problematic for the Eagles as long as their offensive line, which is potentially the weak link in the team, can hold up well enough.
The Eagles have looked like a new team this season after the addition of free-agent running back Saquon Barkley, who broke the 2,000 rushing yards barrier in the regular season and already has five touchdowns in the playoffs.
Nick Sirianni’s team also have a talented wide-receiver duo in AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, but their numbers are down this year as the team have taken the burden off QB Jalen Hurts and put their destiny in Barkley’s hands.
A close encounter looks likely, but the Chiefs should come out on top to make NFL history with a third Super Bowl win in a row.
Tip 2: Jalen Hurts first Philadelphia Eagles touchdown scorer – 11/4 with bet365
Jalen Hurts has thrown three touchdown passes in the Eagles’ three playoff games, but he has rushed for four more and looks worth backing to be his team’s first TD scorer in the Super Bowl.
The Eagles are famous for their ‘tush push’ play, a quarterback sneak that most teams find difficult to stop and Hurts has regularly been shoved into the end zone by his teammates, with two of his three TDs against the Commanders in the NFC Championship game coming on one-yard rushes.
Barkley was the first Eagle into the end zone against the Commanders, but Hurts scored the team’s first touchdown against the Rams in the previous round and had 14 rushing touchdowns in the regular season too.
Tip 3: Marquise Brown to score 2+ touchdowns – 25/1 with bet365
For a big-priced Super Bowl selection, consider Chiefs wide receiver ‘Hollywood’ Brown to score two or more touchdowns at 25/1.
Brown is the forgotten man on the Chiefs roster, but at the start of the season he was considered the key to revitalising the team’s wide receiver unit after spending his first five seasons in the NFL with the Ravens and Cardinals.
A serious shoulder injury sustained in the Chiefs’ first pre-season game kept him sidelined until late December, but Reid has had a whole year to think of ways to use the talented wideout and they could all come pouring out in the Super Bowl.
Brown has had only 12 catches in his four games back with the team and has yet to score a touchdown for them, but he could play a much more important role against the Eagles.
