Super Bowl 2023: Five early bold predictions for Chiefs vs. Eagles, including a surprise MVP candidate
Our Super Bowl LVII match is officially set as the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles go head-to-head on February 12 with NFL glory at stake. Both teams emerged as the best in the league, and there are plenty of interesting subplots that come with this matchup.
This will be the first Super Bowl to feature two brothers, with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Eagles center Jason Kelce. This is also the first Super Bowl matchup to feature two black quarterbacks. Andy Reid will become the fifth head coach to coach his former team in the Super Bowl, which has not happened since 2014.
What will this match lead to? Will the season end with more heroics from Patrick Mahomes or will the Eagles attack rule the day? Below we’ll break down five early bold predictions for Super Bowl LVII.
Mahomes has sacked a postseason high five times
The Eagles and Chiefs finished 1-2 in sacks during the regular season, with Philly recording 70 quarterback takedowns and Kansas City recording 55. This is the third Super Bowl match between the top two teams in sacks and the first Super Bowl match between teams to record at least 55 sacks during the regular season. Our bold prediction is that Mahomes will be sacked five times – which would be a post-season career high for him.
Mahomes has only been sacked once five times, back in 2018 against the Arizona Cardinals. Mahomes was fired four times in his first Super Bowl appearance against the San Francisco 49ers. Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV — where he had a broken offense — Mahomes was sacked three times.
Teams have taken different approaches to defending Mahomes. Some have tried flashing him while others sit back with two high safeties. Mahomes was successful against both. Either way, the Eagles have been the No. 1 pass rush league this season, per PFF. Philadelphia will play to their strengths in the biggest game of the year.
Travis Kelce throws a touchdown
The Chiefs’ star tight end was certainly on one after winning the AFC Championship over the Cincinnati Bengals. “Trench head, my ass!” Our prediction is that Kelce Kadarius will miss a touchdown on Toney in the red zone – a little “special” against Philly, if you will. Kelce is a versatile red zone threat who can both find the gaps in zone coverage and take a scoop pass down the middle to set the score. Expect something creative from Coach Reid in the red zone in Super Bowl LVII.
Kelce only attempted one career pass in the playoffs. That try went for a 2-yard touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jalen Hurts sets Super Bowl record
This is perhaps our least brave take, as Hurts seems poised to break a Super Bowl record in particular. The great Steve McNair owns the Super Bowl record for most rushing yards by a quarterback when he rushed 64 yards in Super Bowl XXXIV. Hurts hasn’t rushed for 64 yards since Week 14, but we say he rushed for 65 yards in Super Bowl LVII.
Hurts averaged 50.7 rushing yards per game this season, which was just slightly below the 52.3 rushing yards he rushed in 2021. His 760 rushing yards in the regular season ranks second among quarterbacks to reach the Super Bowl, behind Russell Wilson in 2014.
CJ Gardner-Johnson pleads for Super Bowl MVP
The versatile defender will have a big role to play in the Super Bowl. Ceedy Duce should help defend Kelce in passing and also as a blitzer. The former Saint has only recorded four career sacks, but he’s the kind of player who forces turnovers in one way or another. We saw that against the New York Giants in the divisional round when his pressure on Daniel Jones forced the quarterback to throw an interception to James Bradberry. In the Super Bowl, Gardner-Johnson will record 1.5 sacks and an interception that will put him in the conversation for Super Bowl MVP.
The Under scores despite the game going into overtime
The Chiefs led the AFC with 29.2 points per game this season, while the Eagles led the NFC with 28.1 points per game. This is the seventh Super Bowl matchup between the top-scoring offenses from each conference. Interestingly, both teams scored exactly 546 points this year including the playoffs. Our bold prediction is that the Chiefs and Eagles will tie for regular time points on Feb. 12, forcing the game into overtime.
This will be the second Super Bowl to go into overtime – the first of course being Super Bowl LI, in which the Atlanta Falcons led 28-3. While Philly and Kansas City have extra time to get more points, it won’t help those with tickets to the over. The Under will score in this game, with a final score of 23-20, Eagles.
