Super Bowl LVII – Who and What to Watch

At the onset of Super Bowl handicapping are several factors to keep an eye on.  The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles have plenty of assets and some potential liabilities.  In like manner to all handicapping endeavors is the necessity to consider a contrarian Betting on NFL approach.  The obvious theory is that Kansas City is too banged up to face the dominant Eagles.  On the other hand, Philadelphia dominated a San Francisco team without a credible quarterback for most of the NFC championship game.  Equally important is history.  There are numerous Super Bowl “locks” that never came true.

Chiefs and Eagles Storylines

Now, Super Bowl LVII marks the third Super Sunday for Kansas City in the past four years.  Kansas City won the best sportsbook online World championship three years ago against the San Francisco 49ers.  And then the Chiefs were routed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl two seasons ago.  Last year Kansas City blew its shot at a third consecutive Super Bowl in an AFC championship game loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

At the beginning of the season, the Chiefs were determined to atone themselves and return for their shot at a potential Betting on Super Bowl dynasty.  It was not always pretty, but Kansas City left no doubt about its status as the best in the AFC West.

Late on, the Chiefs’ much-maligned defense has taken form.  In particular, the Kansas City pass rush kept Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow in check for most of the AFC championship game.

Yet as much as the Kansas City defense has improved, Philadelphia’s was consistently dominant all season.  One of the most impressive characteristics of the Eagles is their more old-school approach to success.  Philadelphia brings a strong rushing attack to complement their stout defensive unit.  That serves to keep the heat off Hurts and set him free as the QB.

Mahomes vs. Hurts – Established Superstar vs. Emerging Asset

In the 2018 season, Patrick Mahomes exploded onto the scene as arguably the best QB in the NFL.  Mahomes arrived in Kansas City in 2017 as the 10^th overall pick of the NFL Draft.  But Mahomes came from Texas Tech, where he played in the Air Raid system.  Hence, Mahomes was written off as a “system” player that would struggle like previous Texas Tech signal callers.

In his first Super Bowl bets season as the starting QB, Mahomes won NFL Most Valuable Player award honors.  And he quickly became the face of the Chiefs franchise.  Most observers agree that he is the best QB in the NFL.  The records and accolades are known, and too many to mention.  But Mahomes is more than gaudy statistics.  To illuminate, Mahomes has courage and grit that few ever talk about.  Mahomes literally willed the Chiefs to victory on one leg in the AFC championship game.  There was nothing about Mahomes’ wizard and improv ability.  Instead, it was all about pure guts and overcoming adversity.

By contrast, Jalen Hurts was picked in the 2^nd round and 53^rd overall in the 2020 NFL Draft.  At that time, there was talk of Hurts being moved to another position.  Consider he was demoted as Alabama Crimson Tide’s starting QB in the 2017 college football championship game.  But Hurts redeemed himself to become a Heisman Trophy finalist with the Oklahoma Sooners.  This season Hurts exploded on the Super Bowl Betting odds scene as a bona fide and quality NFL quarterback.

Andy Reid Faces Old Team

Kansas City head coach Andy Reid once served in that role from 1999 through 2012 with the Philadelphia Eagles. While there, he went 130-93-1 with one Super Bowl appearance.  He was hired by the Chiefs just days after getting fired.  At Kansas City, he is 117-45 and the most successful coach in team history.