Super Bowl 2023 LIVE: Latest news and build-up to Eagles vs Chiefs

PATRICK MAHOMES, CHIEFS QUARTERBACK

An elite thrower with exceptional improvisational skills and pinpoint accuracy, Mahomes is returning for his third Super Bowl appearance in four seasons having gone 1-1 in his previous two trips to the title game.

His famous mobility may be hampered by a high ankle sprain suffered earlier in the playoffs. Despite clearly being hobbled in the AFC Championship, however, Mahomes still managed to throw for 326 yards, two touchdowns and made a key scramble that set up the game-winning field goal assisted by a Cincinnati penalty.

JALEN HURTS, EAGLES QUARTERBACK

The third-year quarterback has proven to be a nightmare for defensive coordinators around the league as he has established himself as a true scoring threat with both his arm and legs, leading his team to a NFC best 14-3 record.

Hurts has also been dealing with an injury, to his right throwing shoulder, since hurting it during a Week 15 game in December that forced him to miss two game before returning for the regular season finale and playoffs.

TRAVIS KELCE, CHIEFS TIGHT END

Kelce, who has already established himself as one of the best tight ends in NFL history, is Mahomes’ favourite target and will certainly be a key component of Kansas City’s game plan against Philadelphia.

As the No. 1 option in Kansas City’s passing game, Kelce can be expected to be the focal point of the offense, especially in the red zone – inside the 20-yard line – where the Eagles may be forced to utilize double coverage in a bid to limit the damage he can cause.

A.J. BROWN, EAGLES WIDE RECEIVER

Acquired in a trade with the Tennessee Titans last April, Brown’s outstanding physicality and toughness with the ball has made him a potent weapon in the Eagles’ offense this season.

Brown is Philadelphia’s top playmaker and had the fourth-most receiving yards of any player in the NFL during the regular season. While he has not had a major impact in Philadelphia’s two lop-sided playoff wins, he will likely play an integral role for the Eagles on Sunday.

CHRIS JONES, CHIEFS DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Jones has been nearly unstoppable at the line of scrimmage while earning himself a reputation as one of the NFL’s premier inside pass rushers. His talents will be put to the test against an Eagles team that boasts the league’s best offensive line.

The dominating defensive tackle was named this season to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl after tying some of his career-highs with 15.5 sacks and 29 quarterback hits. Even when double-teamed, he can still find his way to the quarterback or ball carrier.

Patrick Mahomes will look to pull one more rabbit out of his hat on Sunday as the Kansas City Chiefs face the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl 57.

Kansas City broke a half-century curse at the NFL title game three years ago and will need quarterback Mahomes, who picked up his second Most Valuable Player honors in six years on Thursday, to be at his magical best if they are to beat the Eagles.

Mahomes overcame a high-ankle sprain in the divisional round to get the Chiefs to their third Super Bowl in four years, producing a heroic late-game sprint to help clinch the AFC Championship.

“I’m definitely in a better spot (with my ankle), I can definitely move around better,” he told reporters this week. “Just trying to continue to get the treatment and the rehab and get as close as I can to 100%.”

After throwing for a career-best 5,250 yards, becoming only the second player after future Hall of Famer Drew Brees to produce more than 5,000 passing yards and 40 touchdowns in multiple seasons, there appears little Mahomes cannot do.

Even when receiver Tyreek Hill went to the Miami Dolphins in the offseason Mahomes quickly found a rhythm with new receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling to finish the season 14-3.

“Tyreek’s a heck of a player,” head coach Andy Reid told reporters this week. “But we’ve got other guys that stepped up. We’ve got Patrick Mahomes as a quarterback – that’s a special thing.

“Pat Mahomes brought everybody in, made them feel at home, and I think he utilized every guy’s strengths to make them great.”

Mahomes has helped his favorite target Travis Kelce become one of the greatest tight ends ever to play the game. The eight-time Pro Bowler has had 1,000 or more receiving yards in each of the last seven seasons.

Kelce is keen to banish memories of their last Super Bowl appearance two years ago, when Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccanneers humiliated them 31-9.

“The last taste I had in my mouth of the Super Bowl, it wasn’t too good,” said Kelce, who will make history at State Farm Stadium with his brother, Eagles center Jason Kelce, as the first siblings to play each other in a Super Bowl.

“I’m focused on making sure I don’t end the last one like I did.”

A potentially legacy-defining game for Andy Reid

Given his success with these two franchises as a head coach, this Super Bowl feels like it may be oddly pivotal in Andy Reid’s wider NFL legacy. Despite assembling a succession of contending Eagles teams, Reid repeatedly came up short in the play-offs while head coach in Philadelphia. He departed the city in 2012 with his place in the coaching pantheon uncertain: undoubtedly an influential offensive mind, Reid was perhaps unfairly labelled a head coach with shortcomings that too often proved fatal come the postseason.

His work in Kansas City, and particularly the Super Bowl success three years ago, has placed him more securely among the coaching greats. Reid has improved significantly as a clock and game manager – a common criticism during his long stint in Philadelphia – but Chiefs fans may worry his woes are not totally bound to the past. Reid’s decisions in the second half of the AFC Championship game did not ultimately prove costly, but the veteran coach was widely criticised after allowing Cincinnati an opportunity to steal victory.

On the opposite sideline, Nick Sirianni’s intuitive feel for in-game decision-making has been a key driver of the Eagles’ success since their head coach gave up playcalling duties midway through the 2021 season, but must now deal with the unique challenges that the Super Bowl brings.

Jill Biden won’t let even a White House gala get between her and the Philadelphia Eagles.

After a late night entertaining governors with President Joe Biden at a black-tie dinner on Saturday, the first lady was heading for the Super Bowl in Arizona on Sunday with hopes of watching “the Birds” defeat the Kansas City Chiefs and claim the NFL title.

First ladies have been involved with sports in a variety of ways over the years, from throwing out the first pitch at baseball games to representing the United States at the Olympics. But Jill Biden’s unabashed public expressions of support for Philadelphia’s teams — she grew up in suburban Willow Grove — are a rare kind of devotion.

“The first lady is a proud Philly girl and devoted sports fan, and is excited to cheer on her hometown team for the Super Bowl,” said her spokesperson, Vanessa Valdivia.

At a time when national politicians often avoid taking sides in sports contests, Jill Biden, a community college professor, wears her Eagles and Phillies garb in public and tweets photos of herself watching games in the private cabin on a government plane.

She and her grandson, Hunter, were at the stadium in Philadelphia on Jan. 29 when the Eagles won the NFC championship. The 16-year-old will join her again on Sunday.

“I’m going. I’ll wave to you at the game,” the first lady was overheard telling two girls about the Super Bowl when she visited California last weekend.

“He’s got an incredible ability to connect with players and it’s just authentic, it’s genuine,” Frank Reich told the AP Pro Football Podcast.

“It’s easy for him because he cares. He’s just really good at that. He’s also an elite offensive mind. He’s a great game-planner. He’s got that coaching pedigree. We worked together for six years.

“It was a real highlight. I know he’s always complimentary because I’m like the older brother who mentored him, but trust me, this was a two-way street. We both benefited from it and I’ve learned a lot from that.”

Is Jalen Hurts healthy and can he hurt the Chiefs from the pocket?

If the Chiefs dare Hurts to win from the pocket, then the Eagles must test the nerve of the four Kansas City rookies in the secondary with Jaylen Watson, Trent McDuffie, Bryan Cook and Joshua Williams daring to replicate the youthful nature of the San Francisco secondary en route to the Super Bowl in 1981.

While Hurts can routinely connect deep with AJ Brown and Devonta Smith, Nick Sirianni will hope his quarterback’s shoulder is healthy enough to emphasise the option threat and occasionally dart towards the edge with a heavy dose of violence deny the Chiefs rhythm on defense.

Just like Josh Allen did, Hurts has elevated his accuracy in the passing game, up more than five percent to 66.5 percent this season, even if his legs remain the most potent threat towards the Chiefs. Should he prevail on Sunday, Hurts would become the first quarterback to triumph with over 100 carries along the way.

Crunch the numbers and Hurts is third in the entire league in adjusted yards per attempt (8.4), according to Pro Football Reference, with only Patrick Mahomes (8.5) and Tua Tagovailoa (9.2), who missed four games, ahead of him. Another efficient, yet versatile display from Hurts will prove once and for all he is more than a dual-threat quarterback.

Can AJ Brown and Devonta Smith exploit inexperienced Chiefs’ secondary?

While the Chiefs have got strong play at times in the defensive backfield this season, Kansas City ranks 26th in secondary spending in the NFL – it’s an inexpensive and relatively inexperienced group, with three rookie cornerbacks in line to feature heavily even with L’Jarius Sneed set to be cleared to play after clearing concussion protocol.

In AJ Brown and Devonta Smith, the Eagles have a pair of complete receivers with the ability to win vertically, and Jalen Hurts should have opportunities to throw one-on-one matchups to the outside down the field if the Chiefs load the box to try and stymie Philadelphia’s run game.

Brown should have a big game. The Chiefs ranked 31st in DVOA against number one wide receivers this season, and Brown shreds press coverage. The trade for the former Tennessee Titan has already paid dividends for Philadelphia, transforming their offence, and he could be decisive on Sunday – three or four explosive passing plays could tilt the game in Philadelphia’s favour.

The Super Bowl has long been the single biggest sports betting event of the year in the United States and Sunday’s showdown in Glendale, Arizona could reach new heights as wagering on the NFL’s championship game has exploded in popularity.

It will be the first Super Bowl held in a state that offers legal sports betting and there is even a physical sportsbook on the same grounds as the stadium that will host the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.

Mix in the fact that there are three additional states that offer legal sports betting compared with a year ago, for a total of 33 states plus Washington, D.C., and it is no wonder a betting bonanza is on the horizon.

Sports betting was allowed to be legalized at state level in 2018 when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 1992 federal law that barred it in most places.

The NFL, like many other leagues, had long been against sports betting due partly to concerns about the integrity of the game but changed its tune and turned it into a viable revenue stream through agreements with sportsbook operators.

“The fact that the Super Bowl is being played in a state where you can legally bet on sports was almost unthinkable five years ago,” American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO Bill Miller told Reuters.

“There is important symbolism and economics around the fact that a Super Bowl is being held in a state where sports betting is legal, no question about that.”

According to analysts at PlayUSA, legal sportsbooks across the United States could take in a record $1.1 billion in Super Bowl wagers, led by Nevada ($176 million), New York ($161 million) and New Jersey ($115 million).

A survey by the AGA, a trade group for the U.S. casino industry, showed a record 50.4 million American adults, or about 20% of the population, are expected to bet $16 billion on the Super Bowl.

The AGA said the number of expected Super Bowl bettors would represent a 61% increase from last year while the wagers, which include bets made with legal sportsbooks, illegal bookmakers or casually with friends, would be double last year’s estimates.

Native American groups are expected to protest the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, calling for the AFC champions to drop their name and logo as they take on the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 57.

The Chiefs wear the arrowhead logo on their helmet and use a large drum to kick of their home games, as fans routinely engage in what’s known as the “tomahawk chop” chant, all of which critics say draw on offensive and racist stereotypes.

This is their third trip to the NFL title game in four years and Kansas City fans can be heard throughout Phoenix singing the “tomahawk chop” chant. It is a jarring contrast to the displays of Native American culture and pride that Super Bowl hosts have invited to participate in the days leading up to the game.

Dancers from Indigenous Enterprise performed at Monday’s Opening Night festivities, becoming the first Native Americans to perform at the annual media mega event.

In a strange juxtaposition, they took the stage minutes after Kansas City fans in attendance at the Footprint Center joined together in a loud rendition of their “tomahawk chop” chant.

“What the NFL is doing inside Phoenix, by bringing in indigenous dancers and artists, that’s celebrating the authentic, which is wonderful,” said Cher Thomas, an artist, community organizer and member of the Gila River Community. She will be among those outside the game on Sunday protesting.

“However, the NFL simultaneously condones Kansas City’s team and their names and monikers and their derogatory traditions.”

“I know it’s coming,” Kelce said. “It’s getting closer and closer each day. I’m just trying to enjoy this moment now and attack that when it gets here.”

“From everything I’ve been told about when you know it’s time to retire or not, you just know when you know, and it’s going to be when you don’t want to play football anymore.

“And I don’t think that winning this game is going to determine whether I want to continue playing football or not.”