Super Bowl LIX will be played in New Orleans at the Caesars Superdome on Sunday Feb. 9.
The Kansas City Chiefs are on the doorstep of National Football League history. No team has ever won three straight Super Bowls and the back-to-back defending world champion Chiefs could become the first as they prepare to play the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. In fact, Kansas City is the first and only team in the history of the Super Bowl to reach a third straight Super Bowl having won the prior two. Thus, the Chiefs, champions of the American Football Conference, are in unprecedented territory which has never been explored before in the 105-year history of the NFL. Kansas City’s quest for a third straight Super Bowl win will take place Sunday Feb. 9 with kickoff set for 6:30 pm EST in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, LA. The game will be broadcast on FOX Sports and the most recent line has the Chiefs (-1.5) a slight favorite. The over/under for total points to be scored in the game is at 49 after opening at 49.5 With a victory, Kansas City would create a new standard for an NFL championship reign as well as a new mark for consistency at the highest level of football.
The Chiefs are in the Super Bowl for the fifth time in the last six seasons and are 3-1 in their prior four trips since the 2019 season. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes has the Chiefs on the brink of history and will be the most important player on the field on Sunday. Mahomes, a two-time NFL most valuable player, is the top quarterback in the game today largely due to his ability to consistently execute plays with his arm and legs. If a play should break down in some way, Mahomes draws on his experience by using his mind, creativity, and talents to deliver, especially in the clutch moments of games. His prime target is veteran tight end Travis Kelce who has the same ability to come up big in the biggest of moments. Look for those two to connect in some big moments on Sunday. Named to the Pro Bowl six times thus far in his career, Mahomes is one of only three players in NFL history with three Super Bowl MVP awards. The other two are Joe Montana with three and Tom Brady who holds the record with five such honors.
Kansas City head coach Andy Reid will be making his sixth Super Bowl appearance on Sunday as an NFL head coach.
Along with masterful coaching by Kansas City head coach Andy Reid, Mahomes has the Chiefs at the top of their game. Kansas City won their ninth straight AFC west division title this season and set a single-season franchise record for most regular season wins with a 15-2 mark. Over this nine-season span, the Chiefs have gone 46-8 in division play and had a 6-0 record in three of the seasons, two of which culminated with a Super Bowl championship following the 2019 and 2022 seasons. While they have dominated their division and been the team others are targeting in the Mahomes era, they have done so not just by winning by big margins. In fact, it has been just the opposite this year. Kansas City enters the Super Bowl having won 17 straight one-possession games dating back to the 2023 season. This includes five postseason games, one of which was the classic 32-29 win over Buffalo in the AFC Championship game on Jan. 26 that sent them to New Orleans. The Chiefs just play above their opponents in the important moments throughout the game as well as in the biggest moments in the late stages of the fourth quarter or overtime. Reid and Mahomes have a lot to do with that along with the rest of the Kansas City players who provide a proven supporting cast. The Chiefs have succeeded time and time again in either pulling out a victory or preserving a small lead. Such was the case this season back on Nov. 10 when linebacker Leo Chenal blocked a potential game-winning field goal attempt by Denver with :01 left to play, preserving a 16-14 victory that moved Kansas City to 9-0. The Chiefs have so much moxie that when a big play or must have situation arises for them, they almost always make the play that gives them the edge. This is what the Eagles will have to monitor and be ready for from Kansas City as the game progresses on Sunday. Philadelphia will need to be very alert at all times.
The Eagles and Chiefs are playing in the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons. Kansas City rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Philadelphia 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII in 2023 in Glendale, AZ. There, the Chiefs stormed back in the second half to take a 35-27 lead with 9:02 left to play in the fourth quarter. The Eagles responded with an eight-play 75-yard drive capped by Jalen Hurts’ two-yard touchdown run. Hurts added the two-point conversion to force a 35-35 tie with 5:15 left to play. That’s when Kansas City turned to Mahomes for his leadership and clutch ability. Hobbled by a high right ankle sprain, which he had reaggravated in the first half, Mahomes lead the Chiefs down the field, going 3-for-3 for 17 yards and adding a critical 26-yard run to get deep into Philadelphia territory. Three plays later after Mahomes’ big run, Mahomes threw a short pass to the left side looking for JuJu Smith-Schuster on third-and-eight. Officials called a defensive holding penalty on the play against Eagles’ defensive back James Bradberry nullifying the play and giving Kansas City a first-and-10 at the Eagles 11-yard line with 1:54 left to play. Philadelphia was forced to use its’ remaining timeouts and the Chiefs ran the clock down to :11. Harrison Butker’s 27-yard field goal clinched the win for Kansas City. Only :08 remained as the Eagles took the kickoff back to their own 36-yard line. Six seconds remained for the Eagles and Hurts’ pass down the middle fell incomplete to end the game.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs seek a fourth Super Bowl win in the last six seasons.
Neither quarterback threw an interception in Super Bowl LVII and Hurts had a better statistical performance than Mahomes. Hurts went 27-for-38 for 304 yards and one touchdown while also running for 70 yards on 15 carries, three of which were touchdowns. Mahomes finished 21-for-27 for 182 yards and three touchdowns and was not sacked. Hurts was sacked twice and committed a costly fumble which was returned 36 yards for a touchdown by Chiefs’ linebacker Nick Bolton to force a 14-14 tie in the second quarter.
With a 9-0 record to start the season, Alex Smith has the Kansas City Chiefs pointing in the right direction.
With the NFL season now officially past the mid-point, there has been quite a lot of unpredictability. Some based on off-season player and coaching changes and some that can be attributed to injuries and on the field successes and failures.
So far no team has benefited more from adding a new player and a new coach than the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. Head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Alex Smith have proven to be a great combination as the Chiefs have gone from two victories and the first overall draft pick in 2012 to nine wins and counting in 2013. Granted their success is due as much to their defense and running game as it is to Smith, but he has definitely provided the stability needed under center. Reid has also proven that leaving Philadelphia was the right tonic he needed to get back to his role as one of the best coaches in the NFL.
In a league where 12 teams have either four or five victories after nine weeks (either eight or nine games depending on whether the team has already had their bye week), one or two players can make a huge difference.
A week ago the Green Bay Packers seemed poised to take control of the NFC Central and solidify themselves as a Super Bowl contender. One of the big reasons for that was the play of rookie running back Eddie Lacy. Lacy ranks in the top ten in the NFL with 596 yards rushing in his first seven games. However, after All Pro quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collar bone early in their Monday Night loss to the Chicago Bears, the Packers are now considered a long shot to overcome the loss of their quarterback and make the playoffs. Read the rest of this entry →
As we took off into the second quarter of the season (for most teams), the fascinating phenomena kept rolling in. Included in this week’s list is something that hasn’t happened to the New England offense in seven years, a first for any quarterback since the merger, the continuation of home dominance for one NFC North team, a record-tying day for one tight end and an offensive outburst in Dallas. Here are your Week 5 NFL headlines.
Travis Benjamin had a career night in the return game for the red-hot Browns.
The Browns scored their first rushing touchdown of the season (and it wasn’t Trent Richardson) in their fifth game and stayed perfect when starting quarterback Brian Hoyer as they beat the Bills, 37-24, on Thursday night. They did, however, lose Hoyer for the season with a partially torn ACL suffered early in the game. Cleveland punt returner, Travis Benjamin, tied a franchise record with 166 punt return yards in the win for the first-place Browns. Their 37 points were the most they have scored in a game since putting up 41 back in 2009. Since Week 3, they are averaging 28.3 points per game after averaging eight points per game in the first two weeks.
The Patriots fell from the ranks of the unbeaten and the Bengals improved to 6-22 against the AFC East since 1998 as New England managed only six points in the 13-6 loss. The six points were the fewest for the high-powered New England offense since being shut out on Dec. 10, 2006, 21-0, in Week 14 against Miami. The Bengals’ 5-22 record had been the third-worst against one division in that span. Andy Dalton’s first-quarter interception in the red zone was the first red-zone pick of his career. Tom Brady fell two short of the all-time record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass as he failed to record one in game No. 53. The Pats had won 63 straight games when allowing 13 points or less with their last such loss coming in 2001. Read the rest of this entry →
As September continues to move toward October, this NFL season is providing us with some truths that stand the test of time and some that have and will continue to shock us all. And then, there are the teams or players who break the norm – finally. Week 3 saw the end of an almost-century-long losing streak, the worst loss ever for one head coach, a potential Cinderella story getting to 3-0, a first for the 49ers since 1958, and the Jaguars, well, being the Jaguars. Here are your Week 3 NFL headlines.
Alex Smith in Kansas City is working out all right so far as KC is 3-0.
The Eagles lost their eighth straight game at home and the Chiefs, led by former Eagles coach, Andy Reid, improved to 3-0 with a 26-16 win to open the week on Thursday night. It is just the second time Philly has ever lost eight in a row at home and first time since 1936-37. Lesean McCoy managed his third-highest rushing total in the loss, but only second-highest of the season with 158 yards and Michael Vick posted a career-high 61-yard run. The Chiefs joined the 2002 Panthers as the last team to start a season 3-0 after winning two or fewer games the year before. Alex Smithbecame the first Kansas City signal caller to win his first three starts with the team since Joe Montana in 1993.
Calvin Johnson tied Torry Holt as the fourth-fastest player to accumulate 8,000 career receiving yards as he did so in his 95th career game and Detroit beat the Redskins, 27-20. The win was the first ever for the Lions in the city of Washington (1-21) as they had not beaten the Redskins on the road since they were in Boston in 1935. The Skins fell to 0-3, but Robert Griffin III’s 975 yards through three games are the second-most all-time by a quarterback who started out 0-3. Matthew Stafford became just the second quarterback since 2001 to throw for 200-plus yards in the first half of each of his first three games of a season. Read the rest of this entry →
Lucky Seven: Peyton Manning had a night for the ages to open the season.
After seven long months of OTA’s and talking about Tim Tebow, football returned this Thursday under the lights in Denver, Colorado. And this time the lights stayed on for the whole game. The season got started with one of the best players of this generation reminding us all that he can still get it done, included a first for a veteran wide receiver, the extension of a couple of Opening Day streaks, one milestone coaching victory and a first for a Lions‘ player since the days of Barry Sanders. Here are all the important notes, interesting accomplishments and head-scratching statistics from Week 1 of the brand new season.
Peyton Manning tied the all-time single-game record with seven touchdown passes in the Broncos‘ 49-27 win over the defending champion Ravens Thursday night. He became the first quarterback to throw seven TD passes in a game since Joe Kapp in 1969. It was the 74th time in his career he has thrown three or more touchdown passes in a game – the most all-time. Denver’s 22-point win was the largest ever opening-week win by a team against a defending Super Bowl champ.
The Falcons lost their first ever season opener against the Saints as they fell, 23-17, after blowing a 10-0 first-quarter lead. Atlanta had been 6-0 all-time against New Orleans to open the season. In the loss, however, Tony Gonzalez became just the third player to record a touchdown catch in 17 different seasons, joining Jerry Rice (19) and Irving Fryar, who also did it 17 times.
With two against the Bills, Tom Brady has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in 49 consecutive games for the Patriots – five shy of tying Drew Brees for the all-time record. He also improved to 21-2 in his career against Buffalo. New England won its 10th straight opener and they forced at least one turnover in their 28th straight game.
The Bucs fell to 0-7 all-time in road games against the Jets as New York pulled out the 18-17 win on a last-second field goal. Tampa committed 13 penalties in the game, leading to five New York first downs and helped put them in position to kick the game-winning field goal. Rookie Geno Smith helped lead the Jets with a 76.0 QBR in the fourth quarter.
Marc Trestman joined Chip Kelly and Andy Reid in winning their debuts with new teams.
A.J. Green hauled in nine passes for 162 yards to break Chad Johnson‘s franchise record for receiving yards in a season opener, but the Bengals fell to the Bears in Marc Trestman‘s debut, 24-21.Bears kicker, Robbie Gould, set a Soldier Field record with a 58-yard field goal in the win.
Seattle and Carolina combined for just 19 points in the Seahawks‘ 12-7 win. Cam Newton put up career lows in total yards (163) and passing yards (125) for the Panthers in the loss. Russell Wilson threw for 320 yards, despite managing just the 12 points and it was the first 300-yard game of his career.
Ben Roethlisberger threw for just 191 yards as the Steelers mustered just nine points and fell to the Titans, 16-9. It was the fifth time since 2011 that Big Ben threw for less than 200 yards in a game. Though this was Pittsburgh’s first loss in a home opener since 2002, Roethlisberger did go over the career 30,000-yard passing mark on the day. Pittsburgh got on the board three seconds into the game after it was ruled that Tennessee kick returner, Darius Reynaud, fielded the opening kickoff before the goal line and then took a knee in the endzone. The safety tied the fastest score in any game since the merger.
The Browns lost their ninth straight season opener, 23-10, at the hands of the Dolphins. Nine straight is the longest active streak in the league. The teams combined for just 67 rushing yards and the Browns were just 1-for-14 on third down. Brandon Weeden set a new career-high for pass attempts in a game with 53, but threw three interceptions and was sacked three times.
With head coach Sean Payton back on board, Drew Brees and the Saints will look to return to the top of the standings in 2013.
Every season one thing you can count on in the NFL is that there will be teams that you expect to do well that will struggle and there will be teams that are expected to be bad, but will make a run toward the playoffs.
In the world of online football betting, everyone is trying to figure out which teams will be the surprise teams for the upcoming season because as all who do follow the NFL are aware from past history that there will be some.
Last season four teams that had posted losing records the previous season made the playoffs and there are many seasons when five or more such teams have made the leap.
As we look toward 2013, the question is which teams can do what the Colts, Seahawks, Redskins and Vikings did last season? Here is a look at some of the top contenders to rise from the ashes:
New Orleans Saints – 2012 Record: 7-9
It may not really be fair to include the Saints on this list. After all, they were 13-3 in 2011 and played the 2012 season with their head coach suspended and under the cloud of “Bountygate”.
With Sean Payton back on the sidelines and Bountygate now a distant memory, it would be of little surprise if the Saints are back in the playoff hunt in 2013.
Another distraction entering the 2012 season was the contract status of quarterback Drew Brees and with that no longer an issue, you can expect him to be back to his Pro Bowl best.
The Saints had a generally quiet off-season with their biggest acquisition being new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. He will have a tough task making the New Orleans defense a playoff caliber unit as they allowed the most yards and second most points in the league last year.
While the offense will certainly be potent and probably good enough to get New Orleans back above .500, the defense must be better if the Saints want to make a deep playoff run.
Kansas City Chiefs – 2012 Record: 2-14
Following a 7-9 campaign in 2011 the Chiefs were a popular pick to take the next step in 2012. Unfortunately for them, the next step proved to be over a cliff as they posted the worst record in the NFL. Read the rest of this entry →
The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month is one of the most underappreciated wide receivers in NFL history, despite boasting a career that spanned 16 seasons and saw him excel as one of the league’s premier deep threats. Known for his speed, route-running, and ability to make plays downfield, Harold Jackson left an indelible mark on the game during an era that was not yet pass-heavy. Standing at 5’10” and weighing 175 pounds, he defied expectations of size to become a dominant force on the field. Over the course of his illustrious career (1968–1983), Jackson totaled 10,372 receiving yards and 76 touchdowns, placing him among the top receivers of his time.
