This is it… The last game of the NFL season… Fans are in for a treat this year as the two teams with the best records will face of in Super Bowl LVII. The 16-3 Kansas City Chiefs will play the 16-3 Philadelphia Eagles. The Chiefs have the No. 1 scoring offense, and the Eagles have the have the No. 2 defense in the NFL. The other side of the ball greatly favors Philadelphia. The Eagles have the No. 3 scoring offense, while the Chiefs have the No. 16 ranked defense. The Chief’s defense is young and improving, so this matchup could be closer than what the stats suggest. There are many great story lines in this game, and it should be fun to see how it all plays out.
**Full disclosure** I am a HUGE Chiefs fan. My brother works for Chiefs and my uncle played for the Chiefs. I will do my best to keep my bias out of the picks this week, but my heart still screams… GO CHIEFS KINGDOM 😊
WHY THE CHIEFS WILL WIN
On paper Super Bowl LVII should not be close. The Eagles are a 1.5-point favorite. The stats suggest they should be closer to a touchdown favorite. The Eagles beat the Chiefs in most stat categories. Most people who gamble for a living understand that stats can be misleading.
The biggest difference between these two teams is their schedules. The Chiefs had the hardest schedule in the NFL. They had to play the Bengals (twice), Buffalo, San Francisco, Chargers (twice), Jaguars (twice), Buccaneers and the defending Super Bowl champs (Rams). To say this team is battle tested is an understatement. The Eagles had some tough opponents in the Vikings and Dallas twice, but those are really the only tough games they had on their schedule. San Francisco would have been a tough game, but it was made a lot easier when their fourth string QB had to enter the game (I understand the Eagles were the reason why the 49ers were so banged up). This is just another HUGE game on the Chiefs schedule. They are used to battling teams to the final seconds on the clock. The Eagles have blown out most of their opponents. If this game is close (like the experts expect), it should favor the Chiefs.
The other reason why the Chiefs should win is because of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes. Reid rarely loses when he has an extra week to prepare. He is 24-7 in his career coming off a bye week. Now he has two weeks to prepare for the Eagles. Expect some very creative plays to entertain you during Super Bowl LVII.
Can you ever bet against Patrick Mahomes? He just beat the Bengals on one leg, without most of his WRs. Is he the best QB in the NFL? Everyone has their opinion, but he led the NFL is almost every category for QBs. As long as the Chiefs have Mahomes, they have a chance.
WHY THE EAGLES WILL WIN
This one is easy…. People often say that football games are won at the line of scrimmage. The Eagles have an advantage on both lines of scrimmage. The Eagles defense had 70 sacks this year. That is third-best in the history of the NFL (1985 Bears had 73 and 1989 Vikings had 71). The Chiefs have three Pro-Bowl players on their offensive line (Orlando Pace, Joe Tunney and Creed Humphrey), but the Eagles defensive line has the advantage when the Chiefs have the ball.
The Chiefs defensive line is getting better. Chris Jones played out of his mind in the AFC Championship game, but there is a big difference between the Bengals backups and the Eagles offensive line. The Eagles also had three Pro Bowl players on their Offensive line (Lane Johnson, Landon Dickerson and Jason Kelce). The Eagles win this matchup on paper.
We should know early in the game if Super Bowl LVII will be a blowout. If the Eagles can pressure Patrick Mahomes, it is going to be a long day for the Chiefs. If the Eagles offensive line opens up holes for their running game, it will also be a long day for the Chiefs. The key for an Eagles win is to dominate the line of scrimmage.
DRAFTKING PICKS FOR SUPER BOWL LVII
DraftKings and FanDuel only have Showdown Slates (Single-Game Slates) for the Super Bowl. The good news is that you are in good hands for this game. DraftKings awarded 5,000 crowns if you played $1 each week on one team in Showdown Contests. I play at least $3 each week on the Chiefs (Since they are my favorite team). I won some cash in 14 of the 19 Showdown Slates I played with the Chiefs. I will do my best to make it 15 of 20.
Here are my picks for the Showdown Slates for Super Bowl LVII….
DRAFTKINGS SHOWDOWN SLATE (CASH CONTEST)
DRAFTKINGS SHOWDOWN SLATE (TOURNAMENT CONTEST)
FANDUEL SHOWDOWN SLATE
BEST BETS (SEASON RECORD: 36-27)
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES -1.5 vs. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
* I am betting the Eagles to win, because the Chiefs are not supposed to be here. The Chiefs are in a “rebuilding year.” They are rebuilding their WR core, and they have five rookies playing in their defensive secondary and one starting at DE. The Chiefs will be better in the future (if that is possible), but this one should go to the Eagles. Also, I am using some reverse psychology… I will be very happy if the Chiefs win, but I will have more cash in my pocket if the Eagles win 😊
PROP BETS FOR SUPER BOWL LVII
Patrick Mahomes Under 294.5 Passing Yards
Patrick Mahomes Over 20.5 Rushing Yards
Travis Kelce Over 77.5 Receiving Yards
Isaiah Pecheco Over 46.5 Rushing Yards
Jerick McKinnon Over 20.5 Receiving Yards
Jalen Hurts Under 240.5 Passing Yards
Kenneth Gainwell Over 19.5 Rushing Yards
Boston Scott Over 5.5 Rushing Yards
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