2023 Super Bowl Preview

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February 10, 2023

by Steve Thomas

We finally made it to another Super Bowl weekend.  Washington fans aren’t thrilled about having to watch the likes of the Eagles back in the Super Bowl while Washington continues to languish in a Dan Snyder-induced haze, but this is always a fun game, regardless of who’s playing . . . right?  This year, we have the team from the City of Hate versus Jackson Mahomes’ older brother, which in my view is a bit of a Sophie’s Choice in terms of a rooting interest.  Neither one of these is a great option, so I suppose I’ll just have to root for the pointless, washed up, lip syncing pop singer fabulous halftime show to serve as the primary entertainment.  In all seriousness, getting past the rooting interests, this should be an outstanding matchup of the two best teams in the NFL, featuring probably the league’s preeminent superstar quarterback in Patrick Mahomes and a surprisingly elite passer on the other side.  I’m looking forward to the game.  Our game preview starts below.

Playoff Seedings

AFC

  1. Kansas City Chiefs (14 – 3; 1st, AFC West; homefield advantage and bye)
  2. Buffalo Bills (13 – 3; 1st, AFC East)
  3. Cincinnati Bengals (12 – 4; 1st, AFC North)
  4. Jacksonville Jaguars (9 – 8; 1st, AFC South)
  5. Los Angeles Chargers (10 – 7; 2nd, AFC West)
  6. Baltimore Ravens (10 – 7; 2nd, AFC North)
  7. Miami Dolphins (9 – 8; 2nd, AFC East)

 

NFC

  1. Philadelphia Eagles (14 – 3; 1st, NFC East; homefield advantage and bye)
  2. San Francisco 49ers (13 – 4; 1st, NFC West)
  3. Minnesota Vikings (13 – 4; 1st, NFC North)
  4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8 – 9; 1st, NFC South)
  5. Dallas Cowboys (12 – 5; 2nd, NFC East)
  6. New York Giants (9 – 7 – 1; 3rd, NFC East)
  7. Seattle Seahawks (9 – 8; 2nd, NFC West)

2023 NFL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE:

Super Bowl 57

Sunday, Feb. 12

6:30 p.m. ET, State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona (Fox, FoxSports.com, fuboTV)

Halftime Show – another horrible, lipsyched travesty of music, again, when it could be Metallica  Rihanna

Game Previews

Kansas City Chiefs (#1) vs Philadelphia Eagles (#1)

Early line: Eagles, -1.5

 

The Chiefs scored 496 points and gained 7032 yards this season, which are both the best in the NFL.  They had 5062 passing yards, which is also #1 in the NFL.  Their rushing game is also effective, but not to the same extent as their passing game, with 1970 yards (ranked 20th) at an average of 4.7 yards per carry (ranked 11th).  They scored 27 or more points in 11 games this season.  2x First Team All-Pro and 5x Pro Bowl quarterback Patrick Mahomes had another outstanding season, with 435 completions in 648 attempts for a 67.1% completion percentage, 5250 yards, 41 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 105.2.  4x First Team All-Pro and 8x Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce was the leading receiver with 110 receptions for 1338 yards and 12 touchdowns.  JuJu Smith-Schuster had 78 receptions for 933 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Isiah Pacheco was team’s leading rusher with 170 carries for 830 yards, for an average of 4.9 yards per carry and 5 touchdowns.  Defensively, the Chiefs have given up 369 points, which is ranked 16th, 5579 total yards, ranked 12th, 3756 passing yards (ranked 19th), and 1823 rushing yards (ranked 8th) at 4.4 yards per attempt (ranked 18th).  Defensive tackle Chris Jones is the star of the front 7, with 15.5 sacks this season.

To get here, the Chiefs defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisions Round by a score of 27 – 20, and squeaked out a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship game by a score of 23 – 20.

The Eagles scored 477 points this past season, which is second in the NFL, and gained 6614 total yards (also ranked 2nd), 4105 passing yards (ranked 9th), 2509 rushing yards (ranked 5th) at 4.6 yards per carry (ranked 14th).  The quarterback, Pro Bowler Jalen Hurts, played 15 games this year, missing weeks 16 and 17 due to a shoulder injury, and had 306 completions in 460 attempts, for 3701 yards, a 66.5% completion percentage, 22 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, and a 101.5 quarterback rating.  In addition, he had 760 rushing yards in 165 carries, 4.6 yards per carry, and 13 touchdowns.  Running back Miles Sanders is the leading rusher, with 1269 yards in 259 carries for an average of 4.9 yards per carry, and 11 touchdowns.  Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Brown was the leading receiver with 88 receptions for 1496 yards and 11 touchdowns.  Wide receiver DeVonta Smith had 95 receptions for 1196 yards and 7 touchdowns.   On defense, the Eagles allowed 344 points, ranked 8th, 5125 yards (ranked 3rd), and are #1 in the NFL in passing yards surrendered, #16 in rushing yards, and gave up 4.6 yards per carry, which is ranked 24th.

The Eagles defeated their NFC East Division rivals, the New York Giants, in the Divisional Round by a score of 38 – 7, and defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Conference Championship game by a score of 31 – 7.

The Eagles and Chiefs did not face each other in the regular season.

Steve’s prediction:  This is a good matchup featuring several talented players on both sides of the ball.  Patrick Mahomes has a knack for fantastic comebacks and finishes, but at the end of the day, the Eagles’ defense is going to be the deciding factor and will bring Philadelphia the win.  The Chiefs had a tough time against Cincinnati two weeks ago, but Philadelphia has run roughshod over their opponents, and that’s a good sign for them.   The Eagles defense will slow down the Chiefs passing attack just enough to eek out a close 28-24 victory.