Two Aussies, two quarterbacks, and two All-Stars of the Year – Super Bowl 57 is all set to be one of the greats.
Can Patrick Mahomes lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a second title at his third attempt, or will Galen Hurts, former NRL player Jordan Mailata and former NFL player Arjen Sipos, inspire the Philadelphia Eagles to glory?
The Eagles lead the Chiefs 24-14 at halftime, but the biggest concern for Kansas City was the sight of quarterback Mahomes in pain on the floor in the closing stages of the second quarter.
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Duck Boyd despite winning a charity award | 00:38
Mahomes limped off after being hit during a scrambled play on third down, having already entered the game with a sprained ankle he suffered prior to the playoffs.
“That right ankle, you see how it’s rotated,” former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky said in a commentary to ESPN.
“He was caught at a 90-degree angle to the ankle. It was just how he was injured in the first place.”
“Mahomes is in definite pain,” Steve Levy added.
It capped a five-play, nine-yard game that Greg Olsen called “nightmare stuff” for Kansas City.
Game summary:
Philadelphia’s “Impossible” Weapon leads to another touchdown
The Chiefs’ defense was physical early, limiting Eagle running back Miles Sanders to one yard on the opening play and later forcing a Philadelphia punt on third-and-five to keep the drive alive.
Jalen Hurts, though, has taken his passing game to another level this season, finding wide receiver Devonta Smith a 12-yard gain for a first down.
“Great work to understand what coverage is,” Orlovsky said in a comment.
Hurts then rushed 11 yards to move the chains before connecting with tight end Dallas Goodert and Smith again to move Philadelphia to within striking distance of the end zone.
After some failed attempts to hit him from Boston Scott, Kenneth Ginwell appeared to capitalize on third and two to score the opening touchdown of the game.
Although that call was later reversed with Gainwell ruled off the pylon, it didn’t matter because the Philadelphia quarterback’s deadly sneak saw the Hurts pull up for the first score.
Kicker Jake Elliott added the extras and the Eagles took a 7-0 lead.
Quarterback sneaks have consistently proven that Philadelphia isn’t quite a secret weapon this season, as foxsports.com.au explained earlier this month.
The Mahomes-Kelce connection causes all kinds of problems
But did you know? Kansas City has its own not-so-secret weapon, which no one can seem to find a way to stop. His name is Travis Kelsey.
Trading off top target for Patrick Mahomes at wide receiver Tyreek Hill should have put the Chiefs back on the ground.
Instead, it just demonstrated how special the Mahomes-Kelce connection was and it was on full display at Kansas City’s first sign-up drive.
Mahomes found his tight end early with a 20-yard strike before finding Kelce open in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown, capitalizing on a raging run from Isiah Pacheco a few plays before.
Harrison Butker then added the extra point to level the game.
With his 16th career catch, Kelsey passed Rob Gronkowski to move into second all-time behind Jerry Rice, who has 22.
The Eagles were forced to punt the ball wide on their next drive before Mahomes went to Kielce again, finding his first goal. Wide open For a big gain of 22 yards.
Kansas City put it within range but Butker’s 42-yard attempt was no good.
However, as hard as it is to limit Kelsey’s effectiveness, he already had 60 receiving yards – the most by a player in a first quarter since Marshall Faulk in 1999.
The Eagles defense responded to the challenge in the second quarter, with Kelsey not being targeted at all during the period.
The addition of an Eagles star makes TD play weird
But AJ Brown almost eclipsed Kelce’s receiving production on just one play as Hurts hit the star receiver wide for an amazing 45-yard score.
“It’s an odd beast,” Louis Reddick said in his caption.
“There’s a reason you trade him and pay him all that money,” added Orlowski of the Browns, who were signed by the Eagles to a four-year, $100 million deal.
Brown finished the regular season fourth in the NFL in receiving yards (1,496) and third in receiving touchdowns (11).
Hurts’ blunder causes the bosses to fight back
Hurts had a near perfect first half, scoring both on the ground and in the air as the Eagles took a 14-7 lead.
The much-improved Philadelphia quarterback had a moment to forget in the second quarter when Nick Bolton responded to Hurts’ 36-yard fumble to tie the game.
Pain is the best possible response to desensitization
But Hurts showed no fear as, instead of walking away from the moment, he stood tall to respond in the best way he could, scoring his second quick goal of the game.
It came after a running call from Eagles head coach Nick Siriani, who put his faith in Hurts and called the quarterback on a fourth-and-fifth drive, which he turned into a 28-yard pickup.
“He’s never short of confidence,” Steve Levy said in a caption.
Hurts rushed for 63 yards in the first half alone and is on the brink of surpassing the Super Bowl record for rushing yards by a quarterback (Steve McNair with 64 in 1999).
The Eagles ended the half with a Jake Elliott field goal to take a 24-14 lead, after having owned the ball for 21 minutes and 54 seconds compared to the Chiefs’ eight minutes and six seconds.
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previously…
THE NEXT VICTIM’S “DRAKE CURSE” CHOICES (via NY Post)
The Drake Curse is something to be feared, and if you are a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs, it is okay to be afraid now.
Drake revealed he’s betting $700,000 on the Chiefs on Sunday when they take on the Eagles in Super Bowl 2023.
“My psychotic bets are for Sunday at @Stake,” Drake said in his Instagram caption. “Please do not analyze the logic behind these bets as there is nothing.”
The OVO honcho and award-winning Canadian rapper has been infamous for jinxing teams and athletes on multiple occasions. He supported NFL player Johnny Manziel and former UFC champion Conor McGregor when they were in their heyday, both of whom fell from grace shortly after his public endorsement. He was also known as Serena Williams at the 2015 US Open Finals and Golden State Warriors at the 2016 NBA Finals. Both of them lost.
Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Preview | 06:24
Drake announced his partnership with cryptocurrency betting platform Stake last year, which in tears continued to throw ridiculous amounts of money on sporting events. He wins – and loses – quite a bit of money while betting, though it all seems like fun to the billionaire.
$700,000 wasn’t the only bet he placed on Sunday’s big game. He threw $50,000 each to Patrick Mahomes and Jojo Smith-Schuster to be the Chiefs’ all-time leading track scorer, another $50,000 to the Chiefs to win both halves, $30,000 to the Chiefs to win each quarter, and $25,000 to Travis Kelsey to be Super Bowl MVP , and finally $60,000 for the Super Bowl MVP position as tight end. That’s nearly a million dollars being put on the game.
Last year, Drake also put up a huge amount of money in the Super Bowl. Unlike this year, the Rams rode the favorite and it paid off, big time.
This year, he goes with the underdogs. Take at your own risk.
This article was originally published in the New York Post and is republished with permission.
SUPER BOWL preview (via AFP)
The best quarterbacks and two toughest teams in the NFL will go head to head when the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles in what could be the Super Bowl for the ages.
All the indices, stats, and model guides indicate that the showdown will be one of the closest matches the NFL title game has ever produced.
Both teams are the top seeds in their conferences, have identical 16-3 records this season and incredibly record exactly the same number – 546.
When it comes to playmakers, Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs is the best quarterback in the NFL but the Eagles are second best to Jalen Hurts.
Led by the inspiring, improvised Mahomes, the Chiefs own the first offense but will cut their work against the NFL’s best pass defense.
There are star players all over the field – the Chiefs have NFL tight end in Travis Kelsey while the Eagles boast wide receiver in AJ Brown.
But as Chiefs coach Andy Reid pointed out in his pregame press conference Thursday, despite all the analysis and game planning, in the high-pressure atmosphere of the Super Bowl, it’s often an unknown player who turns out to be decisive.
“That’s the human element…in this game there’s going to be someone we haven’t mentioned…who’s going to get up and you’ll go ‘Wow, that was a great job for that kid,'” said Reed, who was the Eagles coach for 14 seasons before joining the Chiefs in 2013.
Mahomes works overtime for an ankle check | 01:20
If there is an area where teams can be clearly separated, it is in the realm of expertise where chiefs certainly have the advantage.
Nothing will sway the 64-year-old Reed, who is in his 24th year as an NFL head coach, and this is his team’s third Super Bowl appearance with Mahomes in the past four seasons, with the 2019-20 win coming close.
By contrast, this is Coach Nick Siriani’s second season as a head coach, and the 24-year-old Hurts quarterback made his Super Bowl debut in his second year as a starter after playing just three playoff games in his career.
But Hurts, an unpredictable potential threat given his unparalleled ability to run the ball, doesn’t seem likely to be overstated.
Hurts, who was substituted during the Alabama College National Championship final, suffered a shoulder injury throughout the latter part of the season, but the Chiefs have a bigger fitness concern with Mahomes hampered by an ankle injury.
Mahomes will cement his place as the best quarterback in the NFL in a post-Tom Brady generation if he can add a second Super Bowl ring to his MVP awards but he will be wary of an Eagles defense that has led the league in sacks.
“They’re like a historic dismissal rate and the way they can get to the middle,” Mahomes said this week.
“So everyone knows it all starts up front. It will be a big challenge for our offensive line to try and do the best they can.”
Milata is not as nervous as his teammates 00:50
Mahomes and Hurts are the smallest quarterback duo in the Super Bowl, and Sunday’s game also marks the first time two black quarterbacks have faced each other in the biggest game.
The Chiefs have the confidence of a five-game winning streak in the AFC Championship but the Eagles have a chip on their shoulder.
Sirianni was fired as an assistant from Kansas City by Reid and many pundits were skeptical of Hurts during his young career.
And while coaches have tried to discourage talk of Mahomes’ game against the Hurts, the Eagles quarterback certainly feels the unique responsibility and pressure that comes with the most important role on the field in the biggest game of all time.
He said, “I know there’s a whole bunch of guys out there who look up to me and expect me to go out and make things happen.”
“Everyone needs to do their jobs but…leaders need to lead and you want your top players to play a long time in a game like this.”
