Mahomes, Hurts Set For Historic Super Bowl Matchup

After three weeks of the 2023 NFL playoffs, we're down to the final two teams: the Chiefs and the Eagles. The matchup for Super Bowl LVII is set, and it features two of the most prolific offenses the NFL has seen this year, with Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts set to square off in a battle of MVP candidates. Not only that, but the championship showdown will pit Chiefs coach Andy Reid against Philadelphia, the city in which he built his NFL career; and Pro Bowl brothers Travis and Jason Kelce against each other for a chance at their second respective Lombardi trophies.

Here's everything you need to know right off the bat:

How to watch

Date: Sunday, Feb. 12

Time: 6:30 p.m. ET

Location: State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona)

TV: Fox | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)

Odds: Eagles -2, O/U 49.5

How the contenders got here

The road to the Super Bowl is paved long before the start of the season. Here are deep dives on the final two teams, including their key acquisitions, season-defining victories and full-schedule results from 2022:

Early odds and projection

The earliest odds have the Eagles as a 2-point favorite, and SportsLine's initial simulation also has it as a coin flip: the Chiefs are winning just over 50% of simulations, but the Eagles are actually averaging more points per simulation (23.7 to 23.6). SportsLine's Stephen Oh believes Sunday's results could swing simulations in Philly's favor after the Eagles dominated the 49ers while the Chiefs got modest offensive production in their close win over the Bengals.

Key matchups

1. Chiefs TE Travis Kelce vs. Eagles S C.J. Gardner-Johnson: No one is more consistently open than Kelce, who stars as Mahomes' top target in the biggest moments, and Philly will likely need multiple bodies to keep No. 87 under wraps. The feisty Gardner-Johnson is the most logical candidate to shadow the big man, having played both nickel corner and safety.
2. Chiefs OT Orlando Brown Jr. vs. Eagles LB Haason Reddick: Protecting Mahomes will be paramount for Kansas City as the star QB recovers from a high ankle sprain that at least had him limping around against the Bengals. Brown has been sturdy guarding his blind side, but Reddick has been a one-man wrecking crew as the Eagles' stand-up rusher, knocking both Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson out of the NFC Championship.
3. Eagles WR DeVonta Smith vs. Chiefs CB Jaylen Watson: The latter has had a busy postseason, picking off both Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow. But he or Trent McDuffie will likely have their hands full against Smith, who's proven to be one of the game's most underrated route-runners and jump-ball artists, working opposite A.J. Brown for the Eagles.

Entertainment

This year's Super Bowl halftime show will be headlined by Grammy Award-winning pop star Rihanna, while the pre-game national anthem will be sung by Grammy-winning country music star Chris Stapleton. Grammy-winning R&B artist Babyface will also perform "America the Beautiful" before kickoff, and Emmy Award-winning actress and singer Sheryl Lee Ralph will perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

Prediction

This was the best possible Super Bowl matchup of the four possibilities going into Championship Sunday, partly for the connections between the two sides -- the Reid vs. Philly and Kelce vs. Kelce angles -- but mostly because it pits one ultra-reliable offense against another. Mahomes and Hurts were the most consistent playmakers at their position for much of 2022, and both QBs figure to have decent opportunities in this one. Mahomes will have a week to let his banged-up ankle recover before taking the field again, and Hurts will be facing a much more vulnerable pass "D" as opposed to San Francisco. The Mahomes-Reid contingent has obviously been there, done that, so it's hard to bet against them. But the Eagles have been so well-rounded, and won in different ways, that we'll give them the slightest of early nods. Call it a 28-27 Eagles win.