Super Bowl 59 nears kickoff, latest news and which team has the edge

• The 2025 Super Bowl is nearing kickoff at the Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans. The Kansas City Chiefs are slight favorites over the Philadelphia Eagles.
• Player introductions will be delivered by Hollywood stars Jon Hamm and Bradley Cooper.
• Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Eagles running back Saquon Barkley will be key players for their respective teams.

---

Full Story

The two-week wait is nearly over for football fans eager to see the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles battle in the 2025 Super Bowl. The Chiefs are slight one-point favorites on Sunday, Feb. 9, in a rematch of the Super Bowl played two years ago.

Latest news prior to kickoff

• In a new pre-game feature, player introductions will be handled by Hollywood stars. John Hamm will announce the Chiefs starters, Bradley Cooper will announce the Eagles. The fandom of both actors is well known.  
• A report from BetMGM reveals the single biggest bet made on the Super Bowl is $800,000 on the Eagles to win.
• Hall of Fame receiver and TV analyst Randy Moss made a tearful return to the ESPN set in New Orleans, Louisiana. In early December, Moss announced he was battling cancer.  
• Ticket prices for the game are down across the board from last year. The average price on Sunday according to TickPick is $5,659. Last year that average was $9,365. Three hours before kickoff, the cheapest ticket to get into the Superdome was just over $3,000. 

What’s at stake?

That 2023 Super Bowl was won by the Chiefs on a field goal in the final seconds. It was the first of their back-to-back championships and Sunday they will have a chance to make history by winning their third straight.

Standing in the way is an Eagles team that has ripped through the playoffs in dominating fashion, beating the Packers, Rams and Commanders by a combined score of 105-55. They have won 15 of their last 16 games. 

Chiefs lean on Patrick Mahomes

There is star power on both sides. Kansas City, led by Patrick Mahomes, has a career 17-3 record in the postseason. He finished this season with a flourish, throwing 13 touchdown passes without an interception since the Chiefs’ Week 11 loss to Buffalo. He’s got a 3-1 record in Super Bowls, but he’ll be going against an Eagles defense that ranked No. 1 in the NFL.

The Eagles allowed the league’s second-lowest point total in the regular season and surrendered the fewest passing yards. That said, Mahomes has had success against Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. He’s never lost in 8 career matchups against him but this is the first meeting with Fangio coaching the Eagles.  

“He’s not going to just do exactly what you saw the last time. I’m sure there will be blitzes in the game, I’m sure there will be times when they play coverage.” Mahomes said. “It’s going to be a chess match. You want to go up against the best and he’s one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL. It’ll be a great challenge for us as an offense, and as a football team.”

Can Saquon Barkley carry the day?

On the other side, the star of the show is Saquon Barkley. The NFL Offensive Player of the Year rushed for 2,005 yards in the regular season, just the ninth player in history to break the 2,000-yard barrier.

He’s been even better in the playoffs, averaging 147 yards per game and has scored five touchdowns. Pairing Barkley with mobile quarterback Jalen Hurts has been unfair for opponents at times this season. In that 2023 Super Bowl against Kansas City, Hurts had 304 yards passing and a touchdown, he also ran for three more scores.

So, how do the Chiefs slow down this Eagles running game? Perennial All-Pro defensive end Chris Jones was asked that question almost daily in the run-up to the game.

“I think it’s going to be very important for us to establish physical dominance up front, I think it’s heavily on the front seven, maybe even on the front eight, trying to stop Saquon and the run game,” Jones said. “There is definitely a challenge ahead of us that we are looking forward to as a team. We’re excited about it. It’s also an opportunity for two good teams to play and broadcast their talent on the biggest stage.”

The curtain on the biggest stage is about to go up. Kickoff at the Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, is 6:30 p.m. EST.