Who Will Be the Star of the Super Bowl? Here Are the 6 Best Bets

Super Bowl LIX should be a memorable one. The Kansas City Chiefs have a shot to be the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in a row, while the Philadelphia Eagles, led by star running back Saquon Barkley, are hungry for revenge after losing to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII two years ago. This has been a season filled with intrigue and controversy, all of which should come to a head in the final game this Sunday. While the game might look like a rerun from two seasons ago, there is a new cast of characters this time around. But who will ultimately arise as the star of Super Bowl LIX? 

Patrick Mahomes chasing Tom Brady

The obvious answer to this question is the quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes is only 29 years old and in his seventh season in the NFL, and he has already earned his place among the greatest quarterbacks of all time. He has led the Chiefs to five Super Bowl appearances in six seasons, a feat unmatched by Tom Brady’s Patriots. He also has three Super Bowl MVP awards, tied with Joe Montana for second all-time behind Brady’s five. He’s 17-3 in the playoffs, already surpassing Montana’s playoff win total, and he has more playoff wins at age 29 than Montana had in his entire career. Out of the 132 total games Mahomes has started, the Chiefs have lost by eight or more points only five times! The guy is a whole different level of clutch. 

A victory would give Mahomes his fourth Super Bowl title in his first seven seasons as a starter, which would tie him with Montana and Terry Bradshaw. Tom Brady didn’t reach four titles until he was 37 years old. And if he pulls it off, it also means the Chiefs become the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls. 

For now, Brady remains the most accomplished quarterback in NFL history, holding most of the statistical records. His 35 playoff wins are nearly double Mahome’s current total, and his seven Super Bowl rings are the most by any quarterback by far. But Brady played 23 seasons, winning his last Super Bowl MVP award at the age of 43. Mahomes is on track to surpass Brady’s accomplishments if he continues performing at this level. There’s still a ways to go, but a victory on Sunday will have people debating whether Mahomes is already the GOAT. 

Editor’s picks

Saquon Barkley chasing the rushing record

When these two teams met in the Super Bowl two years ago, there was one major difference: the Eagles didn’t have Saquon Barkley. Barkley was signed as a free agent by Philadelphia, and his first season with the Eagles has been historic. He racked up 2,005 rushing yards in the regular season and already has almost 450 in the playoffs. He’s 29 yards away from breaking Terrell Davis’ single-season (including the playoffs) rushing record, and he’s more than likely going to get those yards on Sunday. Chances are it won’t take him too many tries to get there, either. Barkley has had nine runs of 50 yards or more this season, more than twice as many as any other player in the league. He had three 60-plus yard touchdown runs in the last two games, which is more than Walter Payton had in his entire career.

Barkley’s impact on the Eagles has been undeniable, and they wouldn’t have reached the Super Bowl without him. After a lackluster record last season, the Eagles started this season out 2-2. But after the offensive line met with Eagles coach Nick Siriani and pleaded with him to involve Barkley more in the offense (“Lets give him the fucking ball,” was how right tackle Lane Johnson put it), the Eagles went 12-1 the rest of the way, with Barkley playing a major role in the offense. He’s a finalist to win league MVP, although he’s viewed as a longshot against super QBs Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. But it won’t be a shock if Barkley ends up holding the Pete Rozelle Super Bowl MVP trophy at the end of the game on Sunday. And what a treat it will be if he does: Sunday also happens to be his birthday.

Related Content

Andy Reid and his trick plays

Kansas City head coach Andy Reid has a well-established reputation as an offensive genius and a master of play design, and is considered one of the greatest coaches of all time. He began his head coaching career with the Eagles and took them to the Super Bowl in 2003. After losing that Super Bowl to the Patriots, Reid was criticized for mismanaging the clock, something that bedevilled him well into his career. Since coming to Kansas City, he has shown that his real talent lies in creative and innovative play-calling, often incorporating trick plays into his game plans.

Reid is known for holding onto special plays and only using them at opportune moments, usually deep in the playoffs or in Super Bowls, to prevent teams from game-planning for them. He often draws inspiration from old game films, even scouring high school and college games, looking for new concepts and inspiration. He has said he likes drawing up “ridiculous plays,” and he encourages his coaches and players to come up with out-of-the-box ideas.

Reid’s use of a deep playbook helped the Chiefs make it to the Super Bowl. In the AFC Championship against the Bills, the Chiefs ran some plays they hadn’t run all season long, including one called “Stram 65 Toss Power Trap,” named for hall of fame Chiefs coach Hank Stram, who used the play in their 1970 Super Bowl win over the Vikings. The play was not only a good one, it was one they had intentionally called as a nod to the team’s history. Reid called it “a tribute to the old guys.” The play involves the offensive line blocking as if they are running a toss, but the quarterback hands the ball off directly to the running back instead – hence the “trap.” In Reid’s version of the play, however, the ball is snapped directly to the running back, for a little extra trickery.  

Reid has run trick plays in Super Bowls before, with names like “Shift to Rose Bowl Right Parade” and “Corndog,” the latter being so successful against the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX that they ran it twice, scoring both times. Last year against the 49ers, the Chiefs ran a play where Carson Wentz and Patrick Mahomes both lined up as quarterback, confusing the defense about who would receive the snap. When asked by Pat McAfee last week if he was still drawing up any possible trick plays for this Sunday’s game, Reid responded, “Yeah, that’s the fun part. I’ve got these coaches here that have creative minds. They love doing it, and we get the players involved, too. It doesn’t matter if it’s a lineman or a quarterback. If they’ve got something good, let’s put it out on the table and see what you’ve got.” 

The god damn refs

The Chiefs are on a historic run — but it hasn’t been without criticism or controversy. They have been dogged by accusations of preferential treatment from referees, particularly during the playoffs. 

There were already a growing number of critics of the way referees were treating the Chiefs going into the AFC Championship game against the Bills, and that game did nothing to quell them. At one point, it appeared that Bills quarterback Josh Allen gained a first down on a crucial play, but officials marked him short. A video analysis of the play indicates that Allen did, in fact, achieve the first down, but the call was still not overturned. Overturning a close ball spot call is rare, but in the same game a catch by Xavier Worthy was ruled a catch despite the ball appearing to hit the ground. It was another close call, but it gave skeptics enough ammunition to allege that the fix was in.

These calls and others like them have led to accusations of a conspiracy by the league to get the Chiefs to the Super Bowl. While claims of the NFL scripting games have been commonplace on social media in recent years, the people crying foul over the refs’ treatment of the Chiefs aren’t just the tin foil hat crowd. On-air commentators from Tony Romo to Troy Aikman to CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore questioned the calls in the game. Comedian Bill Burr, on The Rich Eisen Show, said he thinks the NFL is “massaged” and that the Chiefs get “more back rubs” from officials than other teams. He also suggested that the NFL is more of an “entertainment league” than a sports league, implying that outcomes may be influenced for entertainment value. 

The genesis for the “Chiefs get all the calls” narrative is believed to be the 2022 AFC Championship game, when the Chiefs beat the Bengals. That game was so marred by controversial calls that some believe it is the reason the NFL has not assigned that game’s referee, Ron Torbert, to any Chiefs game since. The referees for the Super Bowl this year, however, were chosen before the teams were known, and Torbert will be on the field. It’s possible all of the referee hubbub impacts the game — one way or another. If Torbert and the crew worry too much about appearing biased, they may swallow their whistles when they otherwise would have blown them, and the bias might inadvertently swing the other way. 

Taylor Swift stealing screen time

One explanation often as to why the league might want to put their thumb on the scale to help the Chiefs get to the Super Bowl is that the team is great for ratings. That’s not because Kansas City is a major media market, or even because of their legion of fans. It’s because the team’s tight end’s girlfriend is the biggest pop star in the world. 

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship has undeniably been good for the NFL, bringing in scores of new fans that were particularly difficult for football to reach: young women. Swift’s attendance at Chiefs games always generates a lot of interest and conversation, and it arguably may even boost the team’s morale. They have won 14 straight games that she has attended, dating back to last season. 

This season Swift chose not to attend all of Kelce’s games. Because she requires significant security, she only attended home games where her security detail are familiar with the layout and logistics. This led some to wonder if Swift would attend the Super Bowl in New Orleans, but she recently confirmed that she will be there. 

Swift will likely draw a lot of attention at the game. The sportsbooks currently have the over/under for how many times she will be shown on the national broadcast at 6.5. And that’s not the only Swift-related item bookmakers are setting odds on. Currently there are odds on whether Kelce will propose to her at the game (8-1), whether she will appear on stage at halftime with Kendrick Lamar (10-1), and even how many times she and Kelce will kiss on the field (the over/under is 2.5). 

The bookies taking record betting action

Taylor Swift isn’t the only thing you can bet on at the Super Bowl. You can also put money on the length of the national anthem, the number of songs Kendrick Lamar will perform, the color of Gatorade dumped on the winning coach, and, of course, the winner of the actual game. 

Americans are expected to wager a record $1.39 billion with legal sportsbooks on Super Bowl LIX, underscoring the continued expansion of and enthusiasm for sports betting in the United States. That number will break the record set by last year’s Super Bowl, which broke the record the year before that. Since the Supreme Court repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 2018 and paved the way for states to regulate sports betting, the amount of money bet on sports has steadily climbed higher, with seemingly no end in sight.  

Sportsbooks have increased their spending on ads during NFL games this season, but the league has imposed limits on how many sports betting-related ads will be broadcast during their games. Last year’s Super Bowl only featured three sportsbook ads. This year the sportsbook FanDuel is planning a live event during halftime where the Manning brothers will each try to kick a field goal. 

But beyond paid advertisements for sportsbooks, sports betting will still factor heavily into the game this year. While talk of the point spread or the game total or odds was once taboo during broadcasts, commentators now frequently reference how betting markets are predicting the game will turn out. And for good reason: the Super Bowl is the most wagered-on sporting event in America, and the second most bet on sporting events in the world behind the World Cup. 

In case you were wondering, the Chiefs are currently one point favorites, and the total number of points scored in the game is set at 49.