For the first time in five years, the Super Bowl will be a matchup of the two No. 1 seeds, as the AFC’s Kansas City Chiefs are set to meet the NFC’s Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
Kansas City will be eyeing its second title in four years under veteran coach Andy Reid, while Philadelphia and coach Nick Sirianni, in his second season at the helm, are hoping for a second Super Bowl win in five seasons.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Super Bowl Sunday.
When is the Super Bowl?
Date: Sunday, Feb. 12
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. EST
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TV: Fox
Location: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
Home team: Philadelphia Eagles
Away team: Kansas City Chiefs
Halftime entertainment: Rihanna
Pregame music: Chris Stapleton will sing the national anthem, Babyface will perform “America the Beautiful,” and Sheryl Lee Ralph will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
How do I watch the Super Bowl?
Cable subscribers can watch the game on Fox. There are live streaming services that will allow you to watch the game, including Hulu+, fubo, or Sling.
How they got here
Philadelphia: The Eagles were the best team in the NFC from the start, racing to an 8-0 record on the way to a 14-3 regular-season finish. The No. 1 seed in the conference, Philadelphia has been led by a defense that finished with a franchise-record 70 sacks and an offense that features quarterback Jalen Hurts (15 rushing TDs in the regular and postseason, the most by a QB in a single season in NFL history) and three pass catchers — A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert — who had 700 or more receiving yards in the regular season.
Kansas City: The Chiefs had an uncharacteristically slow start and were 4-2 after a mid-October loss to the Bills. Buoyed in large part by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City ripped off 10 wins in its last 11 games on the way to the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Mahomes, considered the leading candidate for MVP, led the league in passing yards (5,250) and passing touchdowns (41).
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Notables
▪ Reid, who coached the Eagles before joining the Chiefs, will become the fifth coach to face his former team in a Super Bowl. Former coaches are 2-2 in Super Bowls against their old teams, with the latest matchup coming in Super Bowl XLIX when Pete Carroll and the Seahawks were upended by the Patriots.
▪ According to ESPN Stats & Information, this will be the seventh Super Bowl to feature a starting quarterback who led the regular season in passing yards. Good luck to Mahomes, because each of the previous six lost: Tom Brady (2017), Peyton Manning (2013), Tom Brady (2007), Rich Gannon (2002), Kurt Warner (2001), Dan Marino (1984).
▪ The Eagles are the fifth team to win both the divisional playoff and conference championship by at least 21 points. According to ESPN Stats & Information, each of the previous four teams won the Super Bowl.
▪ This will mark the first year two Black quarterbacks will meet in the Super Bowl. Mahomes could become the first Black quarterback to win multiple Super Bowls.
▪ This also will be the first Super Bowl in which brothers will face each other: Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce and Philadelphia offensive lineman Jason Kelce will have some happy parents in the stands.
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▪ The NFL MVP will be announced on Thursday three days before the game. Hurts and Mahomes are both finalists. No quarterback has won the MVP and Super Bowl title since Kurt Warner in 1999. The other three finalists for MVP are Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, and Josh Allen.
Super Bowl officials
Carl Cheffers will work as the lead official. The 62-year-old Cheffers will be the Super Bowl referee for the second time in three seasons and third time overall. He was the referee for Super Bowls LII and LV.
Having assumed the job in 2008, Cheffers is the NFL’s second longest-tenured referee, trailing only Jerome Boger.
According to NFLpenalties.com, Cheffers’s crew led the league in average penalties per game at 12.59. But Cheffers will not lead his own crew in the Super Bowl; it’ll be an all-star crew of officials.
Here’s the rest of the crew: Umpire Roy Ellison, line judge Jeff Bergman, down judge Jerod Phillips, field judge John Jenkins, side judge Eugene Hall, back judge Dino Paganelli, replay official Mark Butterworth.
Postseason shares
Players on the winning team will receive $157,000. Players on the losing team receive $82,000.
Betting information
The line has been volatile. Per Bet Online, it opened with Kansas City as a 1-point favorite, then swung to a pick ‘em, then Philadelphia was a 1-point favorite, and then it went back to a pick ‘em. Now the Eagles are back to being a 1-point favorite. (Caesars Sportsbook has the Eagles as a 1.5-point favorite.) The total points opened at 51, went to 49.5, and is now 50.5.
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Some prop bets, courtesy of Odds Shark:
▪ Super Bowl MVP: For an award traditionally given to the winning quarterback, the odds favor both Hurts (+100) and Mahomes (+135). But if you are feeling adventurous, there are other intriguing possibilities, including Travis Kelce (+1100), A.J. Brown (+1600), and Haason Reddick (+4000).
▪ The color of the Gatorade that will be poured on the winning coach: Orange is the clear favorite for a few reasons, including the fact that orange has been dumped on the winning coach five times since Super Bowl XXXV.
▪ How long it will take Chris Stapleton to sing the national anthem: The over/under is set at 2:02. In the last 16 Super Bowls, the anthem has gone over the oddsmaker’s set time on nine occasions and under it six times, with one push.
▪ Opening coin toss: This is, understandably, a pick ‘em. But Odds Shark notes that in the last 10 years, tails has come up six times.
Last Super Bowl appearances and records
Philadelphia: The Eagles last reached the Super Bowl five years ago, beating the Patriots, 41-33, in Super Bowl LII. Philadelphia is 1-2 overall, losing Super Bowl XXXIX to New England (24-21) and Super Bowl XV to the Oakland Raiders (27-10).
Kansas City: The Chiefs are 2-2 in Super Bowls, with victories over the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV (31-20) and the Vikings in Super Bowl IV (23-7). Kansas City came up short in Super Bowl LV (a 31-9 loss to the Buccaneers) and Super Bowl I (a 35-10 loss to the Packers).
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Past Super Bowls in Glendale
This will be the third Super Bowl in Glendale, the first one without the Patriots.
▪ In February 2008, the Giants shocked the previously unbeaten Patriots, 21-17, in Super Bowl XLII.
▪ On Feb. 1, 2015, New England edged the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, 28-24.
This will be the fourth Super Bowl played in Arizona. On Jan. 28, 1996, the Cowboys beat the Steelers 27-17 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe.
The trophy
The sterling silver Vince Lombardi Trophy was created by Tiffany & Co. It was named for the late Lombardi, the winning coach in the first two Super Bowls, before Super Bowl V.
The trophy is a regulation-size silver football mounted in a kicking position on a pyramid-like stand of three concave sides. It stands 20.75 inches tall, weighs 107.3 ounces, and is valued in excess of $25,000.
Future Super Bowls
Super Bowl LVIII: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Feb. 11, 2024
Super Bowl LIX: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Feb. 9, 2025
Christopher Price can be reached at christopher.price@globe.com. Follow him @cpriceglobe.