Super Bowl LIX is on the horizon and there’s plenty of speculation about how this championship matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will play out.
After all, history is on the line with K.C. attempting what would be the league’s first three-peat Super Bowl run. Meanwhile, the Eagles are looking to enact some revenge on the Chiefs after they defeated them in Super Bowl LVII just a few years ago. This is just the ninth Super Bowl rematch in NFL history, so we’re already swimming in rarified waters.
Of course, as much as we think we know what’s going to happen in a given game by the time kickoff rolls around, there’s always some surprises that unfold. Below, we’re going to cook up some BOLD predictions that could be on the table in this latest Super Bowl matchup from New Orleans.
The team that scores last will not win
This prediction stems from our Madden NFL 25 simulation that we recently conducted for this Super Bowl. In the past, it’s not only picked the correct winner in three of the last four Super Bowls, but it has been eerily accurate regarding some specific aspects of the various games. With this bold prediction, we’ll see if the simulation was correct in saying that the team that scored last did not win the game.
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Tyler Sullivan
In that simulation, the Eagles were able to edge out the Chiefs to win the game, but it didn’t come without a frantic 21-point comeback by Kansas City to cut the lead to a mere field goal. The last score in that game before Philadelphia ran out the clock was a 74-yard touchdown by Chiefs receiver Hollywood Brown. So, Kansas City scored last, but the Eagles hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.
If that comes to fruition in the actual Super Bowl, it’s a remarkably rare occurrence. The team that has scored last has won the game in 18 of the last 19 Super Bowls, including in 11 straight. The lone exception came in 2012 when the Ravens intentionally took a safety against the 49ers.
Wait … I thought this was supposed to be a bold prediction story?
Well, even with Saquon Barkley going bananas this season and throughout these playoffs, if he were to top 100 yards rushing in the Super Bowl it would be particularly impressive against the Chiefs. Kansas City has gone 18 straight playoff games without allowing an individual 100-yard rusher. They Chiefs have also NEVER allowed a 100-yard rusher in the playoffs with Steve Spagnuolo as the defensive coordinator. Expanding it even further, the last time they allowed a 100-yard rusher overall came back in Week 1 against Lamar Jackson.
So, a player topping 100 yards on the ground is essentially unprecedented against these Chiefs in the playoffs, but Barkley likely breaks the mold in this matchup. Barkley has rushed for 100 or more yards in 14 of his 19 games played this season, including in five straight entering Super Bowl LIX.
Travis Kelce breaks his own Super Bowl record
Travis Kelce was quiet in the AFC Championship win over Buffalo with just two catches for 19 yards. There’s no way he has two subdued matchups in a row. In fact, he could be set up to break his own record for the most receiving yards by a tight in Super Bowl history. He set that mark in Super Bowl LV against the Buccaneers when he registered 133 yards receiving. Already this postseason, Kelce has a 117-yard game under his belt, so he’s showing he’s capable of taking over. The Eagles also just allowed fellow tight end Zach Ertz to catch 11 of his 16 targets for 104 yards in the NFC Championship. Certainly, Kelce can have a similar, if not more productive day than that, putting him in range of his record.
Dallas Goedert leads Eagles in receiving yards
In an offense that boasts two star wide receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, this is arguably the boldest of predictions, but Dallas Goedert has an enticing matchup against the Chiefs. The Kansas City defense has been pretty susceptible to tight ends this season, allowing the most receiving yards per game to the position in the entire league. Meanwhile, Goedert has put together a strong postseason and was second on the team with 85 receiving yards in the NFC Championship only looking up to Brown (96). Goedert led the team in receiving in the divisional round and was second in the team in receiving during wild-card weekend.
A tight end wins Super Bowl MVP
Judging by my two predictions above, you’ve likely discerned that I think the tight ends are going to have a big day in Super Bowl LIX. So much so that I think it’s in play that we see one of them win Super Bowl MVP. I’ll divulge our actual game pick in a later story, but it’s worth sprinkling a bit on both Kelce and Goedert’s MVP odds for this game, for the reasons I mentioned above. Kelce owns the fourth-lowest odds at +1500, while Goedert is a true lottery ticket at +12000. If this actually unfolded, it’d be historic as no tight end has ever won Super Bowl MVP.
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