February 12, 2023, 4:36 PM
February 12, 2023, 4:36 PM
The Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs meet in the Super Bowl on Sunday with all eyes on their young quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes, the current great star of the American Football League (NFL).
The betting market has been changing slightly as that the time of the initial kick is approaching (19:30HB) in Glendale (Arizona).
The Eagles, the best team of the season, They remained favorites but Mahomes’ Chiefs, winner this week of the MVP of the year award, narrowed the gap.
On paper, the statistics point to one of the most even Super Bowls in recent times: both teams have an identical record of 16 wins and 3 losses this season and, even more surprisinghave scored exactly the same number of points: 546.
Despite the high ticket prices and hotels, bars and restaurants in the Phoenix area filled with fans of the Eagles and Chiefs, who were joined by many wearing jerseys from other franchises, to enjoy the great spectacle of American sports. which will feature Rihanna’s return to the stage for the halftime show.
Workers and broadcast crews at 63,000-capacity State Farm Field made final preparations, while those interested in buying last-minute tickets were asking for at least $4,000 for the cheapest seats still available.
– The injury factor –
Among many other attractions of the 57th edition of the Super Bowl, Mahomes and Hurts will become the youngest quarterbacks to face each other for the NFL title and also the first pair of black quarterbacks to play in this final.
Mahomes, 27, was recognized this week with his second MVP award and Hurts, 24dispelled all doubts this course consolidating himself as one of the elite quarterbacks.
The physical state of the two Texan quarterbacks can be an important factor in the result, since both have dragged physical problems in these playoffs.
Mahomes injured his right ankle in the postseason opener but stayed on the field even limping on to qualify the Chiefs to their third Super Bowl in the last four years, after the triumph in the 2019 campaign against the San Francisco 49ers and the defeat a year later against Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
A second ring on Sunday would cement Mahomes as the great heir to the recently retired Brady.the only two quarterbacks to play in three Super Bowls in their first five seasons as starters in the league.
Hurts, meanwhile, has also had shoulder problems that could have influenced his lesser role in the playoffs compared to the regular season.
The ‘quarterback’, a double threat in both the pass and the run, hopes to be decisive on Sunday to give the Eagles the second title in their history after the 2017 campaign against the New England Patriots that Brady then commanded.
If Mahomes will have his eternal partner Travis Kelce next to himOne of the best tight ends in history, Hurts will have two explosive receivers at his disposal in AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith.
More than 100 million American fans are expected to follow the Super Bowl this year, a game that monopolizes 30 of the 32 most watched broadcasts in the country’s television history.
