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🏈 Good morning to all, but especially to …
THE KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES AND NFL FANS
It’s here! Super Bowl weekend is upon us, and Chiefs-Eagles has all the makings of a classic. We’ll dive right in with predictions. Tyler Sullivan is rolling with Kansas City.
- Sullivan: “There’s plenty of star power in this game, but it truly revolves around one person: Patrick Mahomes. He now faces the difficult task of going up against an Eagles defense that ranks No. 1 in the entire NFL in points allowed (17.9) and yards per game allowed (289.3) when accounting for the regular season and postseason production. … Mahomes is uniquely equipped to take down this Vic Fangio-led defense. In his career, Mahomes is a perfect 8-0 against Fangio’s defense (as either a head coach or defensive coordinator) while his team averages 26.9 points per game.”
Sure, Mahomes is a superstar. He seems inevitable. But so, too does, Saquon Barkley. That’s why Garrett Podell is leaning Philadelphia.
- Podell: “In just the last two games, Barkley has 323 yards rushing while averaging 7.9 yards per carry. He is the only player since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger to hit both of those marks in a two-game span in the postseason. Conversely, Kansas City’s run defense has crumbled in the playoffs. … The last time the Eagles faced the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, their lead back Miles Sanders hurt their cause, rushing for 16 yards on seven carries while also fumbling. Barkley proves one more time that he’s Philadelphia’s missing piece … Pick: Eagles 31, Chiefs 24“
Pete Prisco | John Breech | Tyler Sullivan | Jordan Dajani | Garrett Podell | Cody Benjamin | Bryan DeArdo
Meanwhile, Will Brinson has MVP best bets, and our staff cooked up 59 bets to make on Super Bowl 59.
You know the biggest names: the guys who score the touchdowns, the guys who have made game-winning plays. But I’m super excited for the battle in the trenches: Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith are outstanding, as Jared Dubin notes, and that trio faces a game-wrecking Eagles defensive line, featuring Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Jordan Davis, Josh Sweat and Milton Williams.
On the other end, Steve Spagnuolo directs a savvy, talented defense that faces a premier offense. Kansas City knows it needs to limit Barkley. But then add in Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and an elite offensive line. I can’t wait to see what Spagnuolo has up his sleeve, and Chris Jones says he does, indeed, have a “what the f—” play dialed up.
All right, time for a link dump. Read a few, read ’em all … read whatever you need to get you to Sunday night.
If you like one of these teams, great. Super Bowls are unlike anything else, and each and every appearance should be treated as precious. If you don’t like either team, take a step back and appreciate we get to see either the first Super Bowl three-peat ever or a tremendously talented team topple (at least for one year) that very dynasty.
It’s going to be awesome. Enjoy.
😃 Honorable mentions
🏈 And not such a good morning for …
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LAMAR JACKSON AND ELI MANNING
For the first time since 1987, the outright MVP-winning quarterback is not the first-team All-Pro quarterback: Josh Allen won the NFL’s top individual honor over Lamar Jackson in one of the closest races ever.
Let me make one thing very clear: This is not a shot at Allen, who had a truly magnificent season and lifted up everyone around him. In fact, Allen is the first player to win MVP without an All-Pro teammate since Peyton Manning in 2008. This section is not meant to diminish his outstanding year. He joins Thurman Thomas (1991) and O.J. Simpson (1973) as the only Bills to win the award.
But, man, I don’t know if this is the right choice. Here’s a list of stats Jackson led the NFL in:
- Passer rating (119.6)
- Yards per attempt (8.8)
- Touchdown-to-interception ratio (41:4)
- Touchdown rate (8.6%)
- Touchdowns accounted for (45, tied with Joe Burrow)
- Expected points added per dropback (0.31)
All of those numbers are significantly better than his MVP campaign from last year, and many are on par or better than his 2019 MVP season. Many are much, much better than Allen’s. The film matches the numbers. Oh yeah, and Jackson’s Ravens crushed Allen’s Bills in their regular season meeting. (The Bills won in the playoffs, but votes were submitted after Week 18.) Heck, even Allen was surprised.
I think it might be voter fatigue. I mean, someone voted Jackson FOURTH. Fourth?! What are we doing here? Jackson was phenomenal. Absurd. If he can’t win with this season, I’m not sure what he can win with.
Here were other notable honors:
Likewise, the story of who didn’t make the Pro Football Hall of Fame was as big as — if not bigger than — the story of who did. Here’s who’s heading to Canton this year:
- Jared Allen
- Eric Allen
- Antonio Gates
- Sterling Sharpe
It’s the smallest class since 2005, and the glaring omission is Eli Manning. He’ll make it in — he has to, given his two monumental Super Bowl upsets of the Patriots — but it won’t be this year. Here’s our lookahead to 2026.
😕 Not so honorable mentions
🏀 NBA trade deadline winners, losers … and what’s next?
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An all-time trade deadline has passed. Thursday wasn’t quite as dramatic as Wednesday and several of the preceding days, but it was far from barren, with the biggest deal being De’Andre Hunter joining the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers. Hunter is in the midst of a career year, averaging 19 points and shooting 39% from 3. Cleveland got an “A-” in Sam Quinn’s trade grades, and Hunter features in James Herbert’s top under-the-radar acquisitions.
Trade deadline day also brought news of the deals that didn’t happen: The Warriors, Suns and Heat had a deal lined up to send Kevin Durant to Golden State and Jimmy Butler to Phoenix, but, as we know now, Durant didn’t want to return to Golden State, and so Butler ended up there instead.
Colin Ward-Henninger tabbed trade deadline winners and losers, and a winner is all of us, the fans. (A loser is my sleep schedule, but that’s OK) After a record nine current/former All-Stars were dealt, Bill Reiter says we may never see a trade deadline like this again.
Here’s more:
🤩 NBA All-Star rosters selected
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Speaking of All Stars, the NBA is trying a new All-Star format, and that means a new way to pick teams. The 24 All-Star selections were split into three teams — picked by Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith — and they’ll join the winner of the Rising Stars Challenge in a four-team mini tournament.
Here are the rosters:
Shaq’s team:
- LeBron James
- Stephen Curry
- Anthony Davis
- Jayson Tatum
- Kevin Durant
- Damian Lillard
- James Harden
- Jaylen Brown
Chuck’s team:
- Nikola Jokic
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- Victor Wembanyama
- Pascal Siakam
- Alperen Sengun
- Karl-Anthony Towns
- Donovan Mitchell
Kenny’s team:
- Anthony Edwards
- Jalen Brunson
- Jaren Jackson Jr.
- Jalen Williams
- Darius Garland
- Evan Mobley
- Cade Cunningham
- Tyler Herro
Re-read those first two teams. Notice anything? It’s setting up for Team USA vs. Team World (with the exception of Mitchell). Will that make the players try? I guess we’ll see.
📺 What we’re watching this weekend
Friday
🏀 USC at No. 7 Purdue (M), 7 p.m. on FS1
🏀 Unrivaled, 7:15 p.m. on TNT
🏀 76ers at Pistons, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 12 St. John’s at No. 19 UConn (M), 8 p.m. on Fox
Saturday
🏀 No. 4 Tennessee at Oklahoma (M), noon on ESPN
🏀 Oregon at No. 9 Michigan State (M), noon on Fox
🏀 No. 24 Michigan at Indiana (M), 1 p.m. on CBS
🏒 Lightning at Red Wings, 1 p.m. on ABC
🏀 No. 11 Marquette at Creighton (M), 2 p.m. on Fox
🏀 No. 10 Texas A&M at No. 15 Missouri (M), 3:30 p.m. on SEC Network
🏒 Golden Knights at Bruins, 3:30 p.m. on ABC
🏀 Pacers at Lakers, 4 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 6 Florida at No. 1 Auburn (M), 4 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Unrivaled, 6 p.m. on truTV
🏀 No. 2 Duke at Clemson (M), 6:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Celtics at Knicks, 8:30 p.m. on ABC
🏀 No. 3 Alabama at Arkansas (M), 8:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 8 Ohio State at No. 7 USC (W), 9 p.m. on Fox
🏀 No. 13 Texas Tech at No. 20 Arizona (M), 10:30 p.m. on ESPN
Sunday
🏀 No. 5 UConn at Providence (W), noon on CBS Sports Network
🏀 Rutgers at No. 18 Maryland (M), noon on BTN
🏀 76ers at Bucks, 2 p.m. on ABC
🏀 No. 2 South Carolina at No. 4 Texas (W), 2 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 No. 21 Cal at No. 3 Notre Dame (W), 2 p.m. on ACC Network
🏀 No. 14 NC State at No. 22 Florida State (W), 2 p.m. on The CW Network
🏀 Michigan at No. 20 Michigan State (W), 2 p.m. on FS1
🏀 No. 19 Tennessee at No. 6 LSU (W), 4 p.m. on ESPN
🏈 Super Bowl LIX: Chiefs vs. Eagles, 6:30 p.m. on Fox
