The Super Bowl is the biggest stage for stars to shine and solidify their status among the NFL’s best or elevate themselves to higher levels. Here’s a look at six players, three on each side, who are set up to do just that when the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs take the field on Sunday.
There’s no brighter star in the NFL than Patrick Mahomes, who posted a 103.9 passer rating over the final eight weeks of the regular season. He’ll be going against one of the NFL’s best pass defenses, however, one that possibly peaked early. Over that same eight-week stretch, the Eagles allowed a passer rating of 100.1, which was the third worst in the NFL.
The Eagles have a dominant pass rush, but they better get to Mahomes without blitzing. Over the past two seasons, Mahomes has cut up blitzing defenses better than any other quarterback in the league, completing 70 percent of his passes against extra pressure.
Mahomes is -142 to have the highest passer rating (all odds are from FanDuel), -115 to have the highest completion percentage, and -192 to throw OVER 1.5 TD passes, which he’s done in 14 of 19 games, including six of his past seven and both playoff games.
Andy Reid’s offense utilizes tight ends better than any other in the NFL (103.8 receiving yards per game), with star Travis Kelce the focal point of the passing game. Kelce’s 78.7 yards per game leads the position and blows away the average (21.8 YPG) among 34 qualified TEs. Kelce’s receiving yards prop is set at a yard above his average, 79.5 yards.
Don’t sleep on JuJu Smith-Schuster, who, when healthy, has hauled in an impressive 72 percent of targets (93 receptions on 129 targets) since 2021, which is eighth among 69 qualified receivers.
Rushing behind a strong offensive line, Philadelphia running back Miles Sanders has continued to improve with a career-best 5.5 yards per carry in 2021, followed by career-highs in rushing yards (1,269) and touchdowns (11) this past season. His 5.1 yards per carry over that time is nearly a yard better than the NFL average (4.3) and second among 20 qualified rushers.
At 61.5 yards, the rushing prop for Sanders is well below his season average of 74.7 yards per game. The key will be touches. When he’s carried more than 13 times, he’s rushed for at least 65 yards in eight of ten games.
Pro Bowl wideout A.J. Brown has been quiet this postseason, but Sunday might be the time for the big-play threat to break out. His 11 TD receptions were second among receivers, and in the Chiefs, he faces a defense that allowed the second-most TDs by wide receivers (20). Brown is +125 on his any-time touchdown scorer prop.
The Eagles have a pretty explosive pass-catching option at tight end of their own in Dallas Goedert, whose 13.8 yards per reception since 2021 is more than three yards better than the average (10.5) and ranked third among 42 qualified tight ends.