Super Bowl 57 is right around the corner. It’s that time of the year where your group chats will see the American Football experts come out of the woodwork, and the 57th instalment is this Sunday night.
Who’s playing in Super Bowl 57?
It’ll be contested between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles in Arizona, both being number one seeds in their respective conferences this season. The bookies have them pretty even, with Philadelphia slightly favoured over Kansas City to win the game.
How to get a free bet for the 2023 Super Bowl
Paddy Power are running an interesting offer for this year’s Super Bowl 57. If you place a bet builder on the event, you’ll get one free. The offer applies to your first pre-match bet builder.
So here’s how it works: Place your bet builder on the big match (before it starts) and you’ll be credited with a free bet to the value of that bet builder, up to a maximum of £5.
The interesting part is that you’ll be credited with the free bet after placing your qualifying bet, there’s no need for it to settle first in this scenario. So, you could place another bet before the match starts, or you could have an in-play bet builder once you see how both sides start the game.
And if one selection on your bet builder lets you down, you’ll get your stake back (up to £10) as a free bet on any pre-match bet builders with 4 legs or more.
The Big Game breakdown
This game may well come down to the quarterbacks, with the Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts having an impressive breakout year. The Eagles have won 15 of the 16 matches that he’s started, and he’s setting personal records with 15 rushing TDs during the season, setting a new NFL record for Quarterbacks having beaten Cam Newton’s 14 back in 2011.
At the other end though, the Kansas City Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes – considered the best quarterback in the NFL by many, and reigning MVP. Mahomes has rightly received plaudits since being drafted in 2017 and is being considered superhuman as he plays on with an injury. He suffered a high ankle sprain against the Jacksonville Jaguars at the end of January and has played through the pain barrier as well as his usual key role in getting the Chiefs to Phoenix.
The Chiefs’ quarterback has played through the pain up until this point, but it’ll be interesting to see how it can continue against the Philadelphia Eagles who boast having the best defense in the NFL.
Their pressure % rate is a mighty 42.6% of all snaps (5.9% higher than any other team) since week 11 in the season. The number of pressures has a direct impact on an opposing QB’s accuracy, and certainly helps when it comes to intercepting the ball, where Philadelphia can also boast the best secondary in the league this season.
To counter that, the Chiefs offensive line have the highest pass block win rate % and average the longest time between the snap and throwing the ball in the league at 2.6 seconds. The game is likely to come down to which linemen play better; which Quarterback is better protected, and who can turn pressures into interceptions or sacks.
Mahomes is likely to not have as much time with the ball as he’s had throughout the year, and that high ankle sprain might make his trademark movement out the pocket a little laboured when Philadelphia’s D do get through his offensive line. Couple that with a hawk-like Eagles secondary, and KC’s usually powerful offense might start to stutter if Kelce, Valdes-Scantling and Juju Smith-Schuster can’t get free from their coverage.
The NFL’s passing leader has never gone on to win the Super Bowl. The leader this year? Patrick Mahomes, so he’ll certainly be hoping that the curse can come to an end this time around.
Compared to the Chiefs’ #1 passing offense, the Eagles have reverted to ground and pound football this season. Their rushing offense led by Hurts and Miles Sanders have amassed the 4th most yards in the NFL this season per game but scarily are averaging 183 yards per game on the ground in their last three games. Couple them with Kenneth Gainwell coming alive in the postseason and you have a three-headed rushing monster.
That’s important for a couple of reasons: firstly, moving the ball down the field on the ground may commit more Chiefs players to stopping the run, opening up passing options further down the field. But it will also keep the clock ticking down during the game, meaning the Eagles may control the ball for longer periods of time. There’s no point having an explosive offense like the Chiefs do if your defense can’t get off the field.
History will be made this weekend either way. It’ll be the first time brothers play on opposing teams in the Super Bowl with Jason and Travis Kelce playing for the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs respectively. Their mum, Donna, is famous for sporting the half-and-half jersey. I guess you can forgive this one.
Away from the action on the field, a lot of part-time American Football fans will have an eye on the half-time show which always gets the world talking, whether positively or negatively. This year’s half-time show will be headlined by Rihanna, who famously turned down the role previously in support of Colin Kaepernick.
What time does the 2023 Super Bowl start in the UK?
The event gets underway at 4:30pm local time, which is 11:30pm here in the UK, so you can expect a late night if you’ll be watching it and going the distance.
It’s believed that the half-time show should arrive somewhere just after 1am, and the game should draw to its conclusion around 3:30am.
How can I watch the 2023 Super Bowl?
There’s a couple of ways you can watch this year’s Super Bowl 57 in the UK, either on Sky Sports or on terrestrial television with ITV.
There’s also the option to stream the game online if you prefer, with ITVX (Formerly ITV Hub) or you can subscribe to NOWTV.
What are the best bets for the 2023 Super Bowl?
If you thought the play on the field and the half-time show were the most confusing parts of a Super Bowl event, just wait until you see what you’re able to bet on.
Over in the States, you can stake money on things like the coin toss prior to the match even starting, the colour of the Gatorade liquid poured on the winning coach, which specific words will be mentioned during the Super Bowl 57 MVP speech, and if a player will propose during the event with Valentine’s Day on the horizon.
If those things weren’t wild enough, you can even bet on things to happen during the half-time show. Think you know which song Rihanna will open her set with? There are odds available for it. Think you have an idea of what colour Rihanna’s hair/dress will be? There are odds available for that too.
Our Super Bowl 57 Bet Builder
We’ve got a tip below if you’re wanting to get involved for 2023’s Super Bowl.
Kansas City Chiefs vs Philadelphia Eagles
12th February
kick off 23:30 Philadelphia +3.5 Points (Alt Handicap)
The Eagles are 15-1 this season when Jalen Hurts starts. Philadelphia are dominant on both sides of the football, and rightfully were the #1 team in their conference. The tricky problem here is that KC are also a very good football team, however it just doesn’t feel like the Chiefs have the ability to stop the Philadelphia run game.
The bookmakers have the game as close to call, with good odds for a straight moneyline Philadelphia victory at 1.83.
Here we’re taking more than a field goal’s cushion on that, and with Philadelphia’s rushing attack taking away the game clock from the Chiefs, the expectation is still that the Eagles will win the game. Just in case it gets close, we’ve got that two-score cushion.
Jalen Hurts Anytime TD ScorerThe Eagles QB has scored at least one TD in 4 of his last 5 games, ending up with 15 rushing touchdowns this season including two in the postseason. That is record-breaking form.
Hurts has had two rushing TDs in blowouts where you’d expect the Eagles to be a bit more cautious with their star QB. If it’s a close game, then this should favour the Eagles risking their talisman in pursuit of the Lombardi trophy.
Philadelphia are the league leaders in QB sneaks this season, a potential easy yardage-maker if they’re close to the goal line. They have so many options for Hurts to attack KC’s middle-of-the-road rushing defense; through designed QB runs, sneaks, and even when Hurts scrambles.
On the biggest stage, Hurts can easily find a way to get into the end zone.
Kenneth Gainwell Over 19.5 Yards RushingSpeaking of Kansas City’s middle-of-the-road rushing defense, the Eagles rushing offense is anything but.
Philadelphia, have amassed the 4th most rushing yards in the NFL this season per game and if the Eagles get up early, expect them to run the ball to drain the clock.
Gainwell might not start the game, but that’s not an issue. He should get touches as the game progresses. He leads the Eagles in playoff rushing yards in, amassing 160 yards on 26 carries (6.15 YPC) and has hit the over in rushing yards in both playoff games so far.
Patrick Mahomes Over 275 Yards PassingWith the way the game might shape up, Mahomes will need to throw the ball to play catch up.
The Chiefs are the #1 Passing Offense in the league this season, with Mahomes averaging 308.8 yards per game passing and threw for 300 or more yards in 10 of 17 games this regular season.
Even when faced up against the top passing defense in San Francisco, he managed 423 yards. He has this uncanny ability to find ways to be ultra effective in the passing game.
