Super Bowl 59 kicks off in just a few hours, when the Kansas City Chiefs will face a familiar foe, the Philadelphia Eagles, hoping to win the Lombardi Trophy for a record third year in a row.
The Chiefs could become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls, but a three-peat of NFL titles isn’t unprecedented.
Green Bay did it twice during the earlier years of the league, winning three straight championships under Curly Lambeau from 1929-31 when there wasn’t a postseason and then doing it again from 1965-67.
Vince Lombardi’s crew won the final NFL title before the Super Bowl era began and then the first two games against the AFL champs.
The officials have been a big part of the postseason.
Fans outside of Kansas City seem to believe every close call that goes in the Chiefs favor is part of a grand conspiracy.
The numbers don’t back up the theories but that hasn’t quieted the complaints on social media.
Former head of officiating Mike Pereira says it’s a “myth” and something the official will need to tune out during the game.
The sky is reflected in the visor of Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley as he runs through drills during an NFL football practice Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in New Orleans, ahead of Super Bowl 59 against the Kansas City Chiefs. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Saquon Barkley’s historic season has been the talk of Super Bowl week. From Hall of Fame running backs Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk and Thurman Thomas to Falcons star back Bijan Robinson, everyone has been awed by Barkley’s spectacular performance.
“The guy is a generational talent and, obviously, year one of the Giants, we got to see it,” said Faulk, who won a Super Bowl with the Rams. “They didn’t put the right pieces around (him), which we need. We need that in this game. Philly had all the right components for him to show us and remind us of the generational talent he has.”
Thomas, who lost four straight Super Bowls with Buffalo in the 1990s, called Barkley the “perfect player.”
“He’s brought a toughness to the City of Brotherly Love,” Thomas said. “I just like his overall game. He can do it all.”
People arrive outside the Caesars Superdome before the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
New Orleans ties the Miami area tonight, playing host to the Super Bowl for the 11th time.
And after tonight, it’s back to California for the next two Super Bowls.
The next Super Bowl — Super Bowl LX — will be Feb. 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, home of the San Francisco 49ers.
Super Bowl LXI is Feb. 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, home of the Chargers and Rams. And Super Bowl LXII is Feb. 13, 2028, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, home of the Falcons.
Out of the mix right now for Super Bowls: Florida.
The Sunshine State played host to 15 of the first 44 Super Bowls, but has had only two since and the earliest that the game could return to Florida now is 2029.
Bet $100 on the coin toss, collect $198.04 if you pick the right answer to the heads-or-tails question. (Really.)
It’s the Super Bowl. There’s prop bets on almost anything.
BetMGM Sportsbook lists the odds on heads and tails at -102, meaning it’s … well, pretty much a coin flip.
Among some of the bets out there:
- Barkley scoring a touchdown is -200, meaning a $100 bet would return $150.
- Mahomes is the +105 favorite to win MVP honors (a $100 bet would return $205).
- And if you want to turn some Brown into green, try this prop. If Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown and Kansas City’s Hollywood Brown both score touchdowns and each finish with 50 or more receiving yards, you can turn $100 into a cool $1,150.
An approximate schedule (all times CST):
- 4:44 p.m. – Walter Payton Man of the Year Award Ceremony
- 4:46 p.m. – Ledisi performs “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
- 5:04 p.m. – Opening Ceremony
- 5:11 p.m. – Team introductions
- 5:22 p.m. – Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle perform “America the Beautiful”
- 5:24 p.m. – Jon Batiste performs US national anthem
- 5:30 p.m. – Coin toss
- 5:40 p.m. – Kickoff
Jon Batiste will headline a pregame parade of local Louisiana performers when he sings the national anthem in New Orleans shortly before kickoff.
Jon Batiste poses for a portrait during the 96th Academy Awards Oscar nominees luncheon on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
Batiste, the multi-instrumentalist, singer and former TV bandleader whose music has blended R&B, hip-hop, swing, jazz, pop and classical sounds says he’ll perform “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the piano.
The seven-time Grammy winner comes from a legacy New Orleans musical family. Batiste told The Associated Press he’ll be thinking of his veteran grandfather who died recently when he performs.
R&B singer Ledisi, a native of the city, will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a song regarded as the Black national anthem.
Trombone Shorty, who was raised in the New Orleans jazz scene, will perform “America The Beautiful” with Christian singer-songwriter Lauren Daigle, who is from Lake Charles.
El quarterback de los Chiefs de Kansas City Patrick Mahomes sostiene el trofeo Vince Lombardi mientras habla con Terry Bradshaw tras ganar el Super Bowl 57 el domingo 12 de febrero del 2023. (AP Foto/Seth Wenig)
The Chiefs (17-2) will try to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls when they face the Eagles (17-3) in the Superdome.
It’s a rematch from two years ago when Jalen Hurts nearly led Philadelphia to a championship only to watch Patrick Mahomes snatch it away by rallying Kansas City to a 38-35 win.
Mahomes lifted the Chiefs to an overtime win against San Francisco in another Super Bowl rematch last year. Now, they’re poised for a three-peat.
