Wednesday’s Prop Bet
Length of Jon Batiste’s national anthem: Over-under 120½ seconds.
The “over” has hit in six of the past 10 Super Bowls. The over for Batiste is minus-122 and the under is plus-100. Also, will Batiste use a piano? Yes is minus-650, no is plus-420.
Jon Batiste will sing the national anthem before Sunday’s Kansas City-Philadelphia Super Bowl in New Orleans.
Matchup To Watch
Eagles LDT Jalen Carter vs. Chiefs RG Trey Smith
Carter has experienced a breakout season after the Eagles drafted him ninth overall in 2023. Over 16 regular-season games, Carter played an astonishing 84% of the snaps and had 42 tackles and 4½ sacks. He has two sacks in three playoff games. Listed at 6-foot-3, 314 pounds, Carter moves like a defensive end. Smith, a sixth-round pick in 2021, is likely to become the NFL’s next $20 million-per-year guard next month in free agency. Smith must be able to block Carter 1-on-1 because that will allow center Creed Humphrey to help left guard Mike Caliendo against the Eagles’ right defensive tackles.
People are also reading…
Numbers To Know
Rushes of at least 50 yards this year by Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley, the second-most by any player since 2000 (Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson had seven in 2012).
Postseason touchdown passes by Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, fifth in NFL history. With three on Sunday night, he will leap past Brett Favre (44) and Joe Montana/Aaron Rodgers (45) to second place behind only Tom Brady (88).
Postseason 100-yard receiving games for Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, most in league history. He broke his tie with receiver Jerry Rice in the Chiefs’ divisional-round win over Houston.
Seen & Heard
- At Super Bowl opening night, two guys dressed as impersonators for Eagles coach Nick Siranni and Chiefs coach Andy Reid roamed the sidelines. The Sirianni character bore a resemblance because of the 5 p.m. shadow on his face, but the Reid character didn’t look like Big Red, save for the mustache.
- Best hoodie alert: Somebody with a media credential wore a green hoodie saying, “A.J. Brown Book Club.” Brown, the Eagles receiver, was spotted reading “Inner Excellence,” by Jim Murphy, between possessions of the Eagles’ wild-card win over Green Bay on Jan. 12.
- A barista at Starbucks was in the Super Bowl spirit around 7 a.m. on Tuesday, wearing a No. 7 Sam Bradford Eagles T-shirt. Bradford played one year for Philadelphia (2015, with a 7-7 record) and was traded to Minnesota after the 2016 preseason to make way for rookie Carson Wentz.
Staff Roundtable
If a non-quarterback wins Super Bowl MVP, the choice is …
Jay Skurski: Eagles RB Saquon Barkley is the obvious choice, considering Barkley built a strong MVP case in the regular season, topping 2,000 rushing yards and having a real look at setting the NFL’s single-season record. The Bills’ James Cook showed last week that the Chiefs’ run defense can be exploited, and no player in the league has done that better or more often than Barkley, who has 442 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns in two playoff games. He’s capable of carrying the Eagles to a win almost by himself.
Ryan O’Halloran: Let’s get crazy, folks, and make history by selecting Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert. No tight end has ever won Super Bowl MVP, but Goedert has been a force during the playoffs, catching a team-best 15 passes for a team-best 188 yards. Look for quarterback Jalen Hurts to work the middle of the field when the Chiefs invariably blitz linebackers and safeties, creating openings for Goedert to gain yards post-catch.
Katherine Fitzgerald: Chris Jones. Defensive MVP? Defensive MVP. It was a couple of short weeks ago that Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady had the highest praise for the Kansas City defensive tackle: “Best defensive player in football: Chris Jones. I mean, he is as dynamic as they come.” Jones is the type of game wrecker that can seal a win and bring the trophy back to the defense for the first time in nine years.
— Ryan O’Halloran, News Sports Reporter
