Super Bowl predictions roundup

Happy Wednesday!

Friendly reminder to take Monday off of work, if they’ll let you. Odds are you’ll be nursing a celebration hangover OR too depressed to get out of bed.

Which will it be? We’ll check in on Super Bowl predictions in an attempt to find out.

We also have a Sixers win and a Flyers OT loss to discuss.

In the email today:

• 🏆 Super Bowl predictions roundup

• 🏀 Embiid plays, Davis doesn't as Sixers edge Mavericks

• 🕛️ Flyers beaten as time expires in OT at Utah

  • 📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

  • 📊 Poll

  • 🔗 Links

  • 📺 Coming Up

The best Eagles coverage is always local, but it’s helpful to get a national perspective as well. Here’s what they’re saying about your Birds’ chances against the Chiefs, in what looks to be a Super Bowl for the ages.

From CBS Sports: Eagles 31 - Chiefs 24

"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 by powering the Eagles to a Super Bowl LIX triumph as their bell cow back."

From USA Today: Eagles 31 - Chiefs 28

"The Eagles finished the regular season with the fewest yards allowed per game (278.4) and were the second-best scoring defense (17.8 points per game). Since Week 10, they have been the No. 1 defense in terms of EPA per play. Signing Saquon Barkley will go down as one of the best free agency moves of all time. The former No. 2 overall pick has been the best player in the NFL and showed it all postseason.

"The Eagles' offensive line will continue to bulldoze the way for Barkley and Hurts. Philadelphia just trampled Washington for 55 points and seven rushing scores, the most scored by any team in a conference championship game since the Super Bowl merger in 1970. These Birds are on a redemption tour from their Super 57 loss.

"Philadelphia ran inside zone at the fourth-highest rate, and the Chiefs allowed 4.3 yards per play (21st in the NFL) against this scheme. Mahomes was sacked a career-high 36 times this season, which could be devastating against the Eagles' pass rush that ranked second in PFF's team pass rush grade. Jalen Carter could be a game-wrecker.

"Philly will control the tempo long enough to thwart off the Mahomes magic."

From Bleacher Report: Eagles 28 - Chiefs 24

"Kansas City feels inevitable, but it is going to lose at some point. It was a solid-but unspectacular 15th in the league in points per game this season and was outgained in total yardage in each of its playoff victories over the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills.

"In fact, Houston enjoyed a 336-212 advantage in total yards, while Buffalo held a closer advantage at 374-368.

. . .

"The Eagles are also perfectly suited to pick up the short-yardage plays that proved to be Buffalo's undoing in Sunday's AFC Championship Game. The Bills held a one-point lead with the ball in the fourth quarter but were stopped on a quarterback sneak near midfield, which allowed Kansas City to get the ball back and go down and score a go-ahead touchdown.

"Yet Philadelphia has Hurts and the famous tush-push to pick up those yards. Of course, it can also turn to Barkley to pick up those first downs, which will be necessary to keep Mahomes and Co. away from the ball in the final minutes.

"Look for a narrow Eagles victory."

From The Arizona Republic: Chiefs 30 - Eagles 27

"We had the Lions winning this game over the Chiefs in our predictions for the Super Bowl before the wild-card round and the divisional round, but the Commanders' win over the Lions obviously changed things.

"This is a rematch of the Super Bowl in 2023 and we like the Chiefs to get the better of the Eagles this season like they did that season when they earned a 38-35 win. Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid just know how to win in the postseason and their legends will only grow with a third straight Super Bowl title in a narrow win over Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and the Eagles."

Sixers fans who had tickets to their game against the Mavericks last night could reasonably have been more hopeful to see the Mavs’ new acquisition (Anthony Davis) play than to see Joel Embiid.

But how the turns tabled. Davis was a scratch with the same abdominal injury he brought with him from Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Embiid played for the first time in a month and, of course, posted a triple-double in the Sixers’ 118-116 win.

Embiid capped the MVP-esque performance with the game-winner with 22 ticks left.

Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 33 points. Guerschon Yabusele went 7-8 from the field and 5-5 from the line to post 19.

Kyrie Irving paced the Mavs, leading all scorers with 34. The Mavs were at least partially undone by a poor shooting night from Klay Thompson (4-11 for 12 points).

This was a solid win for the Sixers over a team that purportedly is in “win now mode” given the trade of Luka Doncic to land Davis. The win kept the Sixers in touching distance of the last play-in spot.

Conversely, the Mavs dropped to 11th in the Western Conference, and cannot get Davis on the court soon enough.

If the Davis trade doesn’t even get the Mavs into the playoffs this season, fan reactions are going to be a lot less polite than this.

We give you a lot of credit if you stayed up until midnight on a February Tuesday night to watch three periods of Flyers hockey plus all of the overtime in Utah last night. That’s gritty fandom.

Unfortunately, though the Flyers broke their long scoreless streak, they only managed two goals on 20 shots. It was enough to get the Flyers to overtime, where that rarest of goals burned them.

The Flyers competed like hell given that one of the forwards they received in the Joel Farabee/Morgan Frost trade (Andrei Kuzmenko) is absent due to visa issues.

Sam Ersson had a game that fell short of spectacular but definitely qualified as well above average, stopping 42 Utah Hockey Club shots and ceding only two goals until the last second of overtime.

Ersson’s emergence (again, maybe hyperbole) hasn’t gone unnoticed.

The night wasn’t a total loss for the Orange and Black. They got the all-important point on the road.

Additionally, one of their newish faces scored his first career NHL goal.

The real sour note is that both goals potted by Dylan Guenther were tainted by Flyers misplays. Ersson was very good most of the night, but giving up this sort of goal holding onto a slim lead is not ideal. Not screened, etc.

And on the overtime goal, the Flyers could have made the entire play offside if they had held Utah’s last man on the ice (taking a meaningless penalty in the doing) rather than letting him get to the bench.

It doesn’t get easier for the Flyers, who are home to Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals on Thursday night.

📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

On February 5, 1980, the Flyers’ Reggie Leach was named MVP of the NHL All-Star Game. And on February 5, 2022, the Flyers’ Claude Giroux was named MVP of the NHL All-Star Game.

📊 Poll

Results from Tuesday:

🔗 Links

• 💵 Spinning off the game story above, the Mavs are offering refunds to irate season ticket holders following the Doncic/Davis trade.

• 🟥 Win or lose on Sunday, Andy Reid will coach next season.

• ✈️ Kevin Durant’s Hall of Fame plaque is going to need a lot of room to list his teams played for.

• ⚖️ Michael Jordan’s son has legal issues in Florida.

• ↔️ The Mavs and Sixers did other business on Tuesday, trading Quentin Grimes and Caleb Martin.

📺 Coming Up

Games before our next send.

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

• Sixers vs. Heat, 7:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia)

Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.

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