It's been a profitable season for NFL guru Ross Williams, whose pre-season picks can cap it off with victory in the Super Bowl on Sunday night.
NFL betting tips: Super Bowl
2pts Kansas City Chiefs (-1) to win Super Bowl LIX at 10/11 (General)
2pts Patrick Mahomes over 29.5 rushing yards at 10/11 (General)
2pts Patrick Mahomes to be named Most Valuable Player at 11/10 (General)
History beckons for the KANSAS CITY CHIEFS.
In the 58 years of the Super Bowl era, the NFL has seen a number of great dynasties – from Joe Montana’s 49ers to Tom Brady’s Patriots – but no team has ever made it to the game’s biggest dance and taken the ultimate prize three seasons in a row.
However, Kansas City now stand 60 minutes of game time away from the impossible, unthinkable dream of the three-peat.
If Andy Reid and PATRICK MAHOMES end Sunday evening in possession of the Lombardi Trophy once more, it will be the culmination of American sport's grandest feat.
“I enjoy teaching. I don’t get caught up too much in all the stats, all the records and that stuff. You can’t put in the hours that we do and not enjoy it,” Andy Reid
— The Winning Difference (@thewinningdiff1) February 6, 2025
Great coaches know the true reward is found in the small, meaningful moments that transcend people. pic.twitter.com/TLQBftvXwg
The Chicago Bulls’ famous run of three-straight NBA championships in the mid-90s is regarded by many as the pinnacle. But this is the NFL and there’s no doubt – particularly in 2025 – that football is America’s Everest in regard to professional sport.
If the Chiefs do it, it’ll be talked about for centuries, never mind decades.
But can they?
In short, of course they can, but much like a fortnight ago, many of the underlying numbers favour their opponents.
The Philadelphia Eagles have the best defence in football and, on the other hand, possess the newly-crowned Offensive Player of the Year in the electric Saquon Barkley. Both Eagles lines are stacked with talent and, even in the skill positions, they’re the envy of the NFL due to the big-play ability of A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith.
Plus, on top of all of the that, they have a quarterback in Jalen Hurts who had the performance of his career in this very game, two years ago.
In usual circumstances, I would end the column there, suggest you back an Eagles victory and go about my weekend.
But I can’t, because it’s the Chiefs.
Kansas City’s ability to find ways to win football games is downright scary at this point. Remarkably, they’ve now won 17-straight one-score games. That’s an entire regular season’s worth of match-ups.
The tandem of Reid and Steve Spagnuolo is undeniably the best in the NFL from a coaching standpoint, and you only have to look at Buffalo’s final drive a fortnight ago for evidence. Teams may have more out-and-out quality on the defensive side of the ball, but no one schemes better than ‘Spags’ and his uncanny knack for putting opposing offences on the back foot is phenomenal.
Stopping the march of Barkley is an almighty ask for Spagnuolo, but if anyone can formulate the gameplan to do it, it’s him.
It’s impossible to rule out KC in any situation, and particularly a situation in which they have a psychological edge. The Eagles were incredible in Super Bowl 57, and they still came up short to the Chiefs. There’s no way that won’t be playing on the minds of the players and coaches who were involved that day.
And speaking of the Eagles’ coaches, there’s an interesting wrinkle to this game that won’t be lost on Mahomes, the man tasked with guiding Kansas City to victory.
Much has been made of Vic Fangio’s Eagles defence this season – and for good reason. They’ve allowed less than 280 yards per game over the course of the year (1st in the NFL) and, on average, Philadelphia have conceded just 17.8 points per match-up.
But Mahomes has Fangio’s number. In eight career game against defences coached by Fangio, the Kansas City quarterback has gone 8-0 and averaged almost 27 points on offence.
All season long, the Eagles have hunted quarterbacks and gained plenty of reward for their efforts, but few ers are as proficient at picking up important spurts of yardage on the ground as Mahomes.
When games are close, Patrick Mahomes hasn't felt the pressure at all 🤯 pic.twitter.com/3zjtAW4vtv
— ESPN BET (@ESPNBET) February 7, 2025
His rush yardage line is at 29.5 at the time of writing and I suspect KC’s #15 may clear that comfortably. He rushed for 43 yards against the Bills in the AFC Championship game and, perhaps not coincidentally, he’s averaged 40+ rushing yards across his four Super Bowl appearances to date.
He’s phenomenal at picking his moments and taking chunks of yardage when the Chiefs need it most. It’s these crucial third-down conversions that make all the difference in big games and no team plays situational football better than the Chiefs.
The Chicago Bulls of the 90s had their MVP in Michael Jordan and, in an eerily similar scenario, the Chiefs have theirs in the mercurial Mahomes.
If the Chiefs make history, Mahomes will almost certainly be player of the game and it may well be his work with his legs – rather than his arm – that takes him and his team over the threshold into sporting immortality.
Posted at 1555 GMT on 08/02/25
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