Super Bowl LIX: The battle for the NFL championship in detail

The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are set to clash Sunday in Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. History is on the line as quarterback Patrick Mahomes looks to make his team the first ever in the NFL to win three straight Super Bowls, while his counterpart Jalen Hurts looks to avenge his team’s loss in this same game to the same opponent just two years ago, a thrilling 38-35 comeback win for the Chiefs.

The Chiefs open as 1.5-point favorites in a matchup between two of the most dominant teams of the year. The Eagles will see many familiar faces in red and gold from that game two years ago. Mahomes, the reigning two-time consecutive Super Bowl MVP, will once again lead the way, bolstered by veteran tight end Travis Kelce and running back Isiah Pacheco, both also members of the previous two championship teams in Kansas City.

The Eagles, however, have brought a notable new name into the fold. Running back Saquon Barkley joined the Eagles in the offseason from their division rivals, the New York Giants, and (literally) hit the ground running. He led the NFL in rushing and became the ninth player in NFL history to amass 2,000 or more yards in a season (2,005). He could prove decisive in this matchup, as Hurts had to shoulder the majority of the Eagles’ rushing load in their previous Super Bowl matchup against the Chiefs, with 70 yards and 3 touchdowns. The leading rusher from their running back corps in that game was Kenneth Gainwell, who had just 21 yards.

The quest for history

Eight franchises have won back-to-back Super Bowls: the Green Bay Packers (1966-1967), Miami Dolphins (1973-1974), Pittsburgh Steelers (2x: 1975-1976, 1979-1980), San Francisco 49ers (1989-1990), Dallas Cowboys (1993-1994), Denver Broncos (1998-1999), New England Patriots (2005-2006) and Kansas City Chiefs (2023-2024). No team, however, has been able to capture the elusive "three-peat," which the Chiefs will have the chance to do in New Orleans.

The Chiefs will also be one of just four teams to play in three straight Super Bowls. The first was the Miami Dolphins (1972-1974), who lost the first and won the final two. Tom Brady’s New England Patriots played in three straight title games from 2017-2019, winning the first and third but falling to the Eagles in the second. The Buffalo Bills are the only team to play in four straight Super Bowls (1991-1994), but they infamously lost all four, the first on a heartbreaking field goal missed "wide right" in the final seconds of a 1-point loss to the New York Giants.

The Chiefs will have played in five of the past six Super Bowls (2020-2021, 2023-2025). The year prior, in 2019, they were just inches away from a victory in the AFC Championship Game against the Patriots that would have sent them to the Super Bowl, and in 2022, they were also just a game away, falling to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Mahomes has already cemented himself as one of the league’s all-time greats, but leading the first ever Super Bowl three-peat would sling him even further into the depths of football immortality.

The quest for revenge

Despite the Chiefs’ Goliath-like run of dominance, the Eagles are no David. After starting the season a mere 2-2, they finished the regular season with an electrifying 12 wins in their final 13 games, good enough for the second-best record in the NFC. They were led by Barkley and Hurts’ dominant ground attack, as well as outside threats A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

They also had one of the league’s most intimidating defenses, headlined up front by defensive lineman Jalen Carter, linebackers Josh Sweat and Zack Baun, as well as defensive backs C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Darius Slay Jr. and rookie Cooper DeJean. They possess elite athleticism and physicality all over the field on the defensive end, making life complicated for passers, runners and receivers alike.

As mentioned previously, the biggest addition for the Eagles since their last Super Bowl appearance was Barkley, hands down. However, the team has also suffered some losses. Long-time Eagles center Jason Kelce (brother of Travis) retired this past offseason, leaving a big hole in the offensive line and the locker room in Philadelphia.

More bad news in this regard is that the Eagles have two big injuries listed on their offensive line to start the week: guard Landon Dickerson and center Cam Jurgens. The latter, Kelce’s replacement, said he will play in the game, but he is listed with a back injury. Dickerson’s participation is still in doubt, having tweaked a prior knee injury in the NFC Championship game two weeks ago. Whether or not these two are able to suit up will have a massive impact on Barkley’s run game, but also on Hurts’ ability to make plays in the pocket.

Off the field

The famous Super Bowl halftime show will be played by California-based rapper Kendrick Lamar, who just won five Grammy Awards, including Song and Record of the Year, for his diss track "Not Like Us," which targeted Canadian rapper Drake during their brief feud in late 2024. In November of last year, Lamar released his most recent album, "GNX," which featured notable hits "TV Off" and "Squabble Up." These could be a few of the songs he will play in his set during the television event of the year, though surely fans will hope to hear classics like "Humble" and "Alright" as well. Singer-songwriter SZA has been reported as a guest in the performance.

Jon Batiste, of the band Stay Human, will sing the national anthem before the game. Batiste won two Grammys in 2025 for his work on the film "American Symphony."

"America the Beautiful" will also be performed before the game by the duo of Trombone Shorty and Christian singer Lauren Daigle.

R&B and gospel singer Ledisi will perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing," colloquially known as the black national anthem.

When to watch

Super Bowl LIX will kick off at 6:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, Feb. 9, on Fox. It will also be available for streaming on Fubo TV and other platforms that carry Fox.

The game can be seen in Spanish on Fox Deportes, offering commentary, analysis and interviews by and for Spanish speakers.

The game will be announced in English by Kevin Burkhardt and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, with additional reporting from Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi. In Spanish, it will be announced by a team of Pepe Segarra, Ernesto del Valle, José Pablo Coello y Ricardo García Ochoa.

Betting markets

The Super Bowl is the marquee sports gambling event of the year. This year alone, Americans are expected to make $1.39 billion in legal bets on the game, per ESPN. The betting line opened with the Chiefs favored by 1.5 points. Despite being the favorites, however, gambling site Sports Betting Dime reports that 70% of the bets it has taken are on the Eagles, with 80% of total money on Philadelphia as well.

The over-under for the game is set at 48.5 points, representing Las Vegas’ estimation for the total number of points scored between the two teams.

Fans will not just bet on the game itself. There are available bets on the result of the pregame coin toss, the over-under of the duration of the national anthem (currently set at 120.5 seconds), the songs Kendrick Lamar will play during his halftime show (“Humble” is the favorite at +170) and even the color of the Gatorade that is thrown on the winning coach (with purple being the current favorite at +200), per Odds Checker. There is also a prop bet on the over-under for Taylor Swift appearances on the telecast, which is listed at 6.5, per NorthJersey.com. Swift is notably the girlfriend of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

Commercials

For non-football fans, one of the biggest draws of the game is the commercials. This year, brands are reportedly shelling out as much as $8 million for a 30-second ad spot during the game, with pre- and post-game ads running between $4-4.5 million, per USA Today. Tune in to see the elaborate commercials that go viral in this year’s game.