By
Blake Roberts
Founder & Editor in Chief Updated: 10 February 2023
Blake Roberts Founder & Editor in Chief
Blake Roberts is the founder of Betting.US and is currently heading the creative team as Editor in Chief. Born and raised in Morgantown, West Virginia, Blake is a great sports fan, with football and basketball being his favorite. He’s our trusted voice for all betting-related matters.
NFL fans have their dream Championship match-up – the two most consistent sides in the 2022-23 season will face each other at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona on February 12, 2023.
The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles head into this decider with a 16-3 record. Both sides got a bye in the playoffs after dominating the regular season and got the better of two top sides in their conference finals – they are as worthy a pair of finalists as they come. Let’s now look at how the two sides have fared all season.
The Kansas City Chiefs have been the team to beat for nearly half a decade – that’s how they entered this season as well. They lost wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, but with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, and coach Andy Reid on the same team, the expectation before the season kicks off is to lift the Vince Lombardi trophy.
Despite winning the previous Championship in 2020, there’s a feeling that the Chiefs have underachieved in the last few seasons – that they’re capable of doing more. This side is expected to build a dynasty, which is why the upcoming game is so important. A loss could fuel the arguments suggesting they have a soft underbelly.
Their star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is having one of his best seasons. He’s never completed more passing yards (5250), and only once before has he completed more passing touchdowns (41). If he wants to be grouped into the same bracket as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Joe Montana, he’s got to win the big prizes – getting close isn’t going to suffice.
They’ve now got past their bogey side, the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals had beaten them thrice in 2022, and Mahomes headed into the conference game with question marks surrounding his fitness. The win would’ve unburdened them, but they face a terrifying Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles did not enter this season with the same weight of expectations, but they’re heading into this off the back of very impressive wins against the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers were touted as championship contenders, but the Eagles swatted them with a 31-7 scoreline.
The 49ers headed into the conference finals with the best defensive record in the league before the Eagles made a mockery of it. The Eagles are a very different side from the one that lost to the Chiefs in October 2021. Jalen Hurts is now an MVP-level quarterback – he has completed 3701 passing yards, and 22 touchdown passes this season. He’s also fully recovered from a shoulder injury sustained towards the end of the regular season. There’s a feel-good factor around the camp since he has returned.
He’s not the only one who deserves credit for their rise. This team is stacked with top wide receivers like DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown, and Zach Pascal. They’ve also got experienced pros like Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Brandon Graham, Robert Quinn, and Fletcher Cox.
This side has been heralded for its defense in the last few years – all they needed was a bit of spark in the offensive department, and Hurts has provided that after replacing Carson Wentz.
Both sides have strong narratives, but the Eagles look more balanced, which makes them the favorites of the best football betting sites. They don’t have many obvious weaknesses and have the stronger offensive line, running game, and wide receivers.
The Chiefs have some outstanding talent on their roster – the sort of talent that could conjure magic on their own. Mahomes and co haven’t gone into many games as underdogs in the last few years, but they often beat the odds when they do. They did the same in the last game against the Bengals. Mahomes will also have all the rest he needs after suffering an ankle sprain in the Divisional Round match against the Jaguars.
Andy Reid has been through it all before – he needs to develop a defensive scheme that can limit the Eagles’ offensive unit, and there aren’t many coaches that can be trusted more than Reid to do just that for a one-off game.
The Eagles clearly have a healthier and more balanced side, but they don’t have the experience in these sorts of games. A sudden shift in momentum can be quite overwhelming, and the Chiefs have been on both sides of the equation in the last few seasons. The intangibles have been the deciding factor in these games for years, and the Chiefs have that going for them.
It also feels like the next step in Mahomes’ legacy. Despite the Eagles’ phenomenal rise, there’s a sense of destiny about the Chiefs this season.
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