The NFL has taken over Las Vegas as we rely right down to the league’s championship recreation on Sunday with the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs taking up the San Francisco 49ers in Tremendous Bowl LVIII.
Our reside Sky Sports activities protection begins at 10pm on Sunday with the large recreation – which is tabbed to be the most costly in NFL historical past – kicking off at 11.30pm.
Forward of this big Vegas showdown, I’ve a couple of questions that can get answered on Sunday night time.
Will Patrick Mahomes safe a legacy-cementing victory?
Kansas Metropolis’s celebrity quarterback is already making historical past heading in direction of Sunday as he’s going to turn out to be the primary NFL passer to start out in 4 Tremendous Bowls earlier than the age of 30. And he is doing it with time to spare on the age of 28. Mahomes has two Tremendous Bowl wins. If he can finish what has been a sometimes-tumultuous season with a 3rd lifting of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, he’ll start to enter career-defining rarefied air.
He can turn out to be simply the fifth quarterback to win at the least three Tremendous Bowls, becoming a member of Tom Brady (7), Joe Montana (4), Terry Bradshaw (4) and Troy Aikman (3). You need to by no means write off Mahomes and the Chiefs, although they’ve been held to twenty factors or fewer in 10 of their 20 video games this season. Kansas Metropolis have discovered other ways to win, leaning on a stout and aggressive protection – and Mahomes all the time delivers simply sufficient magic when required.
Can Kyle Shanahan win the large one?
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is extensively considered one of the vital progressive and gifted play-callers within the NFL. It appears like each NFL staff is looking for the brand new Kyle Shanahan after they conduct their teaching searches. However Shanahan is perhaps probably the most under-pressure man inside Allegiant Stadium on Sunday. He has probably the most gifted roster within the NFL and the 49ers have been knocking on the door for the previous 4 years. However they don’t have anything to indicate for his or her efforts. In Tremendous Bowl LIV that was performed in Miami 4 years in the past, San Francisco led 20-10 with seven minutes remaining and had a win likelihood of 92 per cent.
Kansas Metropolis scored three rapid-fire touchdowns within the house of 5 minutes and received 31-20. Return additional and Shanahan felt extra warmth in a well-known Tremendous Bowl meltdown. In Tremendous Bowl LI on the finish of the 2016 season, Shanahan was offensive coordinator of an Atlanta Falcons staff that led the New England Patriots 28-3 and had a second-half win likelihood of 99 per cent. The Tom Brady-led Patriots received 34-28 in time beyond regulation and Shanahan’s late-game play-calling was questioned. He will probably be feeling a fierce need to ship on Tremendous Bowl Sunday.
What number of instances will we see pictures of Taylor Swift?
Slightly than swim in opposition to the waves crashing onto the NFL shore, I am going with the move and recognising that the league’s latest fan is bringing in an excellent many new supporters and followers of American soccer. Taylor Swift is anticipated to jet from Japan to Vegas, arriving the day earlier than the large recreation. That ought to solely add to the craziness on this always-crazy metropolis.
She will probably be cheering on her boyfriend, Chiefs tight finish Travis Kelce. He’s going to have a serious position to play if Kansas Metropolis are to win the Tremendous Bowl for the fourth time and on the third event with Mahomes and Kelce teaming up via the air. After a so-so common season, the 34-year-old Kelce has come alive within the playoffs, catching 23 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns. I’d again Kelce to turn out to be the fourth participant to attain a receiving landing in three totally different Tremendous Bowls, becoming a member of legends in Jerry Rice, Lynn Swann and Rob Gronkowski.
Will the baby-faced murderer ship?
In simply his second NFL season – and his first because the full-time starter – Brock Purdy has guided the 49ers to the Tremendous Bowl. And the 24-year-old will turn out to be the third-youngest quarterback to start out in a Tremendous Bowl. We could have to test his passport as a result of Purdy seems about 16! However he performs the sport with a cold-blooded effectivity and has not solely been the best quarterback within the NFL this season, the younger man chosen with the final decide within the 2022 NFL Draft has been one of the best over the previous two years.
Mr Irrelevant is something however and repeatedly final night time his team-mates instructed me that Purdy is “built for this”. If Purdy can have a giant recreation in opposition to Kansas Metropolis’s second-ranked protection, it should bode very properly certainly for San Francisco’s championship possibilities. And that will be a good larger story than Mahomes’ legacy and Taylor’s air miles, particularly when you think about that Mahomes earns extra in per week than Purdy makes in a complete season!
Which protection will come out on prime?
The 49ers have historically boasted one of many league’s prime defenses and so they do rank third within the NFL in permitting simply 17.5 factors per recreation. They’re very robust in opposition to the move however some chinks have emerged of their run protection armour and that might play into the fingers of Isiah Pacheco, of the Chiefs. Kansas Metropolis rank second within the NFL in yards per recreation (290), factors per recreation (17.3) and sacks (57).
They’ve proven an actual penchant for taking up video games, particularly within the playoff wins over Miami and Baltimore. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is understood for his aggression and daring blitzing, which goes to place Purdy firmly within the highlight. The Chiefs haven’t allowed an opponent to attain greater than 27 factors in a recreation this season and the youngest protection within the league could possibly be the deciding issue on this title showdown.
Who may have homefield benefit?
The followers who discover themselves contained in the stadium nicknamed ‘The Dying Star’ may have earned the proper to cheer till they’re hoarse. This would be the costliest Tremendous Bowl ticket in historical past. The bottom value to get into the stadium because it stands proper now could be $8,000. And the common ticket value is now north of $10,000. For probably the greatest seats in the home? You are taking a look at spending greater than $44,000.
If the Opening Night time is something to go by, the 49ers will discover themselves with a homefield benefit of kinds as they go looking for a primary Tremendous Bowl win for the reason that 1994 season. It is a relatively-short 415-mile journey from San Francisco to Las Vegas, whereas Chiefs followers are needing to journey greater than 1,100 miles. The gang noise could possibly be an element on Sunday and that ought to give an ever-so-slight edge to the Chiefs.
Who will win?
The 49ers have one of the best roster within the NFL and it has been the case for a couple of years now. They led the league with 9 Professional Bowl all-star choices and had an unbelievable 12 totally different gamers voted as alternates for that recreation. That is unbelievable if you suppose that there are solely 22 gamers on offense and protection who can begin a recreation. The Niners even have seven All-Professional choices – which suggests one of the best of one of the best – 4 gamers who went over 1,000 scrimmage yards within the season, the NFL’s main rusher in Christian McCaffrey and the highest-rated quarterback in Purdy.
However the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes and that could be a nice leveller. Mahomes will probably be ably supported by the good Andy Reid as he turns into simply the fourth man to function a head coach in 5 Tremendous Bowls, becoming a member of Invoice Belichick, Don Shula and Tom Landry. Mahomes additionally has a assured protection and I feel that helps the Chiefs report a slender 20-17 victory.
What do I have to learn about Tremendous Bowl LVIII?
Kick-off within the large recreation is at 11.30pm UK time reside on Sky Sports activities NFL.
Watch all one of the best build-up protection from 10pm, with Neil Reynolds and Phoebe Schecter joined in Las Vegas by former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and Miami Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins.
You may as well stream Sky Sports activities’ reside Tremendous Bowl protection with NOW.
For subscribers, watch reside on Sky Sports activities NFL in your TV or cellular system by way of the Sky Sports activities app or Sky Go, whereas non-subscribers should purchase a NOW Sports activities Day Membership to stream the large recreation with no contract on a mess of various units.
On the Sky Sports activities NFL web site and app we’ll preserve you up to date on all issues Tremendous Bowl, bringing you the entire newest information, participant interviews, pundit evaluation and podcasts forward of the large recreation. And we’ll have a reside commentary web page following Tremendous Bowl LVIII itself – together with video of the most important touchdowns and moments from all through the night time.
Watch Tremendous Bowl LVIII – the 49ers in opposition to the Chiefs – reside on Sky Sports activities NFL on Sunday February 11. The sport begins at 11.30pm. You may as well stream Sky Sports activities’ reside Tremendous Bowl protection with NOW