Despite offensive superstars on both sidelines — Mahomes for Kansas City, running back Saquon Barkley for Philadelphia — this is really a matchup between two of the NFL’s best defenses, with both units finishing in the top four in scoring defense this season.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of kickoff on Sunday.

Date: Sunday, Feb. 9

Kickoff: 6:30 p.m.

TV: Fox

Location: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans

Home team: Philadelphia Eagles

Away team: Kansas City Chiefs

Halftime entertainment: Kendrick Lamar

Pregame music: Jon Batiste will sing the national anthem, Trombone Shorty and Lauren Daigle will perform “America the Beautiful,” and Ledisi will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

This year’s game airs on Fox and also will be streamed on Tubi, Fox’s free ad-supported streaming platform.

Kansas City: As has been the case for several years running, the Chiefs’ road to the Super Bowl ran through — and over — Josh Allen and the Bills.

Before its annual playoff matchup with Buffalo, Kansas City (15-2) had a first-round bye as the AFC’s No. 1 seed and swept aside the Texans in the divisional round. Houston made things a little interesting, trailing by just a point at the start of the fourth quarter, but a failed fourth-down conversion and a blocked field goal were too much to overcome.

The Chiefs reached their seventh consecutive AFC Championship game, a run that matches Mahomes’s seven years as the starter. Allen and the Bills delivered a big scare at Arrowhead Stadium, but fell short against Kansas City in the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.

Buffalo took a lead into the fourth quarter and was poised to finally get over the hump, but two turnovers on downs — one on a controversial spot by the officials, the other on a drop from tight end Dalton Kincaid on an Allen heave — delivered the Chiefs their fifth AFC crown in six years.

Philadelphia: After a 14-3 season on the back of the NFL’s best defense by total yardage and a historic season from free agent running back Barkley, Philadelphia strung together three home playoff wins to set up another February date with Kansas City.

After a 22-10 win over the Packers in the wild-card round, the Eagles narrowly survived an instant classic in the snow against the Rams in the divisional game. Barkley broke off two huge touchdown runs, one for 62 yards (before the snow arrived) and another for 78 (once the field was blanketed), but the Rams still had a chance to win it in the final minute.

Los Angeles, trailing, 28-22, drove as far as the Philadelphia 13-yard line with 1:14 to play. But Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter sacked Matthew Stafford on third down and forced him into an errant throw on fourth down to seal the game.

There was far less drama in the NFC Championship game, as Barkley and Jalen Hurts each rushed for three touchdowns in a 55-23 romp over the Commanders.

⋅ It’s been a very strange season for the Chiefs, who never looked dominant but always came out the right side of fine margins en route to the NFL’s best record. Kansas City had the league’s 11th-best point differential and never scored more than 30 points in a game — the only other teams to do so were the 4-13 Patriots and Raiders — but still finished 15-2 thanks to an 11-0 record in one-score games.

⋅ Barkley put together one of the best rushing seasons in recent memory, racking up 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground in 16 games, falling 100 yards short of Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record after sitting out the season finale. The former Giants star has been just as sensational in the playoffs, with 442 yards and 5 touchdowns in three games — that includes touchdown runs of 60, 62, and 78 yards.

⋅ Kansas City could be the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls. The last time the NFL saw a three-peat was in the 1960s, when the Packers won the NFL championship in 1965 followed by wins in Super Bowl I and II under Vince Lombardi.

⋅ Unlike the matchup two years ago between these teams, who boasted the NFL’s two best scoring offenses in the 2022 season, the Chiefs and Eagles hung their hats in defense in 2024. Neither had a top-five offense this season but both finished in the top four in scoring defense, with Philadelphia allowing the fewest yards of any team. Meanwhile, few teams gave opposing quarterbacks more problems than Kansas City, which registered a league-leading 73 QB knockdowns behind Steve Spagnuolo’s aggressive scheme.

⋅ A Chiefs win would place Andy Reid among the NFL’s Super Bowl coaching elite as one of just three coaches to win four championships, alongside Bill Belichick (six) and legendary Steelers coach Chuck Noll (four). Reid is also the third head coach to reach six Super Bowls, along with Belichick (nine) and Don Shula (six).

⋅ Similarly, a fourth title ould place Patrick Mahomes on the Super Bowl-winning QB Mount Rushmore, alongside Tom Brady (seven), Joe Montana (four), and Terry Bradshaw (four).

⋅ The one year and 362 days between Super Bowl showdowns between the Eagles and Chiefs is the soonest two teams have met in a rematch since the Bills and Cowboys went back-to-back in 1993-94.

Ron Torbert will serve as the referee for his second Super Bowl, having taken the whistle for Super Bowl LVI between the Rams and Bengals in 2022.

Sunday’s crew is fairly light on experience, as only Torbert and side judge Boris Cheek have worked the game in the past. The rest of the crew includes umpire Mike Morton, down judge Max Causey, line judge Mark Stewart, field judge Mearl Robinson, back judge Jonah Monroe, and replay official Kevin Brown.

Torbert’s crew was one of the NFL’s quickest on the draw this season, throwing the fourth-most flags (and third-most accepted penalties) of any crew in the league this season. However, Torbert won’t have that crew, as the NFL continues to build its Super Bowl officiating team from an “All-Star” group of its highest-rated officials throughout the season.

Torbert is in his 15th season as an NFL official and his 11th as a referee.

The betting line for this game has settled with the Chiefs as a 1.5-point favorite, the tightest line since Kansas City was favored by the same margin against the 49ers in 2020.

The money line has landed around -130 with slight variations from sportsbook to sportsbook. The over/under is at 48.5 — the under has hit in six of the last seven Super Bowls, with the only exception the shootout between these teams in 2023.

Much of the fun wagering on the Super Bowl comes through prop bets. Here are some to keep an eye on, via Odds Shark:

▪ MVP: No surprises here, with Mahomes, already a three-time Super Bowl MVP, the favorite at +110. Next are Eagles’ Barkley (+280) and Hurts (+370), before a steep drop-off. Travis Kelce (+1800) is the only other player with odds better than 30-to-1.

Gatorade Color: Always a popular one that has you waiting until the very end. Purple is a very slight favorite at +210, just ahead of red and yellow/green, which are tied at +220. You can get orange at +500, or, for a healthier option, clear/water at +1000 (but that’s no fun).

▪ How long will it take Jon Batiste to sing the national anthem? One of the silliest bets every year. After an unusually low line last year — Reba McEntire hit the over on her 86.5-second line, though hers was the fastest in more than a decade — it has come in at a much more typical 120.5 for Batiste’s rendition this year.

Want to get even weirder? You can bet on whether Batiste will perform the anthem while playing the piano (a strong -400 for yes, +290 for no) or whether a player or coach will be shown crying during the anthem (with Nick Sirianni and Chris Jones involved, it’s no surprise that “yes” is a -670 favorite on that one).

⋅ Coin toss: This one is, obviously, a coin flip. Heads and tails are both priced at -104, but tails has come up seven times in the last 11 years. You could argue — if you just ignore how conditional probability works — that heads is due. (It’s not.)

Kansas City: The Chiefs are 4-2 in Super Bowls, with victories over the 49ers last season in Super Bowl LVIII (25-22), the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII (38-35), the 49ers again in Super Bowl LIV (31-20), and the Vikings in Super Bowl IV (23-7). Kansas City came up short in Super Bowl LV (a 31-9 loss to the Buccaneers) and Super Bowl I (a 35-10 loss to the Packers).

Philadelphia: The Eagles are 1-3 in Super Bowls, with their lone victory coming against the Patriots in Super Bowl LII (41-33). Philadelphia lost that shootout to Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII (38-35) as well as defeats to New England in Super Bowl XXXIX (24-21) and the Raiders in Super Bowl XV (27-10).

The sterling silver Vince Lombardi Trophy was created by Tiffany & Co. It was named (before Super Bowl V) for the winning coach in the first two Super Bowls.

The trophy is a regulation-size silver football mounted in a kicking position on a pyramid-like stand of three concave sides. It stands 22 inches tall, weighs 107.3 ounces, and is valued at more than $25,000.

Super Bowl LX: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif., Feb. 8, 2026

Super Bowl LXI: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Calif., Feb. 14, 2027

Super Bowl LXII: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Feb. 13, 2028

Amin Touri can be reached at [email protected].