The second Super Bowl iteration of Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles in the last three years is Sunday night, and NFL experts are busy making last-minute predictions.

In some ways, this can be a great tactic. With media week now behind us, we’ve gotten an even deeper look at each of the competing teams. We have a better idea of where they stand, how they might play, and what tricks they might have up their sleeves.

In essence, there’s a chance that the later the pick is made, the more accurate it could be. That said, perhaps the time spent researching and looking into every statement made could lead to overthinking and winding up with an absurd prediction that doesn’t come close at all.

Here are the best expert predictions from around the internet.

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Super Bowl 59: Chiefs vs. Eagles predictions:

USA Today: Experts split on who will win

Of the six experts giving predictions, half chose the Eagles and half chose the Chiefs. Jordan Mendoza claims, ‘The Chiefs defense will have their hands full trying to defend Saquon Barkley and company, who are coming off an electric performance in the NFC championship. The game will really fall on Jalen Hurts, and whether he’s able to orchestrate a passing game that makes life tough for Kansas City.’

Jarrett Bell: Chiefs 34, Eagles 30
Chris Bumbaca: Eagles 32, Chiefs 29
Nate Davis: Eagles 30, Chiefs 27
Tyler Dragon: Chiefs 27, Eagles 24
Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz: Eagles 20, Chiefs 17
Lorenzo Reyes: Chiefs 26, Eagles 23

CBS Sports: Eagles (+1.5)

CBS Sports’ predictive model claims that the Eagles cover the 1.5-point spread in 55% of their simulations. They also claim that the game is more than likely to go over 48.5 points, with their simulations hitting the over 56% of the time.

Esten McLaren, Sportsbook Review: Chiefs 20, Eagles 17

McLaren writes, ’20-17 is the most common scoreline in NFL history. We’re taking a flier on it to happen for the 298th time at Super Bowl 59. The only decision we have is who will win 20-17, and we’ve decided to back the betting favorite in this scenario. This scoreline would see the Chiefs beat the Eagles by a field goal in the Big Game for a second time in three seasons. A $10 winning wager would return $600 in profits.’

Mason Cameron, Pro Football Focus: Saquon Barkley OVER 21.5 carries

Cameron writes, ‘Philadelphia has leaned heavily on Barkley down the stretch, feeding him 21 or more carries in seven of his last 10 games since Week 11. He fell short of that mark in the NFC Championship Game, primarily due to the blowout nature of the game. However, with Super Bowl 59 expected to be a much tighter contest, Barkley figures to be a central piece of the Eagles’ game plan once again.’

Pro Football Network: Chiefs (-1.5)

Pro Football Network writes, ‘We saw it last year when Patrick Mahomes outplayed Brock Purdy, and Andy Reid ran laps around Kyle Shanahan. You can toss 1,000 stats at me that might show the Eagles could be better, but I will respond with one stat and one stat only: The Chiefs have won 17 (!!!) consecutive one-score games, including an incomprehensible 12-0 this season. That’s coaching. That’s championship DNA. And that’s a three-peat.’

How to watch Super Bowl 59:

Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Location: Caesars Superdome in New Orleans
TV: FOX
Stream: Fubo, YouTube TV, Sling, Tubi

Stream Super Bowl 59 with a Fubo subscription

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NEW ORLEANS — Super Bowl 59 fans are not just hungry for competition in New Orleans.

As spectators trickle into the Caesars Superdome for the Super Bowl 59 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, the concession queues are starting to fill up. Fans can not only expect New Orleans classics — Jambalaya ($18), Grilled Alligator Sausage Po’boy ($18), Surf & Turf Po’boy ($30) — but a piece of home from Kansas City and Philadelphia.

Creamy crawfish stuffed baked potatoes pay tribute to the host city, while BBQ burnt ends and Nola Philly cheesesteak stuffed baked potatoes are a subtle nod to the two teams competing in the Super Bowl. All are priced at $19.

The drink menu, however, is a little more expensive. A variety of cocktails, beers, soft drinks and wines are available for purchase. A bottle of La Marca Prosecco will set you back $120, while a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Brut costs a staggering $200. If you want a momentum to take home, a souvenir fountain soda costs $12.

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Here’s a look at the concessions menu:

Aquafina water $7
Pretzel $8
Hot dog $8
Gatorade $9
Rockstar Energy Drink $9
Nachos $10
American Lager 16oz (Bud Light, Budweiser, Michelob Ultra) $13
Barefoot wine by the glass $15
Double Stack Cheeseburger with Chips $16
Chicken Tenders with Fries $17
Cochon De Lait Po’boy $17der
Deluxe Cocktail (Ketel One Vodka, Captain Morgan Rum, Aviation Gin, Bulliet Bourbon, Crown Royal Deluxe, Apple, Peach and Blackberry Whiskey) $17
American Larger Large (Bud Light, Budweiser, Michelob Ultra) $17
Creamy Crawfish Stuffed Baked Potatoes $19
BBQ Burnt Ends Stuffed Baked Potatoes $19
Nola Philly Cheesesteak stuffed baked potato $19
Fried Shrimp Po’boy $20
Big Easy Hen of the Woods Bahn Mi $20
Premium cocktail (Ciroc Vodka, Don Julio Reposado Tequila, Casamigos Blanco Tequila, Blade and Bow Bourbon, Johnnie Walker Black Label Scotch) $24
Top Shelf cocktail (Casamigos Anejo Tequila) $30
Surf & Turf Po’boy $30
La Marca Prosecco $28/$120
Veuve Clicquot Brut $45/$200

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Another NFC West wide receiver could be on the move during the offseason.

The San Francisco 49ers have granted wide receiver Deebo Samuel permission to seek a trade, a person close to the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The 49ers’ decision to grant Samuel permission to find a trade partner comes after the wideout asked San Francisco to trade him during the team’s exit meeting.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report the story.

The news comes less than a week after wide receiver Cooper Kupp announced on social media that the Los Angeles Rams are going to try to trade him during the offseason.

All things 49ers: Latest San Francisco 49ers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

San Francisco drafted Samuel in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft.

The versatile wideout is known for his ability to make plays with the football, whether it’s catching passes or running with the football out of the backfield.

Samuel has 334 receptions, 4,792 receiving yards, 22 touchdown catches, 1,143 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns in six seasons in a 49ers uniform.

Samuel’s best year came in 2021 when he tallied career highs in catches (77), receiving yards (1,405), rushing yards (365), rushing touchdowns (8) and yards from scrimmage (1,770). He was named a first-team All-Pro for his 2021 performance.

However, Samuel’s numbers declined in 2024 during a disappointing year for the entire 49ers franchise. The 49ers finished the regular season 6-11 and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2020 season.

For the third consecutive year, an advertisement about Jesus Christ will air during the Super Bowl.

The ‘He Gets Us’ campaign will run a 60-second ad during the first half of Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, bringing a dose of religion to an otherwise corporate-centered lineup of commercials. A spokesperson for the group wrote in an email that the ad will explore ‘how Jesus redefined true greatness and what it might mean for us.’

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With a 30-second slot during this year’s FOX television broadcast reportedly running between $7 million and $8 million, the ad is sure to renew familiar questions about the group, as well as the entity and people behind it.

What is ‘He Gets Us’?

The campaign started in 2022 as a reported $100 million attempt to shift the conversation about Jesus Christ and Christianity. It describes itself on its web site as a non-denominational campaign, with no ties to a specific church.

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‘Our point is that the story of Jesus doesn’t belong to anyone,’ the web site states.

‘He Gets Us’ has run advertisements on a variety of platforms over the past three years but become best known for the 30-second and 60-second ads it aired during each of the past two Super Bowl broadcasts.

This year, the group will run one 60-second spot. It also hosted a music festival in New Orleans on Saturday starring Grammy Award winning musician Jon Batiste, who is slated to sing the national anthem before Sunday’s game.

Who is behind the ‘He Gets Us’ commercials?

The ‘He Gets Us’ campaign was previously a subsidiary of the Signatry, a Kansas-based non-profit organization also known as the Servant Foundation. It now operates under the umbrella of a non-profit organization called ‘Come Near,’ which acquired it last year.

A spokesperson for Come Near said the non-profit organization has grown from five to 15 full-time employees over the past 12 months. Ken Calwell, a former executive at Wendy’s and Papa Murphy’s, is its chief executive officer, while the non-profit’s web site lists a six-person board of directors.

The commercials themselves are produced by LERMA/, a Dallas-based advertising agency.

Who funds ‘He Gets Us’?

This remains a bit of a mystery.

The Come Near spokesperson told USA TODAY Sports in an email only that the group’s funds come from ‘a growing group of individuals and entities who share a common goal to raise the public conversation about Jesus’

‘Come Near, like many nonprofits, does not disclose details on individuals or groups that contribute financially in support of its mission,’ the spokesperson wrote.

Come Near is also exempted from filing a public tax document with the Internal Revenue Service, the spokesperson added, because of it claims to be a church, association of churches or auxiliary of a church.

Non-profit organizations are usually required by law to file an annual financial document known as a Form 990, which is made available to the public, as a condition of their non-profit status. The form details an organization’s expenses and revenues for the year, as well as its highest-paid employees and, in some cases, top donors. Come Near’s exemption means that there will be no publicly-available information about its finances like there was for its predecessor, the Signatry.

The most prominent known donor to the campaign is Hobby Lobby founder David Green, who confirmed his involved with ‘He Gets Us’ to right-wing talk show host Glenn Beck in 2022. But it is unclear how many other donors, and whom, are bankrolling the Super Bowl ad campaign.

Why does ‘He Gets Us’ advertise during the Super Bowl?

Given the exhorbitant costs of Super Bowl advertising, the decision by ‘He Gets Us’ to run commercials during the game − rather than donating the money to community programs or charities − has repeatedly drawn criticism.

‘Something tells me Jesus would *not* spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to make fascism look benign,’ U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wrote on Twitter after the first Super Bowl commercials ran in 2023.

The Come Near spokesperson said the campaign advertises during the Super Bowl because it is a major cultural moment and the group has ‘conviction that raising public conversation about Jesus has merit in culture today.’ The spokesperson said the ads have helped increase awareness of the campaign, which has generated 8.5 billion video views and 2 million web site page views to date.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @tomschad.bsky.social.

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President Donald Trump began his Super Bowl Sunday with a memorable game of his own in the morning.

The White House pool report confirmed that Trump met up with Tiger Woods and his son Charlie for a round of golf at Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Earlier this week, the PGA Tour announced that commissioner Jay Monahan and Adam Scott met with Trump at the White House. The Tour put out a release, signed by Woods, Scott and Monahan, saying the meeting was about helping to unify the professional game.

Woods did not attend Tuesday’s meeting, which came the same day he announced the death of his mother, Kultida.

Trump, who presented Woods with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during his first term in office, was scheduled to travel to New Orleans later in the day to attend Super Bowl 59 between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.

Meanwhile, Woods will head to Southern California, where he’s hosting the upcoming Genesis Invitational. This year’s tournament has been moved to the San Diego area because of the destruction from wildfires in the area around its usual home, Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. 

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes looks to continue his dominance in the Super Bowl on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, and keep the tally in the loss column at one.

That one loss, of course, came at the hands of seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady in Super Bowl 55 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers routed the Chiefs 31-9 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

But it didn’t all come from just raw talent and skills for Brady, one of the greatest to play the position. Instead, the now Fox NFL broadcaster said it came from spending an undisclosed amount of time watching film to point that led him to knowing what was coming before the play.

‘My last Super Bowl that I was a part of, I was two weeks of watching film. Friday night (before the Super Bowl), I was just going through the film more. I knew Kansas City’s defense better than they knew themselves,’ Brady told Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd on Friday.

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How well did Brady, who went 3-3 all time against Mahomes, know Steve Spagnuolo’s defense? The five-time Super Bowl MVP made a bold claim of all of the entire playbook.

‘I knew their body movements, the way linebackers moved, the way safeties moved,’ Brady continued. ‘I knew everything they were doing out there.

‘I got out there on the field, looked up as I was walking the line of scrimmage and said, ‘Okay, they’re blitzing’ and then I was dealing with right away. … I knew I had the answers to the test. That’s where I was great. That was where my magic superpower was. It wasn’t how fast I could run, it was how fast I could diagnose what they were doing.’

Brady finished an efficient 21 of 29 passing for 201 yards and three touchdowns in Super Bowl 55, winning his fifth Super Bowl MVP award — the most by a single player in NFL history. Mahomes finished 26 of 49 (53%) passing for 270 yards and two interceptions — his worst completion percentage in four Super Bowl appearances.

A win on Sunday would give Mahomes his fourth Super Bowl title before his age 30 season, and would make the Chiefs the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowl titles.

Brady will be on the call for Super Bowl 59 between the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, who will kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Looking for another big game to watch before Super Bowl 59 starts? SEC women’s basketball has the sports world covered.

No. 4 LSU hosts No. 17 Tennessee in a Sunday afternoon showdown that got even more intriguing with the Vols coming off an upset win over No. 5 UConn. When LSU and Tennessee met last month in Knoxville, the Lady Tigers got a wild, last-second layup by guard Kailyn Gilbert to score a dramatic 89-87 win.

Led by the talented trio of Flau’Jae Johnson, Aneesah Morrow and Mikaylah Johnson, LSU (24-1, 9-1 SEC) has only lost to No. 2 South Carolina this season. Coach Kim Mulkey’s team ranks fourth in the country in scoring at more than 88 points per game, and a frenetic pace could be in store for its latest matchup. Tennessee is one of two teams in the country currently averaging more than 90 points per game.

The Vols (17-5, 4-5) are on the upswing under first-year coach Kim Caldwell, who is back on the bench coaching after giving birth to her first child less than three weeks ago. Only one of Tennessee’s five SEC losses thus far was by a margin of more than four points. Guard Talaysia Cooper leads the team at 17.6 points and 6 rebounds per game. She was one of four Vols’ players to score in double figures against UConn.

Don’t miss the action as the Tennessee Volunteers face the LSU Tigers in a Super Bowl appetizer on Sunday. Follow along below for live score updates and highlights from the game.

Halftime score: LSU 41, Tennessee 37

1Q score: LSU 22, Tennessee 20

Mikaylah Williams leads the Tigers early with 7 points, 4 assists. Zee Spearman has 9 points and a block for the Vols.

Kim Mulkey’s outfit for LSU vs. Tennessee

It may be Super Bowl Sunday, but eyes still trained on LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey for her outfit for the Tigers’ matchup against Tennessee.

Here’s a look at Mulkey’s outfit in LSU’s game against Tennessee on Sunday.

How to watch Tennessee vs. LSU

Date: Sunday, Feb. 9
Time: 4 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN+, Fubo
Location: Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

Watch Tennessee vs. LSU with Fubo

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The No. 6 Texas Longhorns upset the No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks in a must-watch women’s basketball game on Sunday at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

Madison Booker led the Longhorns with 20 points, 11 rebounds. South Carolina couldn’t find an answer despite a standout performance from MiLaysia Fulwiley, who finished the game with 13 points, three assists and three steals.

South Carolina won the first matchup between the two top-10 teams 67-50 on Jan. 12 in Columbia, South Carolina.

‘Last time, we were out-toughed. This time, we out-toughed them,’ Booker said on the broadcast after the game. ‘Mental. it’s a mental game, that’s all I gotta say.’

Here are game stats and highlights from Sunday’s women’s basketball game between the Texas Longhorns and South Carolina Gamecocks:

Final score: Texas 66, South Carolina 62

The No. 6 Texas Longhorns upset the No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks 66-62. With 51.6 seconds on the clock and Texas leading 64-61, South Carolina earned a controversial foul. Bree Hall missed the first free throw but netted the second to make it 64-62. Texas didn’t score on its next possession and South Carolina’s Sania Feagin grabbed the rebound and called a timeout with 26.5 seconds left. South Carolina couldn’t find the net and Texas regained possession with 14 seconds on the clock.

Texas was fouled and hit both free throws to make the score 66-62 with 10.8 seconds left. South Carolina’s Feagin went for a quick 3, but missed. Texas grabbed the rebound and the game was over.

3Q score: Texas 49, South Carolina 49

South Carolina closed the gap in the third quarter, outscoring the Longhorns 22-13.

Halftime score: Texas 36, South Carolina 27

Texas dominated the second quarter and entered the half with a nine-point lead over South Carolina. Taylor Jones leads the game with 11 points, six rebounds and four steals for Texas. Madison Booker has eight points, three assists.

MaLaysia Fulwiley continues to fight for the Gamecocks, knocking down nine points and getting two rebounds and two assists.

1Q score: Texas 18, South Carolina 16

Taylor Jones leads Texas with seven points and three rebounds. MiLaysia Fulwiley has five points for South Carolina.

Dawn Staley reps Eagles on Super Bowl Sunday

Dawn Staley is a coaching legend in South Carolina, but she’s never shy about embracing her Philadelphia roots.

With her No. 2-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks playing on the road against the No. 6-ranked Texas Longhorns in a crucial SEC women’s basketball showdown on Sunday, Staley was proud to show her support for the Philadelphia Eagles by wearing a Super Bowl 59 sweatshirt with an Eagles logo as she took the floor.

In addition, Staley wore green sneakers that matched the shade of green worn by the Eagles, who will face the Kansas City Chiefs at the Ceasars Superdome in New Orleans. Read the full story.

How to watch South Carolina vs. Texas

Date: Sunday, Feb. 9
Time: 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. local)
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN+
Location: Moody Center (Austin, Texas)

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