Super Bowl
Lea & Welter preview Super Bowl LVII AND give their predictions
WRAL's Chris Lea and Pat Welter got together to talk all things Super Bowl LVII, breaking down key storylines, giving their picks *even* a prediction on how the game might end!
All right, we are one week away from Super Bowl 57 you can watch that on Fox 50. And of course, I'm being joined right now with Wrl S Pat Walter. And we got to talk about the big game. It's going to be the biggest football game in the next 365 days until the next Super Bowl happens. And I'm very much so interested in what happens in this game, Pat, and I just want to know what is your favorite storyline heading into this game as the Kansas City Chiefs are going to take on the Philadelphia Eagles. Well, the Eagles are a great story. They've been the best team all year in the NFL, but we're talking about maybe the best quarterback, I guess to follow Tom Brady, right. A guy that could be the next best quarterback in the history of the NFL. But to take that mantle, he's got to win a few Super Bowls to catch up Tom here because he only has one and my pressure. My question isn't so much about Patrick Mahomes at this point, Chris, it's about Andy Reid and I don't think this is discussed quite enough where some of those things that were, you know, criticisms of Reed in Philadelphia could be starting to creep up here with the Kansas City Chiefs. I mean, the last five years, Patrick Mahomes has been in at least the A F C championship game. They only have one Super Bowl victory to show for it. And even that one was by the skin of their teeth against the 40 Niners who arguably should have won that game. So, you know, you look at Reed, who with the Eagles had four NFC championship loss is a Super Bowl loss with the Eagles. He's a great schemer, a great offensive mind, but it's still are some in game issues that tend to creep up on him. I think in the buck's Super bowl loss, he didn't make adjustments. They seem to just be trying to do the same thing over and over and over again to ill effect and they're running up against a great all around defense and the Eagles here and I'm wondering if that's going to happen again and if it does Some questions are going to start to be raised about Mahomes. I don't think that's who the blend is gonna fall on for me. It would be Andy Reid. But if he can pull this off, Reed, put himself in rarefied air is one of only 12 coaches. He'd be the 13th, two won multiple super bowls, Bill Belichick, the only other active coach to have done it. Yeah, there's a lot of great storylines to me heading into this game. Of course, you mentioned Andy Reid, he's former coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. So you have that connection. He drafted both Kelsey brothers. Uh you know, and so like you have Kelsey brothers going against each other in this matchup. But one of the things I just like about this matchup is the fact that it's the first time that the Super Bowl will be headlined by two black quarterback. So you have Jalen hurts versus Patrick Mahomes. And so either way, we're guaranteed for one to come out as a Super Bowl winner. And I think it kind of shows how the game has grown and how the game has evolved over time. And we're talking about a game where, you know, black men were traditionally shied away from, from being the quarterback and it might, uh, manifested and kind of what we see now when it comes down to head coaching searches because a lot of offensive coordinators, a lot of, you know, and they end up becoming head coaches and a lot of those guys are former quarterbacks and, uh, and when it comes down to actual like coaching staffs, you see a lot more black coaches on the defensive side and, uh, which could also be one of the things that kind of impact in coaching searches right now. So I'm excited to see that. Plus also Jalen Hurts. He's been in the big type of game before and he was replaced in that big game back when he was in college at Alabama by two, a typo by Louis. So I know that he's probably ready to have his own time in the sun and shine a little bit. Um, as far as the actual game and what's going to happen between the lines, what do you think is the key matchup? Yeah, like from a surface standpoint, this kind of falls into the category of your great team versus great quarterback kind of Super bowl. And it's a, it's a repeating theme that we've gotten, I was going back through this over the last, you know, like 10 years or so, Chris and it kind of seems like the great teams, which is usually dictated by a great defense, I should maybe put it that way. A truly great defense goes up against the great quarterback a lot and a lot of times it's the team with the better defense that comes out on top in this matchup. Uh, even going back to last year Rams versus Bengals. Um, you know, the Rams pulled that one out 23 20 with that elite pass rushing defensive line. Obviously, they had Matthew Stafford and Cooper Cup as well. The Chiefs Bucks Super Bowl. Yeah, that was Tom Brady, but that was the Bucks defense that won it when San Francisco played the Chiefs. That's an example of the quarterback coming out on top, but they needed a kind of miracle last play to Tyreek Hill to pull that off. Uh Panthers fans gonna remember the game versus Denver. Well, that was Peyton Manning, but that was the Broncos defense. So this is a theme that you're going to see. And the Eagles are a, a truly modern defense where their strength is against the past their number two in passing yards per game allowed. Um They don't give up big plays, which is key. They're also one of the best in creating pressure. They're number two in pressure rate um in the NFL and they can do it without really having the blitz uh 18th and blitz rate. And that was something that, that Buck's team was able to do when they were able to beat Patrick Mahomes in the Super Bowl. They were able to create pressure without creating a blitz which really limits the big plays that Mahomes is able to create. Uh So I think that to me is the key matchup. Um I think maybe a difference with this Chiefs, teams from teams of the past and that their defense is probably the best one that Patrick Mahomes has had in Kansas City. So that is certainly something that could tip the scales. Yeah, I think me and you are thinking along the same lines when it comes down to this game and I'm not only just think about the defense when it comes to the Eagles and thinking about their running game. Right. The Chiefs, I think they give up something like 20 yards on the ground per game, which is still, you know, a decent amount when you're starting to give up over 100. The Eagles are averaging, getting over 200 yards on the ground per game and you have a dual threat quarterback and Jalen hurts along with a three headed monster coming out the back field and the different running backs that they have, plus, you know, those types of plays, those types of looks can get their wide receivers wide open and you don't have scrubs at wide receiver, you have Devante Smith and you have a J Brown. So, um, it's gonna be a task for the Kansas City Chiefs defense to really keep up with the Eagles and, and I think that's what we've seen pretty much all year whenever any team is going against the Eagles when they are clicking there really clicking and even against the really good San Francisco 40 Niners defense still were able to score a lot and it wasn't a good game from Jalen Hurts. So, um, this is, that's pretty much what I'm going to look at is like what the Eagles are gonna be able to do on offense, how they're going to be able to control the line of scrimmage, how they're going to be able to control, uh, you know, time on the clock and if you're keeping the ball out of Patrick Mahomes hands, yes, he can make the pretty, you know, you know, crazy plays as you referred to it and, and last Super Bowl win with that pass to Tyreek Hill, but you can't always rely on that, you know, that big time chunk play, um, to keep you in the game and they don't have Tyreek Hill, they don't have a lot of those, uh that and a lot of their receivers are hurt. So, um, you know, that's gonna be a big difference to me and, you know, just looking at how things are gonna happen, um, you know, in the trenches as far as the run game. So, uh it sounds like we, we know where we're leaning, but Who are you picking officially to win Super Bowl? 57? Yeah, I'm feeling like we might be on the same way of like who were picking, but then again, as I'm trying to get the words to come out of my mouth, it's really hard to pick against Patrick Mahomes as an underdog and as I mentioned, probably has the best all around team, maybe that he's had in Kansas City at least as far as the best defense, um, um that he's had and just the fact of the experience in the game and one of the things you want to do at your Super Bowl parties, you just don't want to feel dumb, you know, as you're sitting there eating your guacamole, you wanna be. The guy was like, oh, yeah, I got 100 bucks on, you know, the team that's winning and a lot of times in the Super Bowl you find out you're wrong real quick. You know that Panthers, one is one that sticks with me. I was, and I was in on Newton and the Panthers, they were the best team all year. Uh, they had so much swagger and, you know, Peyton Manning was pretty anemic as a quarterback and what he was able to deliver down the field and you were wrong right quick in that one. And that's what I don't want to see in this game, but I'm going to stick with what has gotten me here all season. I've been riding this Eagles training through the playoffs. Um, the Jalen Hurts shoulder injury is the thing that gives me pause and certainly if I was investing some money picks or bets in this game, I would temper that a little bit because you don't truly know we're going to get from Jalen hurts from a passing standpoint and just a throw that stood out to me, you know, from the playoffs against San Francisco. You know, he had a J brown opened deep and you have to hit those guys and he overthrew him and he doesn't quite maybe have that touch. He's gonna have a little bit more time to rest here. Um, but that. It's a big question mark in this game, but I'm still going to go ahead and take the Eagles and I will go ahead and lay the spread as well. 1.5 Eagles when the Super Bowl Jalen hurts, gets it done. Yeah, I think I'm gonna go ahead and take the Eagles as well, but I'll say this, uh with this caveat, uh this isn't scientific but you haven't really going back and tried to count this up. But over the last 10 years, I'm probably two and eight and picking the Super Bowl winner. Um I picked the Chiefs correctly when they won against the 40 Niners and I also picked correctly last year. That's been it pretty much every, all the time. I've picked the other team and, and, you know, it's going wrong for me. So I'm saying this as I think the Eagles are gonna win, but this, it feels like it's gonna set up for achieves victory and Patrick Mahomes is gonna go against all the odds and, and, and maybe, you know, shut down, uh, that crazy, crazy Philadelphia Eagles defense more than anybody has been able to do, but I think the Eagles get it done. I think they're just the stronger team on both sides of the bowl. And again, I think it's gonna be something that's gonna be, uh determined at the line of scrimmage. You said it, you know, when it comes down to the Super bowl, you know, up until you get to the Super Bowl, it's offense. So that's the best offense you get to this game is defense and I don't think That that Eagles defense is going to give up too much to, to Patrick Mahomes. So I'm taking the Eagles and I'll say, um, maybe a final score of something like 24-20. Sure, a quick note here. I like that score as well. The total is 50.5. So yeah, I think I like Eagles 24 21 here's how they win the game. Chris specific bet. Jalen hurts when he was benched in the national championship with Alabama. Tua comes in, throws the game winning touchdown to none other than Devante Smith. So maybe this time around he hits Davante for the winner for 24 21 Eagles victory. Good call back. So we'll see what happens. Make sure you're watching Super Bowl 57 next week on Fox 50. It's gonna be a great time and of course we know we'll all be at home watching it with our great snacks. Pat. Thank you for joining us today. Alright, cool. Boom. I was let me stop.