ESPN experts pick Super Bowl score, MVP: Who is the favorite? - 5 minutes read


The season finale has arrived. The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will square off this Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, for Super Bowl LVII. Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts face off in a much-anticipated battle of quarterbacks. Will Eagles receiver A.J. Brown catch the game-winning touchdown, or will Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce dominate the fourth quarter? Can Haason Reddick pressure Mahomes, who is recovering from a high ankle sprain? And who will win MVP?

Ahead of the 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff, we asked ESPN's analysts, writers, commentators, columnists and pundits to make their predictions for the big game. More than 70 experts so far have weighed in on the winner of Chiefs-Eagles, the final score of the game and who will earn the MVP award. We'll add more predictions leading up to the game.

Here is how they picked, along with some breakdown of the numbers. And be sure to check out all of our Super Bowl preview content.

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The Eagles have the advantage, 45-26

Of 71 experts who weighed in, the Eagles were favored by 45 of them (63.4%), while the Chiefs claimed 26 votes (36.6%).

The most common predicted final scores were 27-24 and 31-24, each picked by seven of our experts. The lowest combined total was 38 (24-14). The highest combined score was 72 (38-34). The largest margin of victory predicted was 13 points (34-21). And 62 of the experts said this game will be decided by a touchdown or less.

Betting context: Caesars Sportsbook currently favors Philadelphia by 1.5 points. Forty-one of the 71 experts have Philadelphia covering that spread, while 27 say Kansas City will cover. The over/under is 51 points at Caesars Sportsbook. Forty-four of the experts in this pool have the game going over that total, while 17 like the under.

ESPN's Football Power Index: The FPI likes the Eagles (51%) by an average of 0.1 points.

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Predicting an Eagles win (45)

Adam Teicher, Chiefs reporter: 27-20
Alaina Getzenberg, Bills reporter: 34-27
Brady Henderson, Seahawks reporter: 27-26
Courtney Cronin, Bears reporter: 30-28
Dan Orlovsky, NFL analyst: 30-28
David Fleming, writer: 31-22
Doug Kezirian, sports betting analyst: 27-17
DJ Bien-Aime, Texans reporter: 30-23
Ed Werder, NFL bureau reporter: 34-27
Elizabeth Merrill, writer: 31-30
Elle Duncan, "SportsCenter" anchor: 28-24
Eric Woodyard, Lions reporter: 27-23
Field Yates, NFL analyst: 28-24
Jake Trotter, Browns reporter: 28-27
Jenna Laine, Buccaneers reporter: 34-21
Jeremy Fowler, national NFL reporter: 27-24
Joe Buck, "Monday Night Football" broadcaster: 24-20
Jordan Raanan, Giants reporter: 31-26
Jordan Reid, NFL draft analyst: 27-24
Josh Weinfuss, Cardinals reporter: 27-24
Katherine Terrell, Saints reporter: 28-21
Kevin Negandhi, "SportsCenter" anchor: 38-34
Kevin Seifert, Vikings reporter: 31-30
Kimberley A. Martin, NFL reporter: 31-27
Matt Bowen, NFL analyst: 31-24
Marcel Louis-Jacques, Dolphins reporter: 35-28
Mel Kiper Jr., NFL draft analyst: 27-23
Michael DiRocco, Jaguars reporter: 31-23
Michael Tannenbaum, NFL analyst: 31-28
Mike Clay, NFL fantasy analyst: 27-26
Mike Reiss, Patriots reporter: 30-24
Nick Wagoner, 49ers reporter: 26-23
Paul Gutierrez, Raiders reporter: 26-24
Rex Ryan, NFL analyst: 28-21
Rich Cimini, Jets reporter: 27-23
Robert Griffin III, NFL analyst: 31-27
Seth Walder, analytics writer: 24-20
Seth Wickersham, NFL writer: 24-23
Steve Levy, "SportsCenter" anchor: 31-24
Tedy Bruschi, NFL analyst: 31-24
Tim Keown, writer: 24-14
Tim McManus, Eagles reporter: 31-24
Todd McShay, NFL draft analyst: 31-24
Tristan H. Cockcroft, NFL fantasy analyst: 37-31
Turron Davenport, Titans writer: 30-24

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Predicting a Chiefs win (26)

Aaron Schatz, Football Outsiders: 28-26
Alden Gonzalez, writer: 31-24
Ben Baby, Bengals reporter: 30-21
Brooke Pryor, Steelers reporter: 27-24
Damien Woody, NFL analyst: 34-27
Dan Graziano, national NFL reporter: 27-24
David Newton, Panthers reporter: 32-29
Jamison Hensley, Ravens reporter: 31-20
Jason Reid, Andscape senior NFL writer: 34-31
Jeff Darlington, NFL reporter: 31-24
John Keim, Commanders reporter: 23-20
Linda Cohn, "SportsCenter" anchor: 31-27
Lindsey Thiry, Chargers reporter: 28-24
Matt Hasselbeck, NFL analyst: 26-25
Matt Miller, NFL draft analyst: 27-24
Michael Eaves, "SportsCenter" anchor: 30-24
Michael Rothstein, Falcons reporter: 31-23
Michelle Buck, NFL reporter: 27-24
Mina Kimes, NFL analyst: 28-27
Phil Murphy, "SportsCenter" anchor: 30-22
Rob Demovsky, Packers reporter: 30-24
Sarah Barshop, Rams reporter: 27-21
Stephen Holder, Colts reporter: 26-23
Tim Hasselbeck, NFL analyst: 24-20
Todd Archer, Cowboys reporter: 37-34

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Super Bowl MVP

Jalen Hurts was the most common pick to win Super Bowl MVP. Thirty-three of the 71 experts who weighed in on MVP picked Hurts, 46.4% of the vote. Six of the past 10 Super Bowl MVPs have been quarterbacks.

Patrick Mahomes was the next-most-common pick with 20 votes (28.1%). Haason Reddick was picked eight times (11.3%) and Travis Kelce got six votes (8.3%). Eagles receiver A.J. Brown and running back Miles Sanders also earned two votes (2.8%) each. Odds below are via Caesars Sportsbook.

Jalen Hurts, QB, Eagles (+130): Alaina Getzenberg, Courtney Cronin, Damien Woody, Dan Orlovsky, DJ Bien-Aime, Doug Kezirian, Ed Werder, Elizabeth Merrill, Elle Duncan, Eric Woodyard, Field Yates, Jake Trotter, Jenna Laine, Joe Buck, Jordan Raanan, Jordan Reid, Josh Weinfuss, Katherine Terrell, Kevin Negandhi, Kevin Seifert, Kimberley A. Martin, Mel Kiper Jr., Michael DiRocco, Mike Clay, Nick Wagoner, Rex Ryan, Rich Cimini, Robert Griffin III, Seth Walder, Tedy Bruschi, Todd McShay, Tristan H. Cockcroft, Turron Davenport

Patrick Mahomes, QB, Chiefs (+130): Aaron Schatz, Alden Gonzalez, Ben Baby, Brooke Pryor, Dan Graziano, Jason Reid, Jeff Darlington, John Keim, Linda Cohn, Lindsey Thiry, Marcel Louis-Jacques, Matt Hasselbeck, Matt Miller, Michelle Buck, Mina Kimes, Phil Murphy, Sarah Barshop, Stephen Holder, Todd Archer

Haason Reddick, DE, Eagles (+3400): David Fleming, Matt Bowen, Michael Tannenbaum, Paul Gutierrez, Seth Wickersham, Steve Levy, Tim Keown, Tim McManus

Travis Kelce, TE, Chiefs (+1600): David Newton, Jamison Hensley, Michael Eaves, Michael Rothstein, Rob Demovsky, Tim Hasselbeck

Miles Sanders, RB, Eagles (+5000): Brady Henderson, Jeremy Fowler

A.J. Brown, WR, Eagles (+1800): Adam Teicher, Mike Reiss



Source: www.espn.com - NFL