This year it cost up to $7 million for a 30 second ad in the Superbowl.
Money well spent? We’ll let you judge for yourselves as we give you the top five commercials after some excruciating research. Excruciating because there are some terrible ads to sit through as well.
For everyone, especially those who don’t live Stateside , we ranked the five commercials from Sunday Night’s game.
5. Beer Fight
Because it had some originality and humour.
4. Does Ben Stiller love the taste of Pepsi?
3. Woof, Cry, Woof.
Gets bronze only because there is no link to football.
2. Run With It
Love the cameos, especially Aiden Hutchinson and Cam Hayward.
Do you like the taste of apples?
Here is an extra one:
Breaking Greatness to sell out for a Super Bowl commercial :
This game had many twists and turns and those that lapped up the late night coffee were rewarded with a game for the ages
If you went to bed and missed watching America’s greatest export into the wee hours of morning, here is how SuperBowl 57 unfolded.
First Half
In hindsight, we were given a glimpse of what was to come when both the Eagles and Chiefs scored touchdowns on their opening possessions. Jalen Hurts first punched it in from one yard, before Mahomes responded by finding Travis Kelce for their usual touchdown.
The Eagles dominated possession in the opening two quarters and they were winning the battle in the trenches by running the ball behind their O-Line. Hurts was outstanding and dictated the action from the pocket and soon put to sleep any worries about his recent shoulder injury. In the second quarter he found AJ Brown with a deep ball for a touchdown.
When the Eagles forced a three and out and got the ball back, they looked to add to their lead but a fumble by Hurts resulted in Nick Bolton returning the ball to level the scores at 14-14.
WOOOWW!! Sweet fumble recovery + Touchdown by Nick Bolton!
Hurts responded to his mistake by leading his team up the field and he took off on a run to give Philly first and goal. One play later he ran into the endzone, after getting a great block by Jason Kelce, for his second rushing touchdown of the game.
At this point everything seemed to be going Philly’s way and Jake Elliot added a field goal to give the Eagles a 10-point lead at half-time.
Second Half
After Rhianna’s performance, the Chiefs changed strategy as they only had just over eight minutes of possession from the allotted 30 in the opening half. It became obvious from the opening drive of the second half that they were going to commit more to their rushing attack.
Rookie running back Isiah Pacheco ran hard every chance he got and finished that first drive of the third quarter with a touchdown.
Nick Bolton then looked to have recovered another fumble for a touchdown but the score was chalked off somewhat controversially in my opinion.
Hurts responded with his best drive of the game, which included his best pass of the contest to Dallas Goedert on third and 14, which was ruled a catch even after a challenge flag was thrown by Andy Reid.
The Chiefs defence got a big stop on third down in the red zone and the Eagles had to settle for a kick at goal, which gave Philly a six-point lead at the end of the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Kansas City responded by throwing to Jerrick McKinnon in the backfield which gave Mahomes shorter third downs to complete, which he converted by throwing quick strikes to Juju Smith-Schuster.
The Chiefs then took the lead with 12 minutes remaining when Kadarius Toney, a mid season pick up from the Giants, was left on his own for a simple touchdown as the Eagles swallowed the bait of too many DBs trying to cover Travis Kelce.
Kadarius Toney walks in for a TOUCHDOWN with two players trying to cover Kelce.
Hurts got the ball trailing by eight points and led another magnificent drive which saw him connect with a deep ball to Devonta Smith. Hurts then ran in for another touchdown from close range and also ran in for the two point conversion to tie the game 35-35 with just over five minutes remaining.
Soon after on third down, Mahomes threw an incomplete pass towards Smith-Schuster but corner-back James Bradberry was flagged for a tug on Juju, which gave the Chiefs a fresh set of downs with under two minutes to play.
On first and goal, McKinnon then had a chance to score a touchdown but knowing the Eagles were out of timeouts, grounded the ball at the one yard line.
This was a great example of situational awareness as it took almost 90 seconds off the clock and gave his teammate Harrison Butker a chance to win the Superbowl with a chip shot field goal.
This SuperBowl will be talked about for a long time to come. Overall, it was the highly entertaining game that the 38-35 scoreline suggests.
A lot of the credit has to go to Head Coach Andy Reid and Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who adjusted their game plan at half time. By getting the Eagles defence to run from sideline to sideline, in the end they couldn’t put enough pressure on Mahomes on passing downs.
The much vaunted Eagles defence, who led the NFL in sacks this season, didn’t record one in the Super Bowl and it was a major factor in them losing a game.
Huge credit must also go to the Chiefs O-Line who gave Mahomes a clean pocket all game and in the end the Chiefs QB brought home the bacon.
These two rookies have played an important part in getting their team to compete and now stand just one away from lifting the Lombardi Trophy.
Chiefs
RB Isaiah Pacheco (7th Round)
When Pacheco was selected with the 251st pick in the draft, there was probably no intention for him to make the impact he did in his rookie season. With 4.3 40-yard speed, Pacheco looked to be a return specialist that could also be a speedy piece in the backfield.
That speedy piece has proved his worth and it was Week 1 when he started to make impacts with a rushing touchdown. It wasn’t soon after that Pacheco had beaten out the likes of Clyde Edwards-Helaire and was announced the starter by Week 7. From there, Pacheco grew into his role with 960 scrimmage yards on the season, leading NFL rookies and the most yards in NFL history from a seventh-round pick in his rookie year. He is coming off two excellent Post season performances in reaching the SuperBowl.
Eagles
S Reed Blankenship (UDFA)
When you are as successful as Philly, it’s hard for rookies to make an immediate impact on the team. In Blankenship’s case he was the next man to step up when C.J. Gardner-Johnson went down mid-season and paved a way onto the starting defence.
Blankenship is the only rookie on this list to go undrafted, but that shouldn’t qualify how talented he is. Collecting 34 tackles, two pass breakups, and one INT, he started the season as No. 4 safety, but soon earned the right to No. 3 and got starting thanks to injuries. Gardner-Johnson soon returned but coaches still wanted the undrafted rookie on the field. Blankenship now comes into the lineup when the Eagles move into nickel, and will likely play a key role in the Superbowl
Tonight’s Super Bowl sees the Chiefs, a team that has passed for the most yards in NFL history against the Eagles, the best team at running the ball in the NFL, so we are in for an intriguing matchup.
The Big Show kicks off at 11.30 pm (GMT) so let’s investigate how this game might go.
Eagles Offense v Chiefs Defence
This Eagles O-Line has bullied most comers throughout the season, and I thought before the NFC Championship game that they would finally meet their match against the excellent 49ers defence. That didn’t come to pass and Philly ran in four rushing touchdowns in what turned out to be another dominant display.
The Kansas defence possesses this season’s best Defensive Tackle in Chris Jones and have two linebackers in Nick Bolton and Willie Gay that are excellent against the run. The Chiefs defended very well against the rush in the AFC Championship game against the Bengals, and Cincinnati running backs Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine hardly made any impression on proceedings.
If they can stop the Eagles running the ball, then they are likely to win the game. However, that is easier said than done.
I also believe the Eagles have a matchup advantage with their wide receiving duo, AJ Brown and Devonta Smith, going against two rookie corners in the impressive Trent McDuffie and Joshua Williams. Coming off the best game of his young career against the Bengals, it is the latter Williams that I feel can be exposed by the route running of Smith and by the speed and athleticism of Brown.
The Eagles will test this out through use of play action to take shots down the field on whoever is matching up against Williams being the likely target. Kansas defensive back L’Jarius Sneed has been out recently but his return could be a massive shot in the arm for their defensive backs.
The Chiefs are also below league average defending against tight-ends this season and I expect to see the Eagles target Dallas Goedert on key third downs and in the red zone on Sunday night. He would be a decent tip to score the first touchdown at 12-1.
So it seems like the Eagles attack have all the advantages heading into this game. What can go wrong?
The big question mark I have about the Eagles offence centres around the health of Jalen Hurts.
Last time out Hurts looked to me that his shoulder injury was affecting him hugely and after that early throw for Smith’s one-handed grab against the 49ers, he didn’t make a throw of note for the rest of the game.
He was even running into traffic instead of checking down to open receivers in the last quarter of the NFC Championship game and although he has had two weeks to rest and rehab, I remain unconvinced he is anywhere as sharp as he was during the season.
If he can’t throw then it will have a major bearing on the game, as Kansas City will be able to pack the box and concentrate more on defending the run. I expect to see a lot of run option plays and RPOs in order to get Hurts to use his biggest weapon, his legs and he might very well run for over 100 yards in this game.
Hurts shoulder, just like Patrick Mahomes ankle, seemed to bother him later in the game, probably when the effect of the pain shots began to wear off. This might become more evident in the Super Bowl as there is a 50 minute half time show with Rihanna, so the pain meds might lose their effect sooner than a usual Sunday Night Football game. Something to keep an eye on.
Chiefs Offence v Eagles Defence
The Chiefs have the best quarterback in the NFL coming off his best season and arguably the best ever tight end coming off his best season, so they definitely have a chance, especially if QB Patrick Mahomes is over his sprained ankle injury which I suspect he will be.
Mahomes won the league MVP during the week and has the ability to win matches on his own if he is afforded time in the pocket to dictate play. He has improved his game this season by becoming better and finding all his receiving options, which makes the Chiefs very difficult to defend against.
However, outside of Kelce at tight-end, they don’t have a blue-chip receiver although Marquez Valdes Scantling stepped up in a massive way last time out and is the only wideout who regularly wins contested catches along the sideline.
Juju Smith Schuster missed most of the last match but will likely be passing option number three in the slot. If he is fit Juju could figure strongly especially as Kelce is likely to be double marked throughout the contest. Juju is tall for a slot receiver and Mahomes often throws his way when he needs to get the ball out quickly.
I think another player who could feature more than he has recently is running back Jerrick McKinnon. I expect the Chiefs to have difficulty running the ball against a very deep and talented Eagles defensive front so I can see Andy Reid getting Mahomes to pass the ball wide to McKinnon out the backfield in order to stretch the field.
The Eagles lost their first game this season in Week 10, when the Washington Commanders ran the ball against them 49 times. The following week, Howie Roseman brought in veteran pair Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph who have 13 years of NFL experience each. I expect the Eagles to be able to halt the Chiefs rushing attack and the Chiefs will answer by putting the ball in Mahomes hands even more than they usually would.
The Chiefs do have an excellent O-Line but with the Eagles able to change their front five to keep them fresh, they will eventually be able to tee off with their talented pass rushers led by Haason Reddick against Mahomes.
The MVP QB will need to produce the magic but he is certainly capable of this.
Prediction
The big question in deciding who will win the SuperBowl is: Will the Chiefs defence be able to stop the Eagles rushing attack for 60 minutes?
My gut tells me no, and that is why I believe Philly has the significant advantage. In my opinion, the Chiefs would need two Chris Jones to stop this Eagles O-Line from dominating and unfortunately they only have one.
Although I won’t be cheering for the Eagles, mainly due to being a Washington fan and Patrick Mahomes being my favourite player to watch in the NFL, I do believe the Eagles will be Superbowl champions in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The SuperBowl is the biggest event in North America, and this year both No. 1 seeds from the AFC and NFC will take each other on.
This match-up is an interesting one, with the MVP Patrick Mahomes being an underdog for the first time in his 10th playoff game. We know both teams have high powered offences, but it may be a battle on defence that wins their team a new ring.
With kick-off scheduled for 11.30pm tonight (GMT) for folks in Ireland and the UK , prepare yourself for a late one as it should be a battle throughout.
No. 1 Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia has been the most impressive team throughout the regular season and deserve their place in the SuperBowl. On paper their roster is superior, with an array of talent all over the offence and defence.
With injuries to Jalen Hurts and Lane Johnson I thought this offence would struggle to maintain the consistency we saw previously, but it hasn’t been too much of a problem. If I wanted to nit-pick then the passing game has looked a bit weak, but with their two previous matchups basically being over after the first quarter, I can’t blame them for turning to the run game.
The run game has been the catalyst to the Eagles success, with the ability to run many options due to the athleticism they have at the QB position. Philly lacks an out-and-out No. 1 running back, but with different kinds of talent in their room, they can put themselves in the right position to succeed.
Matchup to keep an eye on – Philly’s D-Line: The Eagles’ defensive line was a force against the 49ers two weeks ago and Haason Reddick’s sack to force a fumble, and destroy Brock Purdy’s elbow, may have been what won them the game.
Philly has depth all over the line and with 70 sacks this season, that’s the third most in NFL history since the league started counting sacks in 1982.
Philly’s defensive line has wreaked havoc during the playoffs and the only time Mahomes has lost in the playoffs was when he faced a Buccaneers D-line that caused him issues.
No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are no strangers to playing in the Super Bowl these days, but like I mentioned earlier this is the first time Patrick Mahomes will be an underdog in a playoff game. Kansas has always had the luxury of being an offence that overpowers everybody but this matchup in particular will be a test.
Mahomes is the best player in football and Andy Reid may also own that title for play-calling, but with the talent that this Eagles defence have, it’s hard to see where this Chiefs’ offence will take advantage.
As for the defence, they put on a great showing in the Conference Championship that no one really saw coming. They contained Joe Burrow all night with a strong defensive line performance and when they needed to get a stop at the end, they did so. It will be a struggle to get past this Philly O-line that is the best in football, but stopping that run will be their best chance at it.
Matchup to keep an eye on – Travis Kelce vs Philly’s pass defence: Travis Kelce is one half of the Kelce brothers in this game and he may be Mahomes’ only weapon. Kelce is regarded as the best tight-end in the league and it’s thanks to his receiving ability from the position that makes him so good.
With 21 catches and three touchdowns in just the two playoff appearances so far, Kelce has dominated his matchups against the Jaguars and Bengals. But now he will face the best pass defence in the country. The Eagles have members all over the secondary, but with their best two corners Darius Slay and James Bradberry playing on the outside, they may have to get creative to stop this future hall of famer.
Previous Matchups
2021 Season:
Week 4 – Chiefs @ Eagles, 42-30 Chiefs Win
These two last met during Week 4 of last season in a high scoring shootout game. Back then Nick Sirianni was in his first year with the team and this loss put them 1-3 for the season. A lot has changed in that year though, with general manager Howie Roseman transforming the team. The Eagles at the start of this season had been leaking points on defence, but now find themselves a year on in the Super Bowl with a top-2 defence in the league.
Super Bowl Prediction
We’ve finally got here and with this being the last prediction of the season it’s not a simple one.
Both teams have had a hell of a journey to get to this point but only one can win so let me give you my thoughts.
The Chiefs have always been strong offensively, and after seeing their defensive performance two weeks ago it makes it even tougher to not back the MVP winner.
I like how the Chiefs are looking on both sides of the trenches and Isiash Pacheco looks like an incredible weapon despite being a 7th-round pick less than a year ago. What I worry about for this team is how they will fare in the passing game.
Their wide-receivers in particular look a bit weaker than we are used to, yet saying that; this team was still comfortably the No. 1 offence in the league during the regular season. Travis Kelce is the main threat but Kansas will need another receiver to step up and cause some trouble if they want to break Philly’s defence.
While on the other side in Philadelphia, on paper everything looks in their favour. They have the better roster, been better consistently and even the more impressive wins during the playoffs. The only real knock you can make for this side is the path they have had to face to get here. Many with me included will look at the Giants and a quarter-backless 49ers’ as a walk in the park for them, with some in the national media calling it a ‘Big 12’ schedule.
Granted in the playoffs that seems the case, but during the regular season they had no easy ride. On strength of schedule they ranked 1st in ‘opponents win percentage’ and before their injuries late on that caused a speed bump, they were the best regular season team throughout.
So as you can imagine in a grand final, both teams are extremely talented in their craft. If we want to look at the superstitions surrounding the ‘white jersey conspiracy’ then the Chiefs will hold that in their favour.
I believe this game will be slightly dominated by the defences with it being on the lower side of scoring, so if you’re looking for a bet go for the under on total points scored.
As for my final prediction, I feel more confident in this Eagles roster but it’s hard to go against the best player and coach in this game. At the end of the day I could go back and forth on the winner, however I see more scenarios in which this Eagles’ defence will win the game.
I believe they will be disruptive in both trenches and while they may not be consistent on offence, will make enough plays to get themselves in scoring positions and let the defence work its magic.
The NFL Playoffs are a time of chaos and upsets and with them right round the corner, here at Smashmouthing football we’ve created brackets to what we think will happen.
Using a bracket predictor, starting with the wild-card matchups, each one of us has predicted the outcome to each game until there’s one team left to lift the Lombardi Trophy.
Please keep in mind, we are predicting the future here, which will always look terrible in retrospect unless one of us manages to get it right.
David: “To quickly guide you through my bracket, I think the three best teams are in the AFC. What sets them apart in my book, compared to say the 49ers, is at quarterback and I can see Joe Burrow and the Bengals beating the Chiefs as they did earlier in the season.
What I like about the Bengals is the high level consistency of Burrow with an array of weapons, coupled with a competitive and smart defence.
On the NFC side of the draw, I expect the 49ers and Eagles to make the NFC championship game and I believe the 49ers have the D-line that can stand up and stop the Eagles’ O-line, the best in football.
Looking at Jalen Hurts last weekend, I believe his injury could be worse than Philadelphia are letting on and it was notable that he didn’t run into contact against the Giants in Week 18.
I do worry about the recent loss of two offensive linemen in Cincinnati, especially if they were to face a 49ers defence in the big show. But saying that, I’ll go with the Bengals because they are the most balanced team with a top-three QB in the league.”
Conor: “The NFL playoffs are always difficult to predict and I find that’s because of the uncertainty that happens when it gets to the month of January. For that reason I’ve gone a bit outside of the box and selected the 49ers to win the Super Bowl.
Currently the Niners have the fourth best odds to be victorious, but I think there’s many reasons why they will overcome these odds.
For starters San Francisco has the best defence out of everybody. There’s an old saying that goes “offence wins you games but defence wins you championships.”
What that entails is when you get to the final stages, everyone is going to have great offences, but the ones with the better defences will stop them. There are things that worry me about this team – mainly seventh-round rookie Brock Purdy at QB – but so far he’s looked calm and collective and I trust Kyle Shanahan to put him in the right situations.
That leaves me to my last point, the 49ers have made the long journey to the Super Bowl before, but fell short. When you taste defeat at the last hurdle, it makes certain characters want that success even more. To me, San Fran has those characters all over the team and won’t stop at nothing in order to achieve them.
For the rest of my bracket, I have the Bills getting out of the stacked AFC. The three best teams in the league right now may be on that AFC side, and when they are all so closely matched it feels like a coin toss. Buffalo will need to use everything they’ve got to get past the Bengals and Chiefs, but I think they’re talented enough to do so.
To finish things off, yes I have the No. 5 seed Dallas Cowboys making the NFC Championship. Like I said, there’s always upsets and I think Dallas will surprise a few. Philly have regressed over the last month due to injuries and that will hurt them in an NFC East clash.”
Tom: “So I’ve got the Cincinnati Bengals going one step better this year, taking home the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy with a victory over Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles.
On the AFC side, it was a hard exercise to pick between the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs and the aforementioned Cincinnati. Based on their regular season performances, all would be worthy Super Bowl champions, but titles aren’t won from Week 1 to 18.
It’s a likely scenario that the winner of the conference will have to beat at least one of these teams. Well in my prediction, I have Cincinnati beating both, and on the road in back-to-back weeks. Maybe it’s the confidence in which they carry themselves that has influenced my guesses, but when the lights are brightest this postseason, I think we will see Joe Burrow shine just as bright.
The Bengals are built for playoff football and 2022 will be their year.
The NFC in itself is entirely more open to me, while I have the Philadelphia Eagles making the Super Bowl. I can’t say a one and done loss at home in the Divisional round would be a shocking turn of events.
But in my prediction I have Philly going to the dance, narrowly beating the San Francisco 49ers at home in the NFC Championship game.
I feel like we are more likely to encounter upsets on the NFC side and look out for the Giants @ Vikings being an example of this.”
Interesting side note
Interesting side note, every game of Super Wildcard Weekend is a rematch from the 2022 regular season.
As you can see all of our predictions are set as we get ever closer to the Playoffs. In the end, none of us chose either No. 1 seed to be Super Bowl Champions, as it shows how competitive the league is right now.
May the best man win in their bracket predictions, and let us know who you think is going to be the Super Bowl winner in a month’s time.
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