Super Bowl 2025: The Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans

Tonight the Kansas City Chiefs will meet the Philadelphia Eagles for a date with history. The Chiefs are trying to become the first NFL team ever to win three Super Bowls in a row, and the Eagles are eager to stop them and avenge their 2023 loss.

NPR and our member stations in Kansas City, Philadelphia and New Orleans will have highlights from the halftime show, the best (and worst…) commercials, and of course results for you throughout the night.

The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. EST in New Orleans. Here’s how to watch.

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🏈 Rooting for the Chiefs? 

Head over to Kansas City member station KCUR for the best experience.

“If they win, this is like Michael Jordan, 1990s Chicago Bulls-type stuff — history that we will all look back on as one of the greatest runs of any sport ever, if they can get it done,” says NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan.

Travis Kelce, now a global star thanks to Taylor Swift, takes center stage at the Super Bowl

TIL: Well into the 00’s, Chiefs home games used to feature a live band

🏈 Rooting for the Eagles? 

Head over to member station WHYY in Philadelphia for the best experience.

This time around, with 14 regular-season wins — and a blowout victory at the NFC Championship Game — under their belt, the Eagles have another shot at the Vince Lombardi trophy.

BINGO! Play Philly Super Bowl 59 bingo — 2 game boards for Eagles vs. Chiefs

Revenge of the Super Bowl Playlists: Philly Over Everybody

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🎉 The food, the music and the commercials

Even non-football fans will have plenty to look forward to, from star-studded commercials to a halftime show headlined by Kendrick Lamar, fresh off his latest Grammy wins.

The festivities kicked off earlier this week with St. Augustine High School’s Marching 100 ushered both teams into the Caesars Superdome on Monday night.

Jon Batiste will perform the National Anthem. Check out his Tiny Desk to get in the mood.

🎶 Here’s a breakdown of who is performing from NPR’s Dhanika Pineda.

Plus, a Super Bowl riddle: Why are egg prices surging — but not chicken wings?

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📺 What to watch for

NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan has some tips for what to watch for in this year’s game:

A close, back-and-forth game: All signs point to a close game. The Eagles defense aims to limit big gains and force teams to beat them with small plays. But that’s exactly how the Chiefs like to win: Kansas City is 12-0 in one-score games this season. The Kansas City defense is no slouch either, and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has struggled at times when pressured. 

Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes: The key to the Chiefs’ three-peat hopes is their 29-year-old quarterback who is great all the time but somehow even better in high-stakes moments: in the playoffs, on 3rd and 4th downs and on game-ending drives. 

The tush push: The Eagles have become known for their unusually successful take on the quarterback sneak. Here are the physics behind the play.

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley: After Philadelphia signed him last spring, Barkley has blossomed into the game-changer he always had the potential to be. He became only the ninth player ever to rush for more than 2,000 yards in the regular season, and he has more 60-plus-yard touchdown runs in one season than any player ever.

And some pre-game bonuses: Keep an eye out for Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins’ arrival outfit, and whether this Chiefs player tears up during the National Anthem.

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More 2025 Super Bowl coverage from The NPR Network

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Record-setting legal betting

A record $1.39 billion is expected to be spent on betting legally on Sunday’s Super Bowl — up from $1.25 billion in 2024, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA). It also coincides with warnings from officials to beware of scammers looking to take advantage of the intense interest in the game. Here are two reasons why this year could set a new record.

With the surge in sports betting, the risk of gambling addiction rises too. Here’s what can be done.

“Choose Love”

The NFL has announced it will remove the end zone message “End Racism” for this year’s Super Bowl, replacing it with “Choose Love.”

Code Switch’s Gene Demby writes about how the change fits into broader discussion happening around DEI.

Omelets and cheesesteaks — for free
There’s nothing quite like a tailgate, where fans serve food to strangers who share the same passion. We went to a Philadelphia Eagles tailgate to learn what drives this uniquely American tradition.

Despite last month’s terrorist attack, Tourism in New Orleans remains strong

Today’s New Orleans is built on — and would suffer greatly without — tourism. About 17 million people visited New Orleans in 2022, spending more than $9 billion. Much of that happened during Mardi Gras, which made the New Year’s Day attack especially concerning since it happened right before the start of the tourism season. But so far, a little more than a month removed from the incident, the tourists are still coming.