Everything you need to know about Super Bowl LVII: Mahomes, Hurts, Mailata and mayhem

Chris Jones: A big dude with bad intentions. The anchor of the Kansas City defence will demand plenty of attention from the vaunted Philly offensive line.

Philadelphia Eagles
Jalen Hurts: A dual threat as both a passer and runner. If he gets the job done in Arizona, the claims of rapper Beanie Sigel to be the “The real King of Philly” will be in dispute.

Miles Sanders: Combined with Hurts’ ability to gain yards as a runner, the Eagles are extremely well served for running backs. Sanders has averaged five yards a rush over his career. That’s really good.

Haason Reddick: The great disruptor in the Eagles’ defence. Superb knowledge of the game and a tenacity forged from being largely unwanted when trying to land a college scholarship. The more often you hear his name, the better life will be for Philadelphia.

Second down: Down and distance – how does it work
First and 10. Second and eight. Third and three. If you’re new to the game this is nothing to be alarmed by. The first number is what down it is, the second is how much further you need to advance the ball to earn another first down. Tactics will change on every play depending on the situation.

Third down: Which team has better fans?
Sports fans in Philadelphia are something else. They’ll abuse anyone, including players on their own teams. The legendary tale of them throwing snowballs at Santa Claus in 1968 is as good as it gets. And this was because the team was winning. The reason they were angry was because it cost them first choice in the following year’s draft. As a side note, the player they were hoping to land in the draft was OJ Simpson. You can’t make this stuff up.

Fourth down: Punters – ugly ducklings but very important
Before Jordan Mailata’s massive frame and ideal skill set came along, punting was Australia’s best avenue to the NFL. Ex-Aussie rules players have a great NFL history, with Arryn Siposs hopefully about to become the latest to play in the biggest game of all. Punters carry a stigma much like wingers once did in rugby league – the guys who hang around footballers. But they are extremely important. Their ability to flip territorial dominance (in both good and bad ways) is sure to play a role in Super Bowl LVII.

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First down: 4-3 defence v 3-4 defence – say what?
This isn’t a case of some say “tomato”, some say “tomayto”. The rival defensive lines – the men charged with trampling quarterbacks, stopping running plays and knocking the ball loose – will go a long way towards deciding Monday’s match. As good as Mahomes and Hurts are, no QB looks good when life and limb is at imminent risk.

The difference between 4-3 and 3-4 is the number of defensive linemen and linebackers in a basic formation. The linebackers are the faster, but equally frightening, men behind them who can either fly through on a blitz or drop back to help with pass coverages.

They run around with the same level of enthusiasm that Boney M frontman Bobby Farrell displayed at the Sopot Festival in Poland in 1979. But if a QB can pick up on the plans of these guys, a quick play change often means trouble for a defence.

Second down: Travis Kelce v Jerry Rice
That Kelce is closing in on records held by Jerry Rice – the greatest pass receiver in NFL history – says it all. That Kelce is now second in post-season touchdowns, receiving yards and catches behind only Rice is testament to his mastery of the tight-end position. He and Mahomes boast an instinctual understanding. Kelce finds little spaces in the opposition defence and Mahomes finds him.

Third down: Running Eagles v passing Chiefs
As the tables show, the Eagles are clearly the best in the league at running the ball in for touchdowns and the Chiefs are clearly the best at passing for TDs. The Eagles have both Hurts and Sanders to run it in while Mahomes has a number of options – led by Kelce.

Fourth down: Run v kick on fourth down – why and when
What’s a couple of yards between friends? Well, if you’re an offensive co-ordinator wondering whether to run the ball on fourth down to extend a drive, it can mean as much as a 20 percentage points difference in terms of chance of success. The numbers say plenty, but it’s also worth remembering the line from financial types when judging the merits of any fourth-down plays on Monday morning: “Past performance is no indication of future results”.

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First down: Clock management – seriously, how hard can it be?
Of all the peculiarities of American football, the ability of teams to either speed up or slow down the clock is up there. Done right and combined with timeouts, teams can stretch a couple of minutes into several plays as they chase a deficit. If you’re ahead, you can demoralise opponents by chewing up time with drives that extend beyond seven minutes.

Keeping your timeouts (each team gets three per half) is crucial. The clock keeps rolling after completed plays (run or pass) that finish in bounds. It stops on incompletions or when players go out of bounds. NFL coaches and their staffs spend years trying to get clock management right and often still get it wrong. Done right, it’s a thing of beauty. Done wrong, you are left scratching your head like Charles Darwin when he first saw a platypus.

Second down: Hurts v Mahomes – a passing fancy
As the charts show, Hurts is the more likely of the QB duo to have success in passes of more than 20 yards. But in terms of passes that are either behind the line of scrimmage or less than 10 yards, Mahomes is the man. Hurts has still enjoyed a wonderful season and his running game is superior to Mahomes, but expect the Eagles to be far more run-reliant.

Third down: Chiefs receivers after losing Tyreek Hill
When Tyreek Hill signed his big-money deal with the Miami Dolphins at the end of last season, the big-play threat he provided went with him. Hill’s yin to Kelce’s yang provided Mahomes with a dream duo.

This season, with a below-average group of receivers outside of Kelce, Mahomes has relied on short passes that serve the primary purpose of opening up plays for runs after the catch. In the conference championships, his receiving corp was cruelled by injury but he still found a way. The star-packed Eagles defence is sure to provide another stern test in the season decider.

Fourth down: The push play on fourth and one, and how it is changing tactics
It’s a simple play proving incredibly successful. Teammates line up behind their quarterback to form what rugby union followers would call a rolling maul. This play – called a “tush push” by some – is used only in fourth-and-short situations. It is a major factor in the near 70 per cent success rate of fourth-and-one plays this season. It ain’t pretty – but it works. Before 2005, this type of play was outlawed.

How to watch Super Bowl LVII

TV: Live coverage on ESPN and Channel 7 from 10am
Online: log onto smh.com.au and theage.com.au on Monday morning.

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