The Latest: Super Bowl week kicks off with opening night

NEW ORLEANS – Super Bowl 2025 kicks off almost a week before the big game with its opening night in New Orleans. Players and coaches from both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will have the opportunity to answer questions from reporters ahead of Sunday’s game.

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Here's the latest:

Super Bowl opening night in New Orleans is closed

The first night of Super Bowl week is over.

The Chiefs and Eagles are gone from the Superdome. The next big media spectacle is Thursday: the Super Bowl 59 pregame and halftime show news conference featuring Kendrick Lamar, Jon Batiste, Trombone Shorty, Lauren Daigle and Ledisi.

And then, of course, game time on Sunday.

Andy Reid jokes about Patrick Mahomes’ ‘dad body’

Chiefs coach Andy Reid turned a question about the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue into an opportunity to make a joke at quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ expense.

The question concerned which of his players he’d pick to be featured in the magazine.

“Well, if it was a dad body, it would be Pat,” he said.

The Chiefs may be running a play you ran in high school

If the Kansas City Chiefs run a play Sunday that you think your team ran in high school, you might be right.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid says he’ll take plays from all sorts of sources. He’s taken stuff from watching high school games. He’s even taken concepts from when teams ran the Wing-T offense many, many decades ago.

“We’ll take anything, as long as we think it’s a good one,” Reid said.

Travis Kelce on possible proposal: ‘Next question’

Travis Kelce was asked if he planned to give anyone a special ring if the Chiefs win on Sunday.

“A Super Bowl ring?” he asked. “Next question.”

Kelce has been dating pop superstar Taylor Swift for more than a year. They smooched on the field after last year’s Super Bowl win and she is expected to attend the game.

Chiefs’ Butker silent on question about gays

Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, who has been outspoken on the subject of his Christian faith, went silent when asked, “What do you think about gays?”

An NFL official waved off the questioner and Butker, seemingly unfazed, went about answering other questions.

“I understand that this is a great evening and we’re here to focus on the game,” Butker said. “Maybe if I saw him without a camera we’d have a great conversation.”

Patrick Mahomes would love to play in Australia

Patrick Mahomes said he’d love to play an NFL game in Australia.

Mahomes said his honeymoon was originally planned for Down Under, but COVID-19 forced a change to those plans.

“It’s been cool to see the NFL go global,” Mahomes said.

Travis Kelce won’t be doing the Griddy

Travis Kelce says he doesn’t have a touchdown dance planned in case he scores in the Super Bowl.

How about the Griddy?

“I’m not a Griddy kind of guy,” he said. “Maybe the skedaddle.”

Taylor Swift grew up in Eagles country, but her dad may have switched sides

Taylor Swift grew up on a Christmas tree farm — she wrote a song about it — in West Reading, Pennsylvania, until she was 13.

That’s Eagles country.

Which explains why Scott Swift, Taylor’s father, was apparently an Eagles fan. And that makes for an interesting Super Bowl conversation, since Swift’s boyfriend happens to be Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

So, Travis, what colors will your girlfriend’s dad be wearing on Super Sunday?

“I’ll have to ask Scott himself. We haven’t had that convo yet,” Kelce said. “But I think he’ll be wearing red.”

Scott Swift was at a Chiefs playoff game a couple weeks ago, so it’s a good bet he will, in fact, be wearing red.

Wentz is healthy for this Super Bowl, but still unlikely to play

Carson Wentz called his journey from star young quarterback in Philadelphia to backup in Kansas City a “whirlwind.”

Wentz feels fortunate to be at his second Super Bowl, even though he’s once again unlikely to play.

He was hurt seven years ago when he watched his backup Nick Foles lead the Eagles to the title. Now he’s the backup to Patrick Mahomes.

Travis Kelce takes a break from answering questions to ask one

Now this was a unique Super Bowl opening night moment.

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was asked if there was something he could ask the assembled media, what would it be?

He thought for a moment.

“Why are you guys leaning into this whole ref thing?” he asked.

The reference was this: There’s a perception by some — not Kansas City fans — that officials give the Chiefs, particularly quarterback Patrick Mahomes, favorable calls.

A ‘Super’ Mavericks fan speaks out about the Luka Doncic trade

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had a tough weekend. He’s a Dallas Mavericks fan.

And they just traded Luka Doncic — the team’s best player — to the Los Angeles Lakers.

“It’s tough,” Mahomes said. “I’ve watched him since he was 18 years old. It was Dirk (Nowitzki) and Luka and seeing his maturation and how great of a basketball player he’s became, it’s been fun to watch. As a Dallas fan, it hurts me. But I’m happy for him that he’s going to be able to go out there and be in LA and try to achieve his dream of winning a championship.”

Mahomes excited to have Brady on the Super Bowl call

Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes has 17 playoff wins as a starting quarterback. The only player in NFL history with more will be at the Super Bowl on Sunday as well.

In the broadcast booth, that is.

Tom Brady will be part of the broadcast team for Fox. He won 35 playoff games as a starter, including seven Super Bowls.

“I have so much respect for Tom and he’s been someone that’s given me so much advice in my career,” said Mahomes, who’s seeking his fourth Super Bowl title. “So, it’ll be really cool and I’m sure he’ll break it down and it’ll be a great game and I’m excited for the fans to see it.”

Jameis Winston to the Giants? Saquon likes the idea

A lot of NFL players travel to the Super Bowl. Some play. Others work in media, which is the role Jameis Winston has this week.

And he got to ask Eagles star Saquon Barkley a question about his own future. Here’s how it went.

Winston: “One more question, Saquon! One more question! In this free agency, man, I’m a free agent, I don’t really got no job. Who should sign me in free agency?”

Barkley: “Um, I think New York needs a quarterback right now.”

Winston: “New York who?”

Barkley: “Giants.”

It’s possible Big Blue Nation won’t like that, especially coming from Barkley.

Travis Kelce shouts out Chiefs fans and their volume

Travis Kelce has famously told Kansas City fans — they call themselves Chiefs Kingdom — a few times over the years that “you’ve got to fight for your right to party,” referencing an old Beastie Boys hit.

He had a chance to address the fans at opening night on Monday. Evidently, he knows they are already partying.

“The loudest fan base in the world, baby,” Kelce said. “Yeaaaah, Chiefs Kingdom. “We’re ready, baby. Let’s get this thing going.”

How did Chiefs get to three straight Super Bowls? Patrick Mahomes credits Andy Reid

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes may get a lot of the credit for Kansas City having a chance to win three consecutive Super Bowls.

But he says the credit should go to coach Andy Reid.

“It starts with coach Reid,” Mahomes said. “The culture that he’s built, we know it’s a day-by-day process. It’s awesome to be in the Super Bowl but we have to go put in the work every single day first. And I’m glad we’re here.”

Reid says the Chiefs make it easy for him.

“Listen, they’re good human beings, and that’s the most important thing,” Reid said. “Good football players, but most of all I’m proud of them for just being good guys.”

Turns out not every tight end is a Taylor Swift fan

Philadelphia’s Dallas Goedert won’t be going 1-on-1 with Kansas City’s Travis Kelce in the Super Bowl. They’re both tight ends. They both play offense.

But if they cross paths, we think we know what might come up in conversation.

Turns out, Goedert doesn’t know much about Taylor Swift — Kelce’s girlfriend and one of the most famous singers on the planet.

“Does she sing ‘Don’t go chasing waterfalls?’ She doesn’t? Man,” Goedert said, referencing a single by TLC that was released in 1995 — when Swift was 5 years old. “She’s an incredible artist, but she ain’t on my playlist.”

Dude. Come on.

Goedert says he listens to Philly icons like Meek Mill, and has been listening to plenty of Kendrick Lamar — the Super Bowl halftime show performer this year.

Saquon Barkley picks an interesting favorite color

Among the highlights of Saquon Barkley’s opening-night media session were some questions that had nothing to do with football.

They included:

Favorite color? “I’m gonna go red.” (He then paused, realizing red is part of Kansas City’s primary color scheme.) “Maybe that wasn’t the right color to say at this moment,” he said.

Favorite Mexican dish? “Is a quesadilla a Mexican dish? It is? I’ll go with that.”

Message to Giants fans? “It’s nothing but love. I’ll be naive to think they weren’t supportive to me over the last six years. ... All the things that happened over there and the love I have for them is the reason I’m able to have the success I’m having now.”

DeVonta Smith wishes he could teleport

A young reporter from Nickelodeon presented Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith with a big necklace, then got to the real question that needed asking.

“Are there any superpowers that you think would help you on the big day?” she asked.

Smith’s reply: “If I could teleport.”

Let’s face it: That would be a difficult weapon for any secondary to deal with.

Big Dom won’t play on Sunday. You’ll see him anyway

Perhaps one of the most recognizable figures on the Philadelphia sideline has zero catches this season, zero tackles and probably doesn’t have a great time in the 40-yard dash.

And the Eagles think he’s indispensable.

Big Dom. That’s how everyone knows Eagles security chief Dom DiSandro, who has a cult following in Philadelphia.

“I would say this: Nobody does their job better in the National Football League than Big Dom does his,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “He’s awesome. He truly just wants to help other people.”

DiSandro joined the Eagles in 1999. He’s a broad-chested guy who tends to find his way into television shots on the sideline. He oversees all safety and security matters for players, coaches and executives.

“I couldn’t do my job without Dom. That’s for sure,” Sirianni said.

Eagles’ Fangio feared the worst during power outage at Superdome 12 years ago

Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has “vivid” memories of the last Super Bowl played at the Superdome.

He had the same role for San Francisco when a power outage forced a long delay in the third quarter against Baltimore 12 years ago.

“I thought it was a terrorist attack,” he recalled.

The 49ers mounted a big comeback after the stoppage but fell short at the end.

Did a reporter kiss Nick Sirianni? Chad Johnson did.

It’s hard to get a question at Super Bowl opening night. There are a lot of people yelling at once.

One method that works: Kissing the coach.

Really.

Former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson, working as a reporter for the CW, jumped onto Eagles coach Nick Sirianni’s podium to ask a question. And before he asked — it was about strategy involving the Kansas City secondary — the man known as “Ochocinco” smacked his lips on the side of Sirianni’s head.

“I was trying to call you,” Sirianni told Johnson. “I didn’t ever get your number, though.”

Johnson remembered there were a lot of microphones around and didn’t give Sirianni his number. Maybe he will later. And then he left with just a handshake, no kiss.

Most call it the tush push. Jalen Hurts does not

The most unstoppable and perhaps most reviled goal-line play in football right now is Philadelphia’s famed tush push, where quarterback Jalen Hurts follows about a ton of offensive linemen into the end zone.

Some want it banned. The Washington Commanders tried jumping offside multiple plays in a row to stop it (to no avail) in the NFC championship game.

Hurts knows most people don’t like the tush push. Perhaps that’s why he doesn’t call it that.

“That’s what you call it. I call it the quarterback sneak,” Hurts said. “I keep it very standard.”

Graham expects to play after he was sidelined by triceps injury

Super Bowl 52 hero Brandon Graham is ready to return less than three months after tearing his triceps.

The Eagles defensive end said his first two practices went well and that he will play Sunday as long as he has no setbacks this week.

Graham’s strip-sack helped seal Philadelphia’s win in the Super Bowl against New England seven years ago.

Saquon speaks: He ‘definitely envisioned’ making Super Bowl with Eagles

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley admitted this much: He didn’t think about the scene at Super Bowl opening night.

But Super Bowl Sunday, yes, he thought about that.

“Never this, but definitely envisioned playing in this game,” the Philly star told FS1 before taking the podium. “That’s why me and my family made the decision to come to Philadelphia, to have an opportunity to play in the Super Bowl. And here we are.”

Barkley has made headlines all year for his stellar numbers, but his preference is to be considered a team guy. And it’ll take the team to win it all, he said.

“It took everyone,” Barkley said. “And for us to do what we want to do, it’s going to take everyone again.”

Get your phones out: For Eagles, opening night is a memory to savor

The Eagles were the first team to hit the field for opening night. And two things immediately stood out: One, they were all in new white sweatsuits. And two, just about everyone had a phone out to capture the scene.

Assistant coach Clint Hurtt, one of the toughest guys in the game, was smiling broadly — a rare sight for him on the field — when he came out for the festivities. Yes, he had his phone out, video rolling to remember it all.

It seemed about 80% of Eagles players were either snapping photos or taking video of the scene for the first major event of Super Bowl week.

On opening night, Cooper Kupp reflects on an era closing

Cooper Kupp was Super Bowl MVP three years ago. As this Super Bowl week was getting underway, he found out the Los Angeles Rams plan to trade him.

“I was informed that the team will be seeking a trade immediately and will be working with me and my family to find the right place to continue competing for championships,” Kupp wrote on social media. “I don’t agree with the decision and always believed it was going to begin and end in LA.”

Kupp had eight catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns in Super Bowl 56, leading the Rams to a 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Local band has Superdome crowd dancing

The introduction to the Super Bowl opening night included some local music.

The eight-member Soul Rebels brass band, dressed in all white, played an original number, “Greatness,” from a makeshift stage in what would normally be front-row sideline seats. Fans in the stands and some media members danced nearby.

The band was followed by Eagles cheerleaders performing a dance number on a raised stage on the field shortly before players and coaches filtered out of a tunnel to take part in interviews.

The Soul Rebels also were slated to do a closing performance.

Here’s who will speak on the risers

Nearly all players and coaches will be available for interviews with the media, but only a select few from each team will be available on the risers.

For the Eagles, those will be:

1. DeVonta Smith

2. A.J. Brown

3. Jalen Hurts

4. Saquon Barkley

5. Lane Johnson

6. Jordan Mailata

7. Dallas Goedert

8. Zack Baun

9. Darius Slay Jr.

10. Nick Sirianni

11. Brandon Graham

And here’s who’s up for the Chiefs:

1. Chris Jones

2. Nick Bolton

3. Patrick Mahomes

4. Travis Kelce

5. Justin Reid

6. Trent McDuffie

7. Isiah Pacheco

8. Harrison Butker

9. DeAndre Hopkins

10. Andy Reid

11. Xavier Worthy

Super Bowl tradition of combined media day began at Superdome

The NFL says the first time both teams took part together in media day was at the Superdome before Super Bowl 20 between Chicago and New England in 1986.

This Super Bowl will be the eighth played at the dome in New Orleans and the first since 2013.

Goodell: Idea that refs favor Chiefs is ‘ridiculous’

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell shot down the perception that officials favor the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs are going for a three-peat Sunday in a rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles, who lost to Kansas City 38-35 two years ago.

The two-time defending champions have benefited from calls that have gone their way in the playoffs, including officials’ ruling that the Buffalo Bills came up short on a critical fourth down in the AFC championship game.

“It’s a ridiculous theory for anyone who might take it seriously,” Goodell said. “But at the end of the day it’s something we have to work at, how do we make our officiating better.”

Saquon Barkley could set more records in Super Bowl

Saquon Barkley has already produced the greatest season by a running back in Philadelphia Eagles history. He can only boost his credentials with his performance Sunday in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The numbers are already impressive, starting with his 2,005 yards rushing and his seven (postseason included) touchdown runs of 60-plus yards. He is one of only two players in NFL history with at least 400 yards rushing and five touchdowns in a single postseason. The other is former Denver Broncos star Terrell Davis.

Chiefs are first team to get to Super Bowl with chance at three-peat

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are the first team ever to win back-to-back Super Bowls and then get back to the title game with a chance at a third. They are one win away from pulling the rare three-peat.

The last team in the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL to win three straight championships was the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers from 2000-02, led by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. The New York Yankees pulled it off in baseball from 1998-2000 and the New York Islanders were the last NHL team to win three straight titles — they won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980-83.

No team has done it in the Super Bowl era in the NFL. Green Bay won the NFL title in 1965 in the season before the first Super Bowl and followed that up by winning the first two Super Bowls in the 1966-67 seasons. The Packers also won three straight NFL titles from 1929-31 before there was a postseason.

Jalen Hurts would join select company with a win after loss in first Super Bowl start

Jalen Hurts is back on the Super Bowl stage for the second time in his young career.

The Eagles quarterback produced four total touchdowns in a losing effort two years ago against the Chiefs and bucked recent history by getting back this far.

Out of the last 19 QBs who lost their first Super Bowl start, Hurts is the only one to get back to the title game as a starter. With a win on Sunday, he would join Hall of Famers Len Dawson, Bob Griese and John Elway as the only QBs to win a Super Bowl as a starter after losing their debut.

Goodell: NFL will look into ‘serious’ allegations against Ravens’ Tucker

Commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL will look into the “serious” allegations that Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker engaged in sexually inappropriate conduct with several massage therapists.

Nine massage therapists from five spas and wellness centers have told the Baltimore Banner that Tucker engaged in sexually inappropriate conduct during sessions from 2012-16.

Tucker said in a statement last week that he has never received any complaints from a massage therapist or been told he was not welcome at a spa or other place of business.

“They are obviously serious issues and he is taking that seriously as are we,” Goodell said Monday.

Goodell says NFL could have both franchise and Super Bowl outside the U.S.

Commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL could hold a Super Bowl outside of the United States if the league expands to have an international team.

The NFL has made big efforts to expand its footprint worldwide with games played in England, Germany, Mexico and Brazil in recent years. A game is scheduled in Spain next season.

But as of now, the Super Bowls have been played in NFL stadiums and international sites haven’t been considered.

“I do think there’s potential that someday we will have an international franchise. If we do, it would not surprise me at all if a Super Bowl follows and is played there,” Goodell said.

Chiefs and Eagles meet again, with Eagles trying to buck trend in Super Bowl rematches

For the second time in three seasons, it’s Kansas City against Philadelphia for the Super Bowl title.

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs got the win two years ago in Arizona and will try to do the same this week in New Orleans. This is the fifth time teams have met in the Super Bowl twice in a span of five seasons or less, with all four previous times ending in sweeps.

Goodell: ‘A lot of work’ before an 18-game season

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says there’s “a lot of work to be done” before the NFL possibly expands its season to 18 regular-season games.

Goodell said at a pre-Super Bowl news conference that the league hasn’t had formal negotiations with the NFL Players Association about adding a game to the season but that he has had informal discussions with the union’s executive director, Lloyd Howell Jr.

The NFL added a 17th game and cut the preseason from four games to three before the 2021 season and Goodell has indicated an interest in eventually adding another regular-season game.

Goodell says league will look into rules surrounding Brady’s dual role

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league will look into whether rules surrounding Tom Brady’s role as both an analyst for Fox and a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders need to be altered in any way.

Brady played a big role during the team’s search for a new coach and general manager that led to the hiring of Pete Carroll and John Spytek.

Brady is also in his first season as an analyst for Fox and is under rules that prevent his access to team facilities and production meetings with players and coaches.

Goodell said Monday that Brady is under the same tampering rules as any other member of the league and has checked in frequently to make sure he isn’t violating any rules.