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OK, now that the Chinese spy balloon is gone, it’s safe to break out the final selections of the 2022 season, my 29th here in The Post’s Bettor’s Guide. 

In these Super Bowl pieces over the years, I’ve normally tried to build a case over the course of 950 or so words that culminated in picks for the side and total. For Super Bowl LVII — Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs — I’m going to try to do that process in reverse, starting with: 

Odds courtesy of BetMGM

I actually picked this Super Bowl (in a way) after the divisional round, when the Eagles destroyed the Giants, 38-7, and the Cincinnati Bengals blew past the Buffalo Bills, 27-10, in Orchard Park. (Notice I’m not mentioning the Chiefs here).

After those games, I quickly decided I’d be taking the Eagles and Bengals in the championship games, and if one of those teams were to advance to the Super Bowl, it would be my pick. To be honest, I don’t know whom I would have chosen in an Eagles-Bengals Super Bowl matchup, but the officials in the AFC Championship helped to make that a moot point. 

So I started with Eagles and the under, which is my default postseason totals choice, and began looking for issues and angles that might make me want to change my mind over the past two weeks. 

Any regret about fading the Chiefs has to start right here. Playing with a high ankle sprain, Mahomes not only got through three hours against a tough Bengals defense, but he also made the biggest play on the winning drive. His scramble plus a legitimate late-hit penalty set up Harrison Butker’s decisive field goal. Never mind my tweet in the moment, calling for a holding penalty on Mahomes’ run. He did what he did. 

This will be Mahomes’ third Super Bowl while it’s the first for his counterpart, Jalen Hurts. That has to matter. There’s a reason why so many Super Bowl rings were collected by relatively few quarterbacks (Tom Brady, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana and a few others). Level of concern: High. 

Does Andy Reid have the coaching edge over Eagles’ second-year man Nick Sirianni? I’m not sure he does. For all the great things Reid did for the Eagles, his teams won one NFC championship in 14 seasons, which was followed by a narrow, 24-21 loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX. 

Sirianni has taken the Eagles to the Big Game in just his second season, and he’s giving off vibes that to me are similar to Doug Pederson’s before his Eagles conquered the Patriots, 41-33, five years ago. Sirianni strikes a nice combination of well-prepared and unafraid, which is what you want working for your money. 

Reid, who ultimately couldn’t bring a title to Philly, later sent Sirianni packing from the Chiefs’ staff when he arrived. There might be some karma here. Level of concern: Low. 

This is probably the area where I feel most confident about the Eagles. Philadelphia led the NFL with 70 sacks in the regular season. There were five more against the Giants then three against the 49ers, who threw a total of 18 passes because the Birds injured both of their quarterbacks. 

The best part for the Eagles is they get pressure from everywhere, not just one or two guys. LB Haason Reddick led the way with 16 sacks in the regular season, DT Javon Hargrave added 11 up the middle, and DEs Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat 11 each from the edges. The mix of a devastating pass rush and a solid Eagles secondary figures to spell all kinds of trouble for Mahomes, even if his ankle is no longer an issue. 

We saw what happened two years ago in Super Bowl LV when the Buccaneers took advantage of a decimated Chiefs offensive line and brought the heat. Mahomes was sacked just three times, but his whole game was disrupted, and he ended up with two interceptions and just nine points on the board. Kansas City rebuilt its offensive line after that game, and to this point it has been good enough, but this could be the problem area for Kansas City on Sunday. Level of comfort: Through the roof. 

This is one issue that does give me some pause. Since Hurts came back from his shoulder injury, he’s looked way more tentative than explosive, both in his running and downfield passing. We’re clearly not getting the guy who was the MVP front-runner for most of the season. 

The good news for the Eagles is they have probably the best offensive line in the NFL, and I expect that unit to keep the mayhem from Chris Jones and Frank Clark to a minimum. And, like their defense, the Eagles’ offense is diverse and dangerous in all areas of the field. Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott can break off chunk runs, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith can burn defenses from short to deep, and Dallas Goedert is a poor-man’s Travis Kelce over the middle and on third down. Level of concern: Moderate. 

Some are saying Philadelphia had an insanely easy path to this Super Bowl, beating the Giants and a quarterback-less 49ers squad at home. That’s true, and it does pale in comparison to the Chiefs’ death struggle against an excellent Bengals team. 

However, you play who you play, it is what it is, and to me it has little bearing on the next game. Level of concern: Low. 

This is actually a betting angle for some people — teams wearing white jerseys have are 36-20 in Super Bowl history, including nine wins in the past 11. Still, the Eagles as the nominal home team chose to wear their green jerseys, the same color they donned when they beat the Patriots a few years ago. If it doesn’t scare them, it doesn’t scare me. Level of concern: lol. 

There’s been a lot of sarcastic chatter about the NFL being rigged and even scripted after the officiating mistakes in both championship games. I’ll be honest: I don’t have a copy of the official script, so I have to write my own., 

The Eagles’ pass rush will determine the outcome. Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon will have a plan to take away the easy passes to Kelce, and the secondary will get up tight on whichever healthy receivers the Chiefs can put out there. There shouldn’t be enough time for them to get deep too often. I expect Mahomes’ ankle to be functional, but it will be put to the test because he’s going to have to use his legs a lot. 

On the other side of the ball, I believe it will be death by a thousand cuts, as the Eagles should be able to move the ball up and down the field. I believe Sirianni is daring, and we might see a trick play or a big decision early in the game to go for it on fourth down. But once he sees what kind of damage his defense is doing, I expect the coach to dial it back with a lead and not give Mahomes any extra time or chances. 

Lock of the week: Eagles -1.5. (Locks 10-11 in 2022-23)
Championship weekend: 3-1 (1-1 sides, 2-0 totals).