On Feb. 9, the No. 1 seeded Kansas City Chiefs took on the No. 2 seeded Philadelphia Eagles to battle for the National Football League’s crown jewel, the Vince Lombardi trophy.
On this Super Bowl Sunday, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who led his team to a startling 15-2 record, attempted to add to his team’s legacy and his own. Mahomes was looking to win a third consecutive NFL title, which had only been done almost six decades ago by the 1965-1967 Green Bay Packers.
Mahomes, along with partner in crime Travis Kelce, looked to fend off Philadelphia, which has plenty of stars in its own right. Led by quarterback Jalen Hurts, his favorite receiving target A.J. Brown and who many consider to be the MVP of the Eagles, running back Saquon Barkley eclipsed the coveted 2,000-yard rushing mark in the regular season.
With stars in attendance on and off the field, as numerous celebrities took their seats, the game was underway. Philadelphia got the ball first, and after what looked to be a promising drive after Hurts connected with Brown deep down the sideline—the play was called back on what appeared to be a controversial offensive pass interference penalty on Brown.
Mahomes and his offense took the field for the first time, only to punt the ball right back to Philadelphia after just three plays. The Eagles took advantage of the Kansas City three-and-out, with Hurts leading a methodical drive down the field. With the ball on the two-yard line, the Eagles ran their infamous “tush-push” play as Hurts was shoved into the end zone by his teammates to draw first blood, putting them up 7-0.
The Chiefs offense looked to respond, but to no avail, as they punted after three plays once again. Philadelphia took over, and amid their next drive, the first quarter ended.
The second quarter of play snapped into action immediately, as Hurts delivered a poorly under-thrown ball that ended up in the hands of Chiefs safety Bryan Cook. This looked to be the wake-up call Kansas City needed. However, Mahomes continued to look uncomfortable.
After another Kansas City punt and a Philadelphia drive that resulted in a Jake Elliott field goal to make it 10-0, Mahomes looked to right the ship again. On a third down, Mahomes rolled out and attempted to throw into a tight window, but rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean picked the pass off and had yards of green grass in front of him, taking it all the way to the end zone for another Eagles touchdown. It was the first of DeJean’s career and his birthday.
Facing an early and surprising 17-0 deficit, Mahomes and the Chiefs had to get the momentum going. Mahomes had one final chance to flip the momentum as the offense took over with 1:49 left in the second quarter, deep in their own territory. Mahomes threw another risky pass over the middle on the drive’s first play. The pass was picked off yet again, this time a diving catch by Eagles middle linebacker Zack Baun.
Two plays later, Hurts found Brown on a wide-open crossing route to extend the lead to 24-0 going into the half. Mahomes had thrown for a mere 24 passing yards and two interceptions, and it was the worst half of his storied career thus far.
The halftime show gave Chiefs fans a much-needed break and, for the rest of the world, an empowering statement by Grammy-winning artist Kendrick Lamar. The Pulitzer Prize winner featured an all-Black cast of performers, with each background dancer dressed in either red, white or blue outfits. He also had acclaimed actor Samuel L. Jackson play “Uncle Sam,” stating to America that African Americans represent the nation the same as anybody else.
Moorpark College sophomore Katie Guardado spoke about her thoughts on the performance.
“I thought the halftime show was a fantastic statement,” Guardado said. “[I] really loved that he did it, because it shows he is using his platform to not necessarily protest, but raising awareness to the fact that Black people have been historically oppressed in American society and bringing people’s attention to the fact that Black people are just as representative of this country as anyone else.”
The second half was ready to kick off. Kansas City hoped to make another miraculous comeback, as they’ve repeatedly done over recent years. Future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski lit up the Chiefs during the FOX halftime analysis.
“Someone needs to step up and spark this Chiefs offense,” Gronkowski said.
However, the spark didn’t happen. After their fifth sack of the game, the Eagles forced yet another punt from the Chiefs to start the third quarter.
With help from the analytics team, FOX play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt described an outlandish stat about the Eagles defense and their pressure on Kansas City’s quarterback.
“Mahomes has been pressured on 52% of snaps, the highest in his career since 2020. The Eagles have 5 sacks in this game, and the crazy part is, they haven’t blitzed once,” Burkhardt said.
Another long drive from Philadelphia resulted in a field goal to extend the lead to 27-0. With 3:30 left in the third quarter, the Chiefs failed to convert a fourth-and-5. The Eagles took over, and one play later, wide receiver DeVonta Smith got loose in the secondary, and Hurts dropped an absolute dime in the end zone to make it 34-0, Philly.
Now desperate, the Chiefs crossed midfield for the first time in the game with just over two minutes left in the third quarter, another statistical anomaly in Mahomes’s career. At the end of the third quarter, the Chiefs were able to put some points on the board, hitting rookie wideout Xavier Worthy for a 24-yard touchdown. A failed two-point conversion made the score 34-6.
The fourth quarter began, and when the Chiefs took possession, Mahomes was sacked and lost the football due to the pressure of defensive lineman Milton Williams, who also recovered the fumble. This play put the icing on the cake as Elliott ended up kicking his fourth field goal of the game.
Mahomes and his team fought until the end, but the deficit was essentially insurmountable. With three minutes left, the Eagles dumped the traditional Gatorade bath on Head Coach Nick Sirianni. The color to bet on this year was yellow.
Backup quarterback Kenny Pickett took a few kneel-downs to run out the remaining clock. Philadelphia officially climbed back on top of the football world, celebrating their first Super Bowl victory since they upset the New England Patriots in 2018.
Hurts was named the Super Bowl MVP. The calm, collected and humble quarterback praised his teammates during the on-field postgame interview:
“I couldn’t do any of these things without the guys around me. We had a special group this year and we were able to learn from the past and get over the hump,” Hurts said.
Fans of the other 30 NFL teams will have to wait until September to see their team in action again. The offseason is officially upon us.
