The Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champs for a 2nd time in 4 years after a hobbled Patrick Mahomes marshaled a game-winning drive to seal a 38-35 resurgence win over a Philadelphia Eagles group who had actually beat them for much of the video game.
Mahomes, who entered his 3rd Super Bowl in 4 seasons nursing a sprained right ankle and appeared to reaggravate the injury at the end of the very first half with the Chiefs at their floor, finished 21 of 27 passes for 182 lawns, 3 goals and no interceptions, conserving his finest for the greatest minutes as the Chiefs roared back from a 24-14 deficit at half-time.
The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player rushed 26 lawns on the last drive, gimpy leg and all, prior to Harrison Butker kicked a 27-yard basket with 8 seconds delegated win the video game, making Mahomes the very first gamer to win the Super Bowl in the very same season he was called MVP after 9 straight gamers prior to him lost.
In doing so, the 28-year-old got rid of a splendid Jalen Hurts, the young Philadelphia signal-caller who tossed for 304 backyards, ran for 3 goals and set a Super Bowl record with 70 lawns entering the very first Super Bowl match including 2 Black beginning quarterbacks.
The heart-stopping affair measured up to its advance billing underneath an open retractable roofing and beautiful 70F (21C) conditions.
The Chiefs won the toss and delayed, as they have all however when all year, positioning the ball in Hurts’ hands to begin. The 24-year-old without delay led an 11-play, 75-yard goal drive, plunging into completion zone on 4th down. It marked the very first time in a quarter-century that a group got the opening kickoff in the Super Bowl and drove it down the field for a goal. The vaunted Philadelphia offensive line– all 5 of whom were called to the Pro Bowl– had actually made an emphatic opening declaration in the fight of the trenches and sent out the extremely pro-Philadelphia crowd into chaos.
In a video game pitched as the finest lineup v the finest gamer, it was Mahomes’ turn. He rapidly marched Kansas City downfield prior to discovering Travis Kelce on a stunning fade path for an 18-yard goal. It was the sort of scripted opening drive that Chiefs coach Andy Reid has actually made his trademark considering that going into the head training ranks with, of all groups, Philadelphia back in 1999.
On the very first play of the 2nd quarter, Hurts took his shot downfield and linked on a 45-yard goal to Brown. The runner-up in MVP balloting was off to an appealing start in his very first Super Bowl, finishing 8 of his very first 10 passes for 116 lawns without any interceptions and a set of goals: one on the ground and one through the air.
The Eagles quickly got the ball back after a Chiefs drive stalled. Which’s when catastrophe struck. Harms made a sensational non-contact fumble while under pressure, enabling Kansas City linebacker Nick Bolton to scoop the ball up and rumble 36 backyards for the game-tying rating. It was the sort of minute where Super Bowls are won and lost– and it would show pricey.
Of the 7 quarterbacks who had actually begun a Super Bowl prior to their 25th birthday getting in Sunday’s video game, just 2 had actually played even from another location well: Tom Brady in the 2001 season and Mahomes in 2018. If there were any issue that Hurts would fall apart after his miscue, he instantly put it to rest on the taking place drive. He ran 14 lawns on the very first play from skirmish, transformed a 3rd down with another added the gut into Kansas City area, prior to topping a 12-yard, 75-yard march with a four-yard goal run the left deal with, putting the Eagles back in front at 21-14 in the middle of chants of “MVP! MVP!” from the Philadelphia faithful.
The Eagles would score once again prior to half-time through a 35-yard basket from Jake Elliot, opening a 10-point lead in a half where they managed the ball for almost 22 minutes. The larger problem for the Chiefs was Mahomes, who hopped off the field after a take on by TJ Edwards reaggravated the high ankle sprain he suffered in the divisional round.
Any guarantee of a hassle-free surface for the Eagles were rapidly splashed by Mahomes, who led the Chiefs on a long scoring drive topped by a one-yard Isiah Pacheco goal run, closing the deficit to 24-21.
The Eagles prevented a disaster minutes later on when Boston Scott’s evident fumble was returned for a goal– once again by the opportunistic Bolton– just to be reversed by replay. The Eagles marched systematically downfield from there, going 60 lawns on 17 plays– consisting of a highlight-reed catch by Dallas Goedert along the Philadelphia sideline– prior to choosing another Elliot basket and a 27-21 lead in the passing away minutes of the 3rd quarter.
That’s when Mahomes led a nine-play, 75-yard drive, stressed by a four-yard goal pass to a wide-open Kadarius Toney, sprung complimentary as the Chiefs utilized Kelce as a decoy.
For the very first time in Philadelphia’s marauding postseason run, in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl, they discovered themselves behind. Which’s where all of it went pear-shaped. Injures finished a set of brief passes however was rushed from the pocket by Carlos Dunlap on the next play, requiring a three-and-out. Toney returned Aaron Siposs’s 2nd punt of the video game around the field and down the Philadelphia sideline, a 65-yard return that positioned the Chiefs within 5 lawns of the end zone: the longest punt return in Super Bowl history. 2 plays later on, the Chiefs had actually scored once again, extending their cause 35-27 after the additional point.
Things appeared grim for the Eagles. Sticking to their last hope, Philadelphia fired back with an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive highlighted by a 49-yard reception by Smith on the penultimate play then another Hurts goal run– his 3rd on the night. Requiring a two-point conversion to connect ball game, the Eagles once again relied on their dual-threat star under center, who hurried it into completion zone off the left end.
That set the phase for Mahomes: connected at 35-35 in the Super Bowl with 5 minutes left and 75 lawns from completion zone. After milking down the clock with a number of hand-offs