NEW ORLEANS The fierce defense of the Philadelphia Eagles, led by Cooper DeJean and Josh Sweat, prevented Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, and Kansas City from winning a Super Bowl three-peat.
It was far from it.
Sweat tortured Mahomes, DeJean received a pick-six on his 22nd birthday, and the Eagles defeated Kansas City 40–22 on Sunday to win the team’s second Super Bowl.
Vic Fangio’s defense was so strong that the Eagles didn’t require much from Saquon Barkley, while Jalen Hurts ran for a touchdown on a tush push and threw for two touchdowns.
With 57 yards at the end, the game-changing running back broke Terrell Davis’ season-long record for most yards rushing, including playoffs. Hurts had a 221-yard pass.
The Eagles outperformed Kansas City in every way, making Donald Trump the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl. The boisterous pro-Philly audience applauded every touchdown with a well-known version of Fly! Fly, Eagles!
Even the presence of Taylor Swift was ineffective for Kansas City. The pop sensation was in a suite watching his lover Travis Kelce, who didn’t catch a pass until late in the third quarter, as they lost for the first time in ten games this season.
The supporters of Kansas City could not have hoped for a more disappointing performance. Four years ago, K.C. lost to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-9, but they had won three of the previous five Super Bowls.
Before the veteran coordinator and former Broncos head coach outcoached Andy Reid to end his first season with his hometown club, Mahomes was 8-0 versus Fangio’s defenses. Reid lost to the Eagles and finished 3-3 in Super Bowls.
The Eagles benched Mahomes six times, including two and a half by Sweat, which was the most in his career. They accomplished this without Fangio issuing any blitz orders.
When Philly took a 24-0 lead in the first half, Barkley, the 2024 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year, only managed 31 yards of rushing.
Kansas City wanted to become the first club to win three straight titles in the Super Bowl era and the third team in NFL history to do so.
Two years ago in Arizona, Hurts almost led the Eagles to victory over Kansas City, but Mahomes led a rally and Harrison Butker made the game-winning field goal in the last minute to win 38-35. Last year, Mahomes led Kansas City to triumph over San Francisco in overtime, earning the team their second consecutive championship.
This time, Mahomes had no chance to work his magic because to a redesigned Philadelphia defense that included eight new starters from the 2022 squad.
By adding a championship ring to a career that boasts the fifth-best winning percentage in league history, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, who was labeled a clown on national television and made fun of fans yelling “Fire Nick!” during an October victory against Cleveland, could finally silence his detractors.
With over three minutes remaining in the game, Sirianni was doused with Gatorade as backup quarterback Kenny Pickett filled in for him.
In the first quarter, Barkley assisted in getting Hurts into the end zone from the 1 to give Philadelphia a 7-0 lead.
Jake Elliott’s 48-yard field goal put the team ahead 10-0, then Sweat and Jalyx Hunt sacked Mahomes on back-to-back plays. DeJean then picked up Mahomes’ inaccurate ball after he rolled out, returning it 38 yards for a 17-0 advantage.
Mahomes’ run of 297 straight throws without an interception came to an end, and it was his first pick-six in 21 career playoff games.
Late in the second quarter, All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun selected Mahomes once more, and Hurts connected with A.J. Brown for a 12-yard touchdown pass to give the team a 24-0 lead.
Late in the third quarter, Hurts made it 34-0 with a flawless 46-yard touchdown ball to DeVonta Smith.
To escape the shutout, Mahomes threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy, but the 2-point convert was unsuccessful. He passed the ball to DeAndre Hopkins and then to Worthy for two late, largely pointless touchdowns.
Following two weeks of debates over dubious calls that gave the public the impression that officials were biased in favor of Kansas City—a notion NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell deemed absurd—the game’s first penalty only served to inflame detractors.
On fourth and two, Hurts’ 32-yard pass to Brown to K.C. 18 was ruled invalid due to an offensive pass interference penalty. Despite Brown pushing Trent McDuffie’s facemask, officiating analyst Mike Pereira and Brady, who is now an analyst for Fox, both disapproved of the call.
Following an incomplete pass on third and five, the Eagles took advantage of an unnecessary roughness penalty against Dallas Goedert on the following possession.
Hurts then scored on the following play after connecting with Jahan Dotson on a 27-yard throw to the 1.
In the first half, Hurts was intercepted deep in Kansas City territory, ending his 217-pass run without a pick, but K.C. failed to take advantage of the situation.
The Green Bay Packers, who won three straight titles from 1929–31 and 1965–67, are the only NFL team to do so.
The last club in the major American professional leagues to win three straight championships were the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA, who were led by Shaquille O’Neill and Kobe Bryant from 2000–02.
— AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi
