Chiefs are Champs

The Kansas City Chiefs have won their second Super Bowl in four seasons, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes appeared to overcome re-aggravating his ankle injury in the first half, rallying the Chiefs in the second to a victory that puts the team in a “dynasty” conversation after they won the title game in 2020 and reached the season finale in 2021.

In the first Super Bowl to feature two Black starting quarterbacks, Mahomes threw three touchdown passes to three receivers, Isiah Pacheco ran for one score and linebacker Nick Bolton scored on a fumble return. Kicker Harrison Butker made the winning 27-yard field goal with eight seconds left.

“It was just all heart. We knew we didn’t play our best in the first half,” tight end Travis Kelce – who competed against his brother – said when told Kansas City scored on every drive after intermission. Given the enormity of the moment, some players played out of character in the first half, he said, “and we were just able to regroup at halftime and figure it out.”

“In that second half, we were just flying around.”

Mahomes, who suffered a high ankle sprain on his right leg on January 21 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, appeared to hurt the same ankle late in the first half. With a little more than 90 seconds left in the half, Mahomes was scrambling on third down and 15 when linebacker TJ Edwards tackled him around his ankles. Mahomes stayed down after the tackle for an uncomfortably long time for Chiefs fans.

Mahomes hopped to the sideline, winced in pain on the bench and briefly put his head on the shoulder of a staff member. The Chiefs didn’t return to the field in the half.

The 27-year-old quarterback didn’t look too hurt, though, when he ran off the field at halftime, at which point Mahomes was 8-of-13 passing for 89 yards and had two rushes for 11 yards.

“I knew I wasn’t coming out of this game, even with that high ankle sprain; it kinda re-aggravated a little bit,” Mahomes told the NFL Network after the win. “I’ll worry about that in the offseason.”

The youngest quarterback to ever start three Super Bowls made Chiefs fans feel a lot better on the first drive of the second half, leading his side on a touchdown drive that included a key 14-yard run.

On the game-winning drive, Mahomes had another vital rush for 26 yards that put the winners in field-goal position. Mahomes winced as he got up to head back to the huddle, TV replays showed.

“Well, he’s the MVP,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. “That’s all that needs to be said. … And he showed it tonight.”

And Mahomes will add the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award to his trophy case after his stellar performance Sunday.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was brilliant, rushing for a Super Bowl quarterback record of three touchdowns and 70 rushing yards, another record. And his two-point conversion via the ground made it 35-35. He also passed for one score, completing 27 of 38 passes for 304 yards.

“Jalen played the best game I’ve seen him play in the two years we’ve been together,” Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said. “I really thought he was in complete control. He did things with his legs in the run game, he did things with his arm in the pass game, made some unbelievable throws, unbelievable reads. I thought he played outstanding.”

AJ Brown had a 45-yard touchdown catch and Jake Elliott kicked two field goals.

But no doubt Hurts will regret a fumble that just slipped out of his hands.

It was the first Eagles fumble of the postseason, and it briefly cost the NFC champs some momentum at a crucial point in the second quarter.

As the Eagles were driving for a score that would put them up two possessions, Hurts was running to his right when he let the ball slip from his hands at the Eagles’ 44. The ball took a nice hop and was scooped up by Kansas City linebacker Nick Bolton at 36,who scooted untouched into the end zone. With 9:39, the score was tied again at 14-14.

To his credit, Hurts almost immediately shrugged off the miscue, and on the next drive got those points back.

On the 12th play of the ensuing drive, Hurts ran for his second touchdown of the game, slicing through the Chiefs defense from 4 yards out. That and the extra point made it 21-14 with 2:20 left in the half.