The Eagles crush the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX

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The final score did not indicate the Philadelphia Eagles’ dominating performance in their 40-22 Super Bowl triumph over the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, the second Super Bowl win in team history.

The words of quarterback Jalen Hurts following the team’s 38-35 loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII proved prophetic: “We are going to get back here, and the next time, we will win.” He made good on his word by leading his offensive unit up and down the field against the Chiefs and was humble enough to credit the Eagles’ defense for putting his offense in short-field situations for the entire game.

The Eagles defense, the top unit in the entire National Football League this season, sacked Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes six times while pressuring him on 20 plus passing attempts.

The Eagles’ defense shut out the KC for three quarters in Superbowl LIX. PHOTO: PHILADELPHIA EAGLES/NFL

A “tush-push” (or “brotherly shove” if you prefer) touchdown gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead at 6:15 of the opening quarter, and they never looked back. The key play in the drive was a 27-yard pass from Hurts to Jahan Dotson. Following a quick defensive stop, the Eagles got the ball back, and Hurst engineered a drive that produced a 48-yard field goal from Jake Elliott and a 10-0 lead.

The game turned completely in the Eagles’ favor in the second quarter when Eagles rookie defensive back Cooper DeJean intercepted a Mahomes pass and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown and a 17-0 lead. It was DeJean’s first interception of the season, on his 22nd birthday; he was the first player in NFL history to score a touchdown on an interception in a Super Bowl game on his birthday. Mahomes had been sacked on the two previous plays before the interception, forcing him to throw the ball into coverage where DeJean was waiting.

The Eagles defensive line kept the pressure on Mahomes, forcing him to throw another critical interception to linebacker Zach Baun inside his team’s 20-yard line-red zone territory. Hurts hit wide receiver A.J. Brown at 1:35 of the second quarter to up the count to 24-0 at halftime. Philly’s defense was so dominant that it held the Chief’s’ offense to just 23 total yards and one first down for the first 30 minutes of play, while the Eagle’s offense racked up 179 total yards.

Things spiraled downward for the Chiefs on their first drive after receiving the second half kickoff. Mahomes was sacked twice, turning the ball back over to the Eagles’ offense. Hurts led the team on a sustained drive, which produced a 48-yard field goal by Elliott and a 27-0 lead. The next Eagles possession was capped off by a 46-yard bomb to Devonte Smith for a 34-0 score that put the game out of reach.

Philly sacked Chiefs’ QB Patrick Mahomes six times in their win. PHOTO: PHILADELPHIA EAGLES/NFL

Mahomes threw scoring passes to Xavier Worthy in the third and fourth quarters and one to Deandre Hopkins with 2:54 left in the final stanza, which was offset by two more Elliott field goals, resulting in the final score of 40-22.

Jalen Hurts, who completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns, and had 11 rushes for 72 yards — a Super Bowl record for a quarterback — and one touchdown, was named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. “I have used every experience, good and bad, in my playing career to reach this point. I’ll always be the same guy,” said Hurts, adding, “I was telling someone that I’m the same kid that came to a national championship and lost, went back and got benched and had to transfer and had to go through this unprecedented journey. That kid always kept the main thing the main thing and always was true to his vision of what he saw. It all began with greater leadership and doing it the right way.”

His teammate Saquon Barkley, who also celebrated his 28th birthday, had 57 yards rushing to complete an NFL record season with 2,504 yards in regular and postseason combined. Barkley also had six catches for 40 yards.

When asked, “Who was the first person you thought of when the game ended, and you realized that you had won the Super Bowl?” Barkley replied, “I thanked God!”

Losing quarterback Patrick Mahomes was reflective on social media in his post-game comments. He said, “Appreciate all the love and support from #ChiefsKingdom I let y’all down today. I’ll always continue to work and try and learn and be better for it.”

The Chiefs go into the offseason with a lot of questions that will need to be answered. Number one is whether the all-world tight end Travis Kelce will be back for another season.

Best summing up the essence of this Super Bowl Championship, winning Eagles coach Nick Siriami said, “You cannot be great without the greatness of others. The daily grind, all the hard work — that’s what you remember.” He added, “We’ll remember this, but it was the ups and downs, embracing the adversity and getting better from the adversity.”

The Philadelphia Eagles are the 2024 champions of the National Football League, and they stopped the Kansas City Chiefs’ drive for a third straight Super Bowl title in a dominant fashion.