The Philadelphia Eagles demolished the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 to deny them an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl.
The Chiefs were playing in their fifth Super Bowl in six years and much of the pre-game hype focused on a potential three-peat.
But the Eagles utterly dominated in New Orleans, in particular their defence, which showed why it has been the NFL’s best this season.
Kansas City’s star quarterback Patrick Mahomes was sacked six times and threw two interceptions as the Chiefs’ bid for NFL immortality was ruthlessly quashed in the Superdome.
It is the Eagles’ second Super Bowl win having claimed their first in 2018, despite the Chiefs managing to keep their star running back Saquon Barkley relatively quiet.
Instead, quarterback Jalen Hurts stepped up to silence those who continue to question his passing game, throwing a superb 46-yard touchdown pass to seal a humbling defeat for the Chiefs.
Victory was revenge for the Eagles’ 38-35 Super Bowl defeat by the Chiefs two years ago, when Hurts put in a superb performance but ended up on the losing side.
This time he helped Philly put the game beyond the Chiefs and was later named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
“I’ve been able to use every experience and learn from it, the good and the bad, using it as fuel,” he said.
“There’s always going to be doubts and questioning, but this is the purpose and my calling in life.
“Things come right on time and you know, the last Super Bowl wasn’t our time yet. Sometimes we have to accept that you have to wait your turn.
“I couldn’t do any of this without the guys around me,” Hurts added. “Defence wins championships. We saw the difference they made in the game today.
“Winning a national championship is just an unprecedented feeling. That kid in me always kept working at this, and I stayed true to his vision.”​​​​​​​
Lacklustre start costs Chiefs historic feat
Image source: Getty Images
Image caption: Eagles players celebrate at full-time
Donald Trump became the first sitting US president to attend America’s biggest game, while Taylor Swift was among the many celebrities at the Superdome, cheering on her boyfriend Travis Kelce, the Kansas City tight end.
Yet he and the Chiefs were never in the game. They earned just one first down in the first half and that was on their very first play.
Philadelphia opened the scoring on their second possession with Hurts scoring on the ‘tush push’ play which they have mastered and no team has found an answer to.
Jake Elliott kicked a field goal on the Eagles’ next possession before their defence took charge, sacking Mahomes on successive plays and on the next, Cooper DeJean returned an interception for a 38-yard touchdown.
Mahomes had gone 298 pass attempts without throwing an interception, and he threw another just five plays later. It was right in front of his own end zone and resulted in a touchdown for AJ Brown.
The Eagles added another field goal after half-time, before Hurts launched the ball down the middle for DeVonta Smith to claim a score fitting for the Super Bowl stage.
Philly fans began mocking the Chiefs by copying their Tomahawk Chop chant, as they faced becoming the first team to be shutout in a Super Bowl.
Kansas City avoided that ignominy with Mahomes throwing a touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy before Elliott added two more field goals in the fourth quarter.
Mahomes found both DeAndre Hopkins and Worthy to score in the final three minutes, but this proved one game too far for the Chiefs, who have at least gone further than any previous back-to-back champion in pursuit of a Super Bowl three-peat.
“Credit to the Eagles, they played better than us from start to finish,” said Mahomes.
“Obviously the turnovers hurt – I’ve just got to take all the blame for that. Those early turnovers swing the momentum of the game and they capitalised on them.
“It was kind of 14 points that I gave them and it’s hard to come back from that at the Super Bowl.
“I just didn’t play to my standard and I have to be better next time.”​​​​​​​
Image source: Reuters
Image caption: The Eagles scored a defensive touchdown through Cooper DeJean, who celebrated his 22nd birthday in style