The Philadelphia Eagles soared to their second Super Bowl in franchise history, dismantling the Kansas Chiefs 40-22 on Sunday night in Super Bowl LIX at the Ceasars Superdome in New Orleans.
Philadelphia rode to their second championship in the last seven years on the back of a dominating first-half showing, in which they built an insurmountable 24-0 lead to put the NFL’s crown jewel beyond a shadow of a doubt before Kendrick Lamar could even take the field.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts, named Super Bowl MVP, completed 17-of-22 passes for 221 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also posted a team-leading 72 rushing yards and a score on 11 carries.
It was the Eagles’ defense, however, which ultimately set the tone on Super Bowl Sunday and turned the game on its head almost immediately.
They limited Patrick Mahomes, in search of a dynastic third straight Super Bowl ring, to 21-of-32 passing for 257 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions while sacking him six times. The majority of the Chiefs quarterback’s production came in garbage time, though, as the Eagles held Kansas City to just six points through the first 57 minutes.
His interceptions came in quick succession, which ended the game as a legitimate contest altogether.
With the Eagles holding a 10-0 lead after Hurts scored on the patented tush-push and a field goal from Jake Elliot, Mahomes was picked off by rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean, who returned it 38 yards for the score to make it a 17-point game midway through the second quarter.
After the teams traded punts, Mahomes was picked off again by a lunging Zack Baun at the Kansas City 14-yard line. Three plays later, Hurts hit AJ Brown for a 12-yard score to make it a 24-0 game with 1:35 to go in the half.
Philadelphia poured on the first 10 points of the second half to make it a 34-0 game before the Chiefs finally got on the board. Mahomes hit Xavier Worthy for a 24-yard score before a failed two-point conversion.
Worthy was the lone bright spot for Kansas City, hauling in eight catches for 157 yards and two scores.
After Elliott tacked on another field goal, Mahomes was stripped deep in Chiefs territory to put Philadelphia right back on the doorstep for more points, which Elliott provided to make it a 40-6 game with 8:01 to go.
Mahomes hit DeAndre Hopkins for an 8-yard score before hooking up with Worthy on a 50-yard bomb, but it was far too little too late for a Chiefs team that was looking to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls.
Former Giants running back Saquon Barkley rushed for 57 yards on 25 carries to go with six catches for an additional 40 yards. He set a new NFL record for most scrimmage (2,857) and rushing (2,504) yards in a single season, breaking both marks previously held by Terrell Davis of the Denver Broncos in 1998.
