Eagles dismantle Kansas City to win Super Bowl
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.
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.
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.
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. -BBC
