GLENDALE, AZ — It's Super Bowl Sunday, and the Kansas City Chiefs battled the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFL Championship tonight at 5:30 p.m. at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. One of the most exciting Super Bowls in recent memory ended in controversy as the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles at the end of regulation, 38-35.
1st Quarter
The Eagles received the opening kickoff and began their first drive at the 26-yard line. Jalen Hurts found success early as he connected with several receivers, mainly Devonta Smith, and marched quickly down the field. The Chiefs finally forced a 3rd down and five yards to go inside the Chiefs’ 5-yard line.
RB Kenneth Gainwell took the handoff from Hurts on 3rd down and shoved his way into the endzone. However, after further review, the Chiefs stopped Gainwell short of the goal line. Although the Chiefs made an impressive stand at the goal line, the Eagles scored one play later on Philly’s patented quarterback sneak. Hurts scored the first touchdown, and the Eagles struck first with 10:09 remaining in the 1st quarter, 7-0.
The Kansas City Chiefs wasted little time in response to Philadelphia's first touchdown. With the ball at the 28-yard line, Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs on a 6-play, 75-yard drive for a touchdown. Mahomes's injured ankle looked healthy on the first drive as he found Travis Kelce on multiple passes down the field. Rookie Isiah Pacheco gave the Chiefs a spark when he snapped off a 24-yard run to get the ball to the Eagles' 20-yard line. Two plays later, Mahomes found Kelce for an 18-yard touchdown pass to even the score, 7-7.
Kansas City’s defense forced the first punt of the contest on Philly’s next possession. After the referees flagged the Eagles for offensive pass interference, the Chiefs put pressure on Jalen hurts on 3rd and 14 and forced an incompletion. The Eagles punted the ball away, and Kansas City took over at the Chiefs’ 34-yard line.
The Chiefs’ offense continued to hum as they marched straight down the field on just three plays. A penalty on the Eagles helped move the Chiefs into the Eagles’ territory before another pass to Travis Kelce moved the ball inside the 25-yard line. Philadelphia finally stopped the Chiefs in the next series to force a Harrison Butker field goal. Butker hooked the field goal attempt and bounced it off the uprights. The score remained 7-7, and the Eagles took over at Philadelphia’s 32-yard line with less than two minutes to play in the 1st quarter.
2nd Quarter
The Eagles pushed the ball to midfield in the final minute of the 1st quarter. On the very first play of the 2nd quarter, good protection allowed Jalen Hurts all day in the pocket to find an open receiver. He loaded up and launched the football 45 yards deep down the field. WR AJ Brown beat the coverage and hauled in the pass for an Eagles’ touchdown. Philadelphia took the lead with 14:52 remaining in the 2nd quarter, 14-7.
After forcing another Kansas City punt, the Eagles seemed unstoppable after they drove into the Chiefs’ territory at the 47-yard line. Kansas City tackled Gainwell short of the line to gain on 2nd down to bring out the quarterback sneak that scored Philly’s first touchdown. A false start before the snap pushed the Eagles back into their territory for a 3rd and 5-yards to go. On 3rd down, Hurts lost control of the football and fumbled at the Eagles’ 44-yard line. Kansas City’s Nick Bolton scooped up the loose football and returned the fumble to the house for a touchdown. The Chiefs tied the game 14-14 with 9:39 remaining in the 2nd quarter.
Philadelphia rolled the dice on their ensuing possession following the fumble. Faced with a 4th and 5-yards to go at the Chiefs’ 44-yard line, the Eagles went for it. Jalen Hurts ran a quarterback draw to take advantage of the heavy pass rush presented by the Chiefs. Hurts broke a tackle behind the line to gain before carrying the ball 28 yards to the Chiefs' 16-yard line. Kansas City forced another 4th down before the Eagles tricked the Chiefs into a penalty before the snap. Jalen Hurts scored one play later on a 4-yard touchdown run. The Eagles regained the lead with 2:20 remaining in the 2nd quarter, 21-14.
The Eagles forced a three-and-out on the Chiefs' following drive. On 3rd and 15, Philly forced Mahomes to scramble and tackled him from behind. Mahomes's bad ankle got caught up in the tackle, and the NFL MVP hobbled off the field. After an electric punt return on 4th down, the Eagles took over at Philadelphia’s 47-yard line with 1:33 to go in the first half.
Jalen Hurts orchestrated the hurry-up offense beautifully with so little time remaining. The Eagles managed to drive the football to Kansas City’s 17-yard line with four seconds to play. K Jake Elliot nailed the 35-yard field goal as time expired, and Philly headed to the locker room up 24-14.
3rd Quarter
The Chiefs received the second-half kickoff and came out onto the field with a sense of urgency, down ten points. Patrick Mahomes assuaged any concerns over his injured ankle when he put together a 10-play, 75-yard drive for a touchdown. The Chiefs kept the ball on the ground for the majority of the drive, but Mahomes hit several key passes to keep the drive alive. Mahomes kept the ball himself on a 14-yard scramble to move the football inside the Eagles’ 5-yard line. Pacheco punched the ball in two plays later, and the Chiefs clawed back within three points, 24-21.
Philly responded to Pacheco’s touchdown with another field goal. The Chiefs’ defense finally got a stop after the Eagles converted another 4th and short in Kansas City’s territory. Hurts led a 17-play, 60-yard drive that took 7:45 off of the clock. Elliot hit a 33-yard field goal and led 27-24 with 1:45 left in the 3rd quarter.
4th Quarter
The Chiefs’ offense continued to roll on the ground as Isaiah Pacheco delivered punishing runs through the heart of Philly’s defense. Kansas City went on a 9-play, 75-yard drive to score another touchdown. Faced with a 3rd and 3-yards to go inside the 5-yard line, Mahomes found WR Kadarius Toney wide open in the flat for a 5-yard touchdown. The Chiefs took the lead for the first time all ballgame, 28-27.
Kansas City continued to roll with all the momentum as they forced the Eagles to punt on their ensuing possession. Kadarius Toney followed up his touchdown with an outstanding punt return. Toney weaved through defenders to make it to the near side of the field, where a convoy of Chiefs’ blockers escorted him 65 yards to the Eagles’ 4-yard line. The Eagles left rookie receiver Sky Moore wide open two plays later, and the Chiefs extend their lead 35-27 with 9:22 remaining in the 4th quarter.
The Eagles found themselves in a position where they had to regain momentum. Jalen Hurts answered the call. Hurts led the Eagles down the field on an 8-play, 75-yard drive to even the score. Hurts took a chance on 1st down at the Chiefs’ 47-yard line and launched another deep pass. Devonta Smith broke open down the field and hauled in the pass at the 2-yard line. Hurts punched the ball into the endzone on the next play to make the score 35-33. The Eagles went for two, and Hurts punched it in again. The Eagles tied the game 35-35 with 5:15 remaining in the 4th quarter.
Controversy entered the Super Bowl’s final two minutes when the referees called the Eagles for defensive holding on 3rd and 5-yards to go at Philadelphia’s 16-yard line. The Chiefs drove the length of the field, including a 26-yard run by Patrick Mahomes, before the Eagles stopped Kansas City. On 3rd down, Mahomes dropped back and lobbed a pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster. The pass fell to the turf incomplete, but a flag was thrown.
The defender looked to have held for a split second, but in that situation, a flag was a horrible way to decide a winner. The Chiefs got the first down and kicked a field goal after running the clock down to 11 seconds. The Eagles had one last gasp but did not get even close to the endzone. The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl for the second time in four years, 38-35.
Patrick Mahomes
(Credit: twitter.com/@NFL)
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