Kansas City Chiefs Take Super Bowl Victory (Again)
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For the second time in four years, the Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champions. Led to victory again by the league’s MVP, Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs narrowly defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 Sunday night.
The Chiefs stumbled in the first half of the game, and Mahomes appeared to aggravate an ankle injury that has pestered him this post-season. However, after returning from halftime, the Chiefs rallied and scored on every drive, tying things up at 35-35 with only two minutes on the clock. Then, a fateful holding call made the difference and gave the Chiefs a chance to run the clock down before kicking a game-deciding field goal.
Any retelling of this Super Bowl will need to focus on the resurgence of the Chiefs in the second half. After stumbling early in the contest, the capable Chiefs showed what dynasties are made of and secured a tight but impressive win over the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies.
“It was just all heart. We knew we didn’t play our best in the first half,” said Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. He noted that many of the team’s rookie players were overwhelmed with the scenario and played uncharacteristically poorly early, “and we were just able to regroup at halftime and figure it out.”
Just focusing on the final score would be a mistake, too, though. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts broke several records Sunday night, including rushing for three touchdowns. That’s the most QB touchdowns in Super Bowl history. He also broke another record by notching 70 rushing yards, the most of any QB in the post-season’s final game.
“Jalen played the best game I’ve seen him play in the two years we’ve been together,” Nick Sirianni, the Philadelphia Eagles head coach, told reporters after the match. “I really thought he was in complete control. He did things with his legs in the [running] game, he did things with his arm in the [passing] game, made some unbelievable throws, unbelievable reads. I thought he played outstanding.”
In a controversial call with only two minutes left in the game, the officials flagged Eagles cornerback James Bradberry for holding Chiefs player JuJu Smith-Schuster, giving the Chiefs enough time to run the clock down before landing the field goal that made the final difference in the contest.
And, while some fans resented the call, Bradberry himself admitted that he was holding and hoped the officials would “let it slide”. Now, with the Chiefs having won two of the last four Super Bowls, and making it all the way to another, it’s time to ask the question: are they a proper NFL dynasty now?