SUNDAY FEB 12– Super Bowl LVII between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs was a game full of excitement and incredible football. The game ended with Kansas City beating Philadelphia by a score of 38-35.

The Eagles entered the Super Bowl as the NFC’s No.1 seed with an offense that had been flying high all year. Led by MVP finalist quarterback (QB) Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia had racked up a record of 16-3 and averaged a league-high 34.6 points per game in the playoffs. 

Going into the Super Bowl, Philadelphia expected to be able to impose their will on the Kansas City defense, and did exactly that from the first drive, when Hurts scored his first of three rushing touchdowns on the night, tying a Super Bowl record. Led primarily by Hurts and All-Pro receiver AJ Brown, Philadelphia jumped out to an early advantage and went into the halftime locker room leading by a score of 24-14. 

Philadelphia’s defense—spearheaded by a secondary of two All-Pro cornerbacks, James Bradberry IV and Darius Slay Jr.—had been locking opposing offenses down all year. The Eagles continued this streak, holding the AFC champion Chiefs to seven offensive points in the entire first half. It also did not help Kansas City that right before halftime, superstar QB Patrick Mahomes reaggravated a high ankle sprain on his right foot. 

After getting his ankle rolled in a tackle— by Eagles linebacker TJ Edwards on a run late in the second quarter—Mahomes came up in serious pain and was hobbling very gingerly to the sideline. Immediately, concern about Mahomes’ second half availability spread throughout Kansas City’s sideline and all over social media. Sure enough, when the second half whistle blew, Mahomes took the field.

Mahomes entered the second half and immediately made an impact. On the Chiefs’ first drive of the second half, the MVP drove his team all the way down and scored to cut the Philadelphia lead to three. The Eagles then drained most of the third quarter clock and added a field goal, extending the lead to six. 

This was the turning point in the game; Philadelphia’s explosive offense was cooling off and Kansas City was just starting to get hot. Kansas City scored a touchdown to take the lead, and the Chiefs’ next drive ended in a touchdown as well. This completely swung the momentum of the game and gave them the lead at 35-27. At this point, it seemed as if  the Chiefs were well on their way to another championship.

Enter Hurts. Known for being calm and collected in any situation on the field, Hurts led his star-studded offense onto the field with 9:22 left in the fourth quarter. In a must-score drive, Hurts did not miss a throw, going 3/3 for 63 yards and a rushing touchdown coupled with a game-tying two-point conversion. 

At 35-35 with five minutes left in the game, The Kansas City offense came onto the field and drove down 66 yards to set up kicker Harrison Butker for a game-winning field goal. Butker calmly knocked the kick through the uprights, making the Kansas City Chiefs the champions of Super Bowl LVII. Mahomes, now a two-time Super Bowl champion, was awarded Super Bowl MVP for his incredible performance on virtually one leg. 

The Philadelphia Eagles, a fairly young team with promising talent all across the board, could have several positions to fill on the defensive side of the ball once free agency comes and players leave, but will certainly be a force to be reckoned with either way in the talented NFC next season.

On the flip side, Kansas City has now officially established themselves as the best team in the NFL and does not appear to be slowing down soon. With Mahomes under contract for the next eight seasons, there is no telling how far the team can go in the coming years.