Cooper DeJean, Josh Sweat, and the Philadelphia Eagles’ relentless defense dominated Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs, denying them a historic Super Bowl three-peat.
DeJean delivered a pick-6 on his 22nd birthday, Sweat wreaked havoc on Mahomes, and the Eagles routed Kansas City 40-22 on Sunday to capture their second Super Bowl championship.
Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another on a signature tush push, earning Super Bowl MVP honors. Vic Fangio’s defense was so dominant that the Eagles barely needed Saquon Barkley, who finished with 57 rushing yards while breaking Terrell Davis’s record for most rushing yards in a single season, including playoffs. Hurts totaled 221 passing yards.
“This is the ultimate team game. You can’t be great without the greatness of others. Great performance by everybody—offense, defense, special teams,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “We didn’t really ever care what anyone thought about how we won or their opinions. All we want to do is win.”
With Donald Trump making history as the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl, the Eagles outclassed Kansas City in every aspect, electrifying a pro-Philly crowd that roared with every score, chanting the iconic “Fly! Eagles! Fly!”
Not even Taylor Swift’s presence could spark Kansas City. The Chiefs lost for the first time in 10 games this season with the pop superstar in attendance, as Kelce failed to make a single catch until late in the third quarter.
Kansas City fans could never have imagined such a collapse. The Chiefs, who had won three of the previous five Super Bowls, last suffered a lopsided defeat in the big game when Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers crushed them 31-9 four years ago.
Mahomes was 8-0 against Fangio-coached defenses before the veteran coordinator, now leading his hometown Eagles, outmaneuvered Andy Reid to cap his first season with a title. Reid dropped to 3-3 in Super Bowls, including a prior loss with Philadelphia.
The Eagles defense sacked Mahomes six times—the most of his career—including 2.5 by Sweat, all without Fangio dialing up a single blitz.
“Defense wins championships,” Hurts said. “We saw how they played today. We saw the difference they made in the game. They gave us opportunities, gave us short fields. And we were able to do what we do.”
Barkley, the 2024 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year, had only 31 rushing yards in the first half as Philadelphia raced to a commanding 24-0 lead.
Kansas City aimed to become the third team in NFL history to win three consecutive championships and the first to do so in the Super Bowl era.
Hurts nearly led Philadelphia to victory against Kansas City two years ago, but Mahomes orchestrated a late comeback to secure a 38-35 win. Mahomes also led Kansas City to an overtime victory over San Francisco last year for back-to-back titles.
This time, a retooled Eagles defense featuring eight new starters from the 2022 squad ensured Mahomes had no room for heroics.
“Today was a rough day all around. Nothing went right. I didn’t coach well. Proud of our guys for fighting. We will learn from this,” Reid said. “Too many turnovers, too many penalties. Against a good football team, can’t do that.”
Sirianni, who once faced calls for his firing and national ridicule, silenced critics by securing a championship ring, adding to his impressive coaching résumé that already includes the fifth-best winning percentage in NFL history.
With nearly three minutes remaining, Sirianni was drenched in Gatorade as backup quarterback Kenny Pickett closed out the game.
Barkley helped push Hurts into the end zone from the 1-yard line to put Philadelphia up 7-0 in the first quarter.
Leading 10-0 after Jake Elliott’s 48-yard field goal, Sweat and Jalyx Hunt sacked Mahomes on consecutive plays. Mahomes then threw an errant pass that DeJean intercepted and returned 38 yards for a 17-0 lead—Mahomes’ first pick-6 in 21 career playoff games, snapping a streak of 297 passes without an interception.
“We didn’t start how we wanted to. The turnovers hurt. I take all the blame for that,” Mahomes said. “I didn’t play to my standard.”
All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun intercepted Mahomes again late in the second quarter, and Hurts capitalized by hitting A.J. Brown for a 12-yard touchdown, pushing the Eagles’ lead to 24-0.
Hurts then delivered a perfect 46-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith, making it 34-0 late in the third.
Mahomes connected on a 24-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy to avoid a shutout, though the two-point attempt failed. He added two late touchdowns, one to DeAndre Hopkins and another to Worthy, but they had little impact on the outcome.
After weeks of controversy over officiating and claims of favoritism toward Kansas City—allegations NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell dismissed as “ridiculous”—officiating decisions continued to stir debate. A 32-yard fourth-down pass from Hurts to Brown was negated by an offensive pass interference call. Fox analyst Tom Brady and officiating expert Mike Pereira questioned the call, though Brown did make contact with Trent McDuffie’s facemask.
On the next possession, the Eagles benefitted from an unnecessary roughness penalty on McDuffie against Dallas Goedert, setting up a 27-yard Hurts pass to Jahan Dotson to the 1-yard line. Hurts scored on the next play.
Hurts’ streak of 217 consecutive pass attempts without an interception ended in the first half, but Kansas City failed to capitalize.
The Green Bay Packers remain the only NFL team to win three straight championships, accomplishing the feat twice (1929-31, 1965-67).
The last major American professional team to three-peat was the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, from 2000-02.
Source: Swifteradio.com
