Eagles demolish Chiefs to deny them Super Bowl three-peat

The Philadelphia Eagles decisively defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22, shattering their dreams of an unprecedented Super Bowl three-peat. This marked the Chiefs' fifth Super Bowl appearance in the past six years, with much of the pre-game hype focusing on their potential to achieve this historic three-peat. Their quest was ultimately thwarted by a determined Eagles squad.

However, the Eagles utterly dominated the game in New Orleans, especially their defense, successfully avenging their Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs two years prior. Chiefs' star quarterback Patrick Mahomes was sacked six times and threw two interceptions, as the Eagles ruthlessly extinguished the Chiefs' bid for NFL immortality. The Eagles' defensive line proved to be too much for the Chiefs' offensive line to handle.

This marks the Eagles' second Super Bowl victory, their first coming in 2018. Although the Chiefs managed to relatively contain their star running back Saquon Barkley, quarterback Jalen Hurts stepped up, silencing those who questioned his passing ability with a sensational 46-yard touchdown pass, while also delivering a crushing defeat to the Chiefs. Hurts' performance cemented his status as a top-tier quarterback in the league.

This victory is a sweet revenge for the Eagles' 38-35 Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs two years ago, when Hurts performed admirably but ultimately came up short. "I’m able to take every experience and learn from it, good or bad, and use it as motivation. I can’t do nothing without the guys around me," he said during the Superdome celebrations. "Defense wins championships. We saw what they were able to do today. I’m still digesting it all. I’m eager to enjoy this with my family." Hurts' leadership and determination were evident throughout the game.

Donald Trump became the first sitting U.S. President to watch America's most important game, while Taylor Swift was also among the many celebrities in the Superdome, cheering on her boyfriend, Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce. However, he and the Chiefs never truly found their rhythm. They only managed one first down in the first half, and that was on their first drive. The Eagles scored first on their second drive, with Hurts scoring on their now-mastered and seemingly un-stoppable "tush push" play. Jake Elliott kicked a field goal on the Eagles' next drive, after which their defense took over, sacking Mahomes repeatedly, and on the next drive, Cooper DeJean turned an interception into a 38-yard touchdown. Mahomes had gone 298 passes without an interception, but just six drives later, he threw another one. That interception was right in front of his own end zone, leading to a touchdown by A.J. Brown. The Eagles added another field goal after halftime, before Hurts threw the ball over the middle to DeVonta Smith for a score worthy of the Super Bowl stage. The Eagles' dominance was clear on both sides of the ball.

No team has ever been shut out in the Super Bowl, but the Chiefs avoided that ignominy, with Mahomes throwing touchdown passes to Xavier Worthy and DeAndre Hopkins in the fourth quarter, with Elliott kicking two more field goals in between. Mahomes tossed a huge late touchdown to Worthy, but for the Chiefs, the game proved to be a bridge too far, even though they went further than any previous defending champion pursuing a Super Bowl three-peat. "Credit to the Eagles, they played better than us from start to finish," Mahomes said. "Obviously, the turnovers hurt – I have to take all the blame for that. Those early turnovers changed the momentum of the game, and they capitalized on them. It was like I gave them 14 points, and it's hard to come back from that in the Super Bowl. I just didn't play up to my standards, and I have to be better next time." Mahomes acknowledged the Eagles' superior performance and vowed to improve.