Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Eagles fall short in Super Bowl 57
Bitter finish leaves Eagles in agony after Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs take classic Super Bowl 38-35 on late field goal
It was, inarguably, one of the most entertaining games in the history of the Super Bowl.
Not if you’re an Eagles fan, however.
Sealed with a late, controversial defensive holding call on cornerback James Bradberry, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs once again proved unstoppable in the second half, denying the Eagles of a second championship in six years with a late, 3835, win in front of a sellout crowd of 67,827 at State Farm Stadium.
Harrison Butker’s 27-yard field goal with eight seconds left proved to be the game-winner.
An MVP-type performance by Jalen Hurts was essentially wasted by a defense that, penalties aside, couldn’t stop the Chiefs when it mattered the most; the award eventually once again went to Mahomes for a second time after he led four straight successful second half drives despite re-injuring his badly sprained ankle.
Hurts tied or broke numerous records with an electric showing in which he threw for over 300 yards, had one passing touchdown and ran for three more, but was ultimately outdueled by Mahomes, who wins both his second MVP and Super Bowl in the last four years and finished 21-for-27 for 182 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, not to mention a crucial late run that helped them get the late lead.
Things looked promising for the Eagles early; as they kicked off the scoring on the first game’s first possession. After running back Kenneth Gainwell was ruled just short of the end zone, Hurts capped off an 11-play, 75-yard drive with a short touchdown run – one which made him the first quarterback to have three separate games to score on the ground in a single postseason – to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead just 4:51 into the game.
Kansas City came right back, however, setting the tone for what would be a back-and-forth display by both offenses for the majority of the duration of the half. The Chiefs needed just three minutes and 12 seconds to tie the game on their own first drive, when tight end Travis Kelce hauled in a perfectly thrown ball from Mahomes for an 18-yard scoring strike that knotted things up at 7-7, marking the first Super Bowl in 25 years where both teams scored a touchdown on their first possession.
Butker’s missed field goal after clanking a 42-yard attempt off the left upright on Kansas City’s next drive was a missed opportunity to give the Chiefs their first lead of the game, and momentum seemed to swing decidedly in the favor of the Eagles shortly thereafter, when A.J. Brown hauled in a 45-yard touchdown pass from Hurts on the first play of the second quarter for what was the longest pass TD in the Super Bowl since Jacoby Jones’ 56-yard scoring grab off the hand of Joe Flacco in 2013.
But, the momentum would
swing one more time, when Hurts inexplicably seemed to just drop the ball when scrambling, allowing Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton to pull off the 36-yard scoopand-score to once again pull Kansas City even at 14-14 with 9:39 left in the first half.
Derrick Nnadi’s crucial neutral zone infraction gave the Eagles late life on another extended drive, and Hurts capped it off with his second rushing touchdown of the day, accounting for 49 of the 75 yards gained on the possession with his legs. In doing so, he put himself in the record books again, becoming the first player in Super Bowl history with one or more passing touchdowns and two or more rushing touchdowns in the first half, as well as tying Jim McMahon’s 37-yearold record with two rushing scores by a quarterback.
After linebacker T.J. Edwards shut down the Chiefs last drive of the half with a tackle that seemed to re-injure the high ankle sprain of Patrick Mahomes, the Eagles seemed poised to break the game open after DeVonta Smith appeared to make a catch down the sideline that would have given Philly multiple chances in the red zone for six points, but the play was ultimately overturned, and they had to settle for a Jake Elliott field goal that gave them a 2414 lead going into halftime.
Rihanna’s lengthy performance at a halftime break that lasted nearly a half hour perhaps squashed some of the offensive momentum, albeit not right away. Mahomes used the time to allow his ankle to rest, and showed no ill effects in leading his team right back down the field on the first drive of the second half, wrapping up a 10-play, 75-yard drive with a handoff to rookie running back Isiah Pacheco for a one-yard scoring run.
While much of the buzz on social media shifted between what is or isn’t a catch and players from both teams having issues getting a solid footing on the league’s brandnew $800,000 grass field brought in for the game, it seemed things had quietly started to get away from the Eagles.
They again had to settle for an Elliott field goal to up their lead to 27-21 with 1:45 left in the third quarter, but the Chiefs turned it on after that, namely oft-injured but explosive receiver Kadarius Toney, whose fiveyard touchdown grab gave Kansas City their first lead of the game with just 12:04 left to play in regulation.
Toney’s Super Bowl record-setting 65-yard punt return the set the stage for a short touchdown pass to an as-wide-open-as-it-gets Skyy Moore on the left side of the field, and after Butker’s extra point gave the Chiefs an eight-point lead just 2:42 after the Toney score, it seemed Kansas City would turn on the jets and leave their opponent in their wake just as they’d done in Super Bowl 54 against the San Francisco 49ers. Not so fast. Hurts delivered yet again, finding a wide-open Smith for a 45-yard deep ball that got the Eagles down to the two-yard-line, and then ran it in himself to establish the new quarterback rushing touchdown record, and tied the all-time mark for any player with Terrell Davis, who accomplished the feat in Super Bowl 32. Not only that, Hurts followed it up by running in the twopoint conversion as well, leaving Mahomes and the Chiefs with 5:15 left to try to fire off the final dagger.
They did, but not without one final questionable moment of officiating; Bradberry appeared to offer no more contact or clutching than is seen on many play, but was called for a penalty on third down on an attempted Mahomes pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster that essentially let the Chiefs run out the clock for the win. With a chance to score a touchdown, Jerick McKinnon wisely slid down at the two-yard line to essentially seal the win and set the stage for Butker’s winning kick.