SUPER BOWL

offenses and it didn’t take long into the game for the Chiefs and Eagles to remind everyone why they finished the regular season ranked as the No. 1 and No. 3 offenses, respectively.

Philadelphia took the opening kickoff and cut through the Chiefs’ defense with a methodical 11-play, 75-yard drive. Hurts and wide receiver DeVonta Smith connected three times on the drive for 41 yards, and Hurts capped off the drive with 1-yard quarterback sneak to give the Eagles a short-lived 7-0 lead.

The Chiefs responded in kind, rolling over the vaunted Eagles defense with a rapid strike 6-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. Mahomes finished the possession with an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce, who got behind Eagles safety Marcus Epps with a slick double move. Epps slipped on the first cut, and Mahomes threw a gorgeous pass over Kelce’s left shoulder to tie the game at 7-7. Rookie running back Isiah Pacheco contributed three carries for 29 yards, including a bruising 24-yard run, during the drive.

Kansas City took over after a stalled Eagles drive and embarked on a promising drive, but Butker missed a 42-yard field goal, which would’ve given the Chiefs a 7-0 lead.

Hurts and the Eagles offense made the Chiefs pay for the missed field goal, which gave Philadelphia good field position. The Eagles needed just six plays to get in the end zone, as Hurts threw a 45-yard pass to wide receiver A.J. Brown in the end zone. Brown beat rookie cornerback Trent McDuffie on the play to give the Eagles a 14-7 lead.

The Chiefs offense sputtered on their next possession, going three-and-out. Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton put some life back in the team after he scooped up a Hurts fumble and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown to tie the game once again at 14-14.

The Chiefs offense, however, sputtered throughout the first half, while the Eagles closed out the first half with a 10-point scoring burst.

Hurts shredded the Chiefs with his legs on the Eagles’ fifth possession, breaking through the Chiefs’ defensive line with a 28-yard gain on a fourth-and-5 play to put the Eagles at the Chiefs’ 16-yard line. Chiefs defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi was flagged for a neutral zone infraction with the Eagles facing a fourth-and-2 at the 8-yard line to give the Eagles a first down, and Hurts punched it in on the next play from 4 yards out to push Philadelphia’s lead to 21-14 lead.

Eagles kicker Jake Elliott’s 35-yard field goal provided Philadelphia a 24-14 halftime lead.