Super Bowl LIX was a legacy game for both quarterbacks for two very different reasons. Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, in search of his 4th Super Bowl ring and the first 3-peat this century, has been dubbed by various pundits as Tom Brady’s predecessor and could take his crown as the greatest to ever play the sport. Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts was out for vengeance after Mahomes ruined his Super Bowl debut back in 2023 and intended to join Tom Brady as the only quarterback to beat Mahomes in the Super Bowl.
Both teams’ offence was second to none, with the Chiefs boasting 34 Pro Bowl appearances, compared to Philly’s 18. This was the expected matchup all year, with both teams deserving the honour of playing in America’s biggest game.
After a lengthy national anthem sung by Jon Batiste, the Eagles received the kickoff. The Eagle’s first drive ended with wide receiver AJ Brown being called for pass interference after a clutch 4th down reception. KC came up next, with Mahomes linking with Juju Smith-Schuster for an 11-yard reception, but the Eagles held their own and forced the first of many punts for KC.
The Eagle’s next drive was perfection, a 20-yard reception downfield by tight end Dallas Goedert, and a 27-yard catch by Jahan Dotson brought the Eagles to the 1-yard line. Philadelphia’s infamous ‘tush push’ came through for them again, as they bulldozed their way into the endzone for 6. Jake Elliott kicked the extra point, and the Eagles took an early 1st quarter lead of 7-0. The first quarter ended after failed downs by KC, a recurring factor of this first half.
Kansas City’s rush defence has been exceptional all year, and they proved that once again with Eagles’ Pro Bowler running back Saquon Barkley rushing for his second least yards this season with 57. Hurts’ rush game, however, was remarkably clutch in this game. On 11 attempts, Hurts rushed for 5 1st downs and 72 yards, a Super Bowl record for a QB.
The advertisements didn’t disappoint, as Barry Keoghan appeared in a Squarespace ad, riding a donkey around the Cliffs of Moher, tossing laptops promoting small websites. Always great to see Irish representation on global stages!
The Chiefs started on the front foot in the 2nd quarter, with an interception by Bryan Cook on a Jalen Hurts deep ball under pressure towards the endzone. This was a pivotal moment for the Chiefs and should’ve sparked a comeback. Yet, KC’s next drive once again ended with a punt, after 10-time Pro Bowler Travis Kelce dropped a pass, uncharacteristic for such a historic Super Bowl performer.
After another clutch 3rd down conversion to AJ Brown, KC held Philadelphia to a field goal, which Jake Elliott popped over from 48 yards out. 10-0 to Philly with 10 minutes left in the half. Mahomes’s next drive was nightmare material. After being sacked twice on 1st and 2nd down, Mahomes threw an interception to the birthday boy and Eagles star rookie Cooper Dejean, who ran it to the house for another Eagles touchdown. Elliott once again converted, and the Eagles now had an outstanding 17-0 lead.
Not even 3 minutes later, Mahomes threw another interception, this time to Zack Baun on the KC 14-yard line, followed up with a 12-yard reception by AJ Brown in the endzone for the Eagles 3rd TD of the half, giving the Eagles a 24-0 lead at halftime, the 2nd largest lead at halftime in Super Bowl history.
Kendrick Lamar’s time had come, opening his halftime performance with ‘Squabble Up,’ singing his 5-time Grammy-winning ‘Not Like Us’ before closing with ‘TV Off’. Serena Williams, producer Mustard, and SZA were featured as Kendrick continues his victory lap on Drake. Celebrities were shown in attendance, including Anne Hathaway, Pete Davidson, and, of course, Taylor Swift.
KC totalled an abysmal 23 total yards and only 1 first down in the 1st half, which broke too many Super Bowl, Chiefs, and NFL records to even begin talking about.
Reminiscing about the Patriots’ 28-3 comeback against Atlanta, the game seemed far from over. Unfortunately for Mahomes, it wasn’t to be. After securing their 2nd 1st down of the game, Mahomes was immediately sacked on back-to-back plays. Philadelphia used the clock to their advantage, wasting 8 minutes on their next drive, ending it with another Jake Elliott field goal, extending the extortionate lead to 27. KC’s next drive wasn’t converted after a failed 4th & 5 from Mahomes.
Hurts, who hadn’t completed a deep throw all game, decided to unleash a 54-yard bomb to Devonte Smith in the endzone on the first play of their drive. This was the nail in the coffin for KC, as the Eagles leapfrogged out to a 34-0 lead with 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. After a collection of miraculous plays from Mahomes, including a 50-yard bullet to Xavier Worthy, who was found again in the endzone, the Chiefs were finally on the board, cutting the lead to 34-6.
The 4th quarter was a slugfest, as the winners were already decided by this point. Jake Elliott sealed the deal with 2 more field goals, giving Philly a 40-6 lead, before Mahomes found DeAndre Hopkins and Xavier Worthy in the endzone for touchdowns, making the score look somewhat respectable at 40-22, but don’t let the scoreboard fool you; this was sheer dominance from Philadelphia from the kickoff.
Jalen Hurts finished the game with 17 completions on 22 attempts for 221 yards and 2 throwing touchdowns. He topped this performance off by being named the Super Bowl MVP. The Eagle’s defence was the real MVP of this game, sacking Mahomes 6 times for a loss of 31 yards, intercepting 2 passes, and forcing 1 fumble. There was dismay for Mahomes and Kansas City, as Jalen Hurts has etched himself into Super Bowl history and the Lombardi trophy will spend the year in Philadelphia.
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