One of the most beautiful Super Bowls in history was played on Sunday in Glendale (Arizona), a few kilometers from Phoenix. And it was the Kansas City Chiefs who won (38-35) against the Philadelphia Eagles, who were slightly favorites at the start of the match. All the ingredients for a super final have been brought together: a rain of touchdowns, excellent quarterbacks and, to conclude, a decisive field goal scored in the dying seconds, to allow Kansas City to win its third Super Bowl, after those from 1970 and 2020.
And yet the Philadelphia Eagles have long held the meeting. They opened the scoring, from their first ball possession, on a touchdown from Jalen Hurts (7-0), their quarterback, as good at throwing a pass as running with the ball in hand. But Kansas City reacted immediately, also on its first possession. Patrick Mahomes, the prodigious quarterback of the Chiefs, voted NFL regular season MVP, has found Travis Kelce, his favorite target, to allow his team to equalize (7-7).
Mahomes shot in the ankle
The Missouri franchise could have taken the lead late in the first quarter, but Harrison Butker, the kicker, saw his field goal be pushed back by the post. Then this Super Bowl just went crazy. Hurts served a superb long pass from 45 yards for AJ Brown, his No. 1 receiver, who mystified the Kansas City defense (14-7). And, while the Chiefs were struggling in attack, the Eagles allowed them to revive.
Jalen Hurts lost the ball, immediately recovered by Nick Bolton, the opposing linebacker, who spun into the end zone and gave his team an equalizer (14-14). But more was needed to destabilize Philadelphia. A few minutes later, Hurts corrected his mistake, by scoring a new touchdown. And, thanks to a field goal from Jake Elliott, the Pennsylvania team returned to the locker room at the break, with a ten-point lead (24-14).
For the Kansas City Chiefs, nothing was going well. And above all, shivers started to run through the team. Patrick Mahomes, whose right ankle had been suffering for three weeks and suffered a shock in a play-off match, suffered a tackle on which said ankle bent again. Mahomes had to leave his partners and was seen grimacing on the bench.
Toney: two shock actions
But, on returning from the locker room, the brilliant quarterback was well on the ground. And the Chiefs immediately went on the attack. They were rewarded by a touchdown from runner Isiah Pacheco (24-21), a player who discovered the NFL this season. The Philadelphia Eagles only reacted with a field goal from Jake Elliott (27-21), and got a little scared: the runner Miles Sanders lost the ball, recovered by Nick Bolton, who still spun towards the in-goal to score. But, after having appealed to the video, the referees requalified the action as an incomplete pass, thus canceling the points scored by Bolton.
Not enough to bring down Kansas City. As the last quarter began, the Chiefs finally took the lead on the scoreboard (28-27), Patrick Mahomes serving wide receiver Kadarius Toney – a player who arrived during the season from the New York Giants – who was completely forgotten by the defenders of Philadelphia. On the following offensive sequence, the Eagles could not do better than a punt, and the same Toney shone, returning this punt from a distance of 65 yards, failing at the gates of in-goal .
It was enough for Kansas City to widen the gap (35-27), on a touchdown pass from Mahomes to Skyy Moore, another rookie player, also neglected by the opposing defense. And, for once, Philadelphia found itself under pressure. But Jalen Hurts’ nerves held firm, and the Eagles quarterback scored his third touchdown of the evening, before successfully converting by hand, to allow his team to come back to score (35-35).
The MVP trophy for Mahomes
Still, at the level of the clock, the Chiefs could make the difference, by managing the time well. There were only five minutes left to play. In their progress towards in-goal, Patrick Mahomes and his team-mates were helped by a penalty whistle against the Eagles for a holding, in this case, on this action, a defender who hindered an opponent who was aiming for a reception from the ball. Kansas City thus obtained a new series of attempts and was able to get as close as possible to the in-goal.
With eight seconds left to play, Harrison Butker did not miss the field goal who gave the Super Bowl to his team. Three years after its last title, Kansas City reigns over the NFL once again. It’s a second crown for Patrick Mahomes, who has confirmed he is the star of the pro league, as well as coach Andy Reid and tight end Travis Kelce (whose older brother Jason played for the Eagles). .
With 21 completed passes out of 27 for a gain of 182 yards and above all three touchdowns, Mahomes was elected MVP of this Super Bowl. At 27, he became the seventh player to have won the fantastic Super Bowl – NFL MVP – Super Bowl MVP treble in a single season (after Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Emmitt Smith, Steve Young and Kurt Warner). More than ever, the best player of the moment is him. And the Kansas City Chiefs are now the dynasty in vogue.