After an 18-week regular season and entertaining playoffs, we finally made it to the Super Bowl. Super Bowl LIX featured a familiar pairing at the Superdome in New Orleans. The Kansas City Chiefs made their third consecutive Super Bowl with a late (and controversial) win over the Buffalo Bills. Their quest for the “three-peat” could only be stopped by one team: the Philadelphia Eagles, the dominant force in the NFC all season long.
This is a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, which the Chiefs won on a late field goal. What will be seen this time? Could history be made, or will the dynasty end?
The opening drives from both teams did not go anywhere. However, it would be the Eagles who were able to make the first move of the game. Starting from their 31-yard line, the Philadelphia offense, led by Jalen Hurts, could move down to the Chiefs’ 28-yard line. Here, Hurts found Jahan Dotson for a touchdown pass. However, upon further review, it was ruled that Dotson was down at the one-yard line. This did not stop the Eagles’ offense, as Hurts found the endzone for the rushing touchdown to give Philadelphia the early lead.
But the Eagles’ next drive would be less successful. Hurts and company could go down to the Chiefs’ 30-yard line. Here, a mistake happened. Hurts threw a deep pass intended for AJ Brown, but this was intercepted by the Kansas City defense at the two-yard line. Luckily for the Eagles, the following drive from the Chiefs went nowhere, just as all of them in the game have.
Philly increased their lead on their next drive when kicker Jake Elliot made a field goal from 48 yards out.
It is finally time to talk about the other team in this game. So far, the Chiefs have not contributed whatsoever, bar the interception. However, on the next drive, the Chiefs would be able to get themselves involved. Starting on their 30-yard line, Patrick Mahomes was sacked twice, forcing the offense back to the 24-yard line. Here, he threw an interception, with his pass being intercepted by Cooper DeJean for a pick-six touchdown.
A few drives later, the usually strong Mahomes would make another mistake. On his six-yard line, his pass was again intercepted by the Eagles. Two plays later, and Hurts found Brown for a 12-yard touchdown pass.
This meant the Eagles had a 24-0 lead over the Chiefs at halftime.
After Kendrick Lamar had finished hyping the audience up for the one song of his everyone knows, the football action was set to return.
The Chiefs had the second half’s opening drive, but as with every single drive they had in the first half, it went nowhere. This is somewhat surprising considering the kind of team the Chiefs have been for the last two seasons, but this year, they have struggled and have only won games on last-second plays (and help from the referees if you believe the conspiracies). It is no surprise that they would struggle when faced with a powerful team like the Eagles.
Philly extended their lead to 27 points on their first drive in the second half when Elliot found the uprights from 29 yards out. This lead became even larger on their next drive. Hurts found DeVonta Smith for a 46-yard touchdown pass. This score meant that Smith became the first Alabama Crimson Tide player to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl.
Late in the third quarter, we finally saw some offense from the Chiefs. Starting from their 10-yard line, Mahomes and company were able to make their way down to the Eagles’ 24-yard line. Here, the quarterback found Xavier Worthy for the touchdown. As with Smith’s touchdown, history was made, as Worthy became the first Texas Longhorn to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl. A successful two-point conversion to follow meant that the Chiefs avoided being shut out.
The Eagles responded with another score, as Elliot kicked another field goal. Then, Mahomes was again sacked and fumbled the ball. This was then scooped up by the Eagles defense, and a few plays later, Elliot kicked another field goal to seal what was known after the first quarter finished.
Mahomes would score two more touchdowns with the time remaining on the clock to show that he isn’t as washed up as the rest of his performance in the game may say. However, apart from personal pride, this meant nothing as the game was lost and had been lost for a while.
The Philadelphia Eagles had defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 to win Super Bowl LIX.
This was a one-sided affair, and it seemed Kansas City only turned up in the final quarter. By then, the game was over. The dominant display from the Eagles is a pure reflection of just how strong they were this season. However, it was their passing game that was on display today. For the rest of the season, Saquon Barkley helped the Eagles. Today (thankfully for us Giants fans), he was silenced.
This game could signify the end of the Chiefs dynasty. Their three-peat hopes have ended, and with Buffalo, Baltimore, Houston, and Cincinnati hot on their heels, this may be the last time we see the Chiefs at the Super Bowl for a few years.
Was it the best Super Bowl game of all time? No. The Eagles’ first win was a better game, with Super Bowl XLII still being the best of all time.
Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles, your Super Bowl Champions!
