NEW ORLEANS — Yo Philly: Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni are world champions.
A ferocious Philadelphia Eagles defense tormented and
frustrated Patrick Mahomes while Hurts made all the plays the offense needed.
So much for the Kansas City Chiefs' quest for a Super Bowl
three-peat.
It wasn't even close.
Cooper DeJean got a pick-6 on his 22nd birthday, Josh Sweat
pressured Mahomes all night and the Eagles routed the Chiefs 40-22 on Sunday to
secure the franchise's second Super Bowl championship.
Hurts threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score on a tush
push to earn Super Bowl MVP honors, and Vic Fangio's defense was so dominant
that the Eagles didn't need much from Saquon Barkley.
The game-changing running back finished with 57 yards,
breaking Terrell Davis' record for yards rushing in a season, playoffs
included. Hurts threw for 221 yards.
“This is the ultimate team game. You can't be great without
the greatness of others. Great performance by everybody — offense, defense,
special teams,” Sirianni said. “We didn't really ever care what anyone thought
about how we won, or their opinions. All we want to do is win.”
Hurts has been doubted since he started for Alabama in a
national championship game and was benched for Tua Tagovailoa at halftime.
Finishing second to Mahomes in MVP voting two years ago didn't quite silence
all the detractors. Now, he's hoisted the Vince Lombardi trophy.
Sirianni, who mocked fans chanting “Fire Nick!” during a
victory over Cleveland in October and was called a “clown” on national
television, also quieted critics by adding a championship ring to a coaching
resume that includes the fifth-best winning percentage in league history.
With Donald Trump becoming the first president in office to
attend a Super Bowl, the Eagles outplayed Kansas City in every facet,
delighting a raucous pro-Philly crowd that celebrated each score with a
familiar rendition of “Fly! Eagles! Fly!”
Even Taylor Swift's presence couldn't help the Chiefs. They
lost for the first time in 10 games this season with the pop superstar in a
suite watching boyfriend Travis Kelce, who didn't catch a pass until late in
the third quarter.
Not in Kansas City's worst nightmares could its fans have
imagined such a lackluster performance. The Chiefs had won three of the
previous five Super Bowls, losing 31-9 to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers four years ago.
Mahomes was 8-0 against Fangio's defenses before the
longtime coordinator and former Broncos head coach outcoached Andy Reid,
capping his first season with his hometown team. Reid fell to 3-3 in Super
Bowls, including a loss with the Eagles.
The Eagles sacked Mahomes six times, the most of his career,
including 2 1/2 by Sweat and two by Milton Williams. And they did it without
Fangio calling a single blitz.
Barkley, the 2024 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year, only
had 31 yards rushing in the first half when Philly built a 24-0 lead.
The Chiefs were aiming to become the third team in NFL
history to win three straight championships and the first to three-peat in the
Super Bowl era. Two years ago, Mahomes led a comeback and Harrison Butker
kicked the game-winning field goal in the final minute for a 38-35 victory over
the Eagles. Mahomes rallied Kansas City to an overtime victory over San
Francisco last year.
“That's a great football team and we had to come out and
play our best, and we did,” Sirianni said.
This time, a revamped Philly defense featuring eight new
starters from the 2022 team made sure Mahomes had no chance to pull off his
magic.
Sirianni was showered with Gatorade with nearly three
minutes left in the game while backup QB Kenny Pickett took snaps in mop-up
duty.
“Today was a rough day all around. Nothing went right. I
didn't coach well. Proud of our guys for fighting. We will learn from this,”
Reid said. “Too many turnovers, too many penalties. Against a good football
team, can't do that.”
Barkley helped push Hurts into the end zone from the 1 to
give Philadelphia a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
Up 10-0 after Jake Elliott's 48-yard field goal, Sweat and
Jalyx Hunt sacked Mahomes on consecutive plays. Mahomes then rolled out and
made an errant throw that was picked by DeJean, who returned it 38 yards for a
17-0 lead.
It was Mahomes' first pick-6 in 21 career playoff games and
ended a streak of 297 straight passes without an interception.
“We didn't start how we wanted to. The turnovers hurt. I
take all the blame for that,” Mahomes said.
All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun picked Mahomes again late in
the second quarter, and Hurts connected with A.J. Brown on a 12-yard TD pass
for a 24-0 lead.
Hurts threw a perfect 46-yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith to
make it 34-0 late in the third.
Mahomes fired a 24-yard TD pass to Xavier Worthy to avoid
the shutout, but the 2-point conversion failed. He threw two late, mostly
meaningless TD passes, one to DeAndre Hopkins and another to Worthy.
After two weeks of discussions about questionable calls that
led to public perception that officials favor the Chiefs — a theory NFL
Commissioner Roger Goodell called “ridiculous” — the first penalty of the game
only fueled critics.
A 32-yard pass from Hurts to Brown to the Chiefs 18 on
fourth-and-2 was negated by a penalty for offensive pass interference. Brady,
now a Fox analyst, and officiating analyst Mike Pereira both disagreed with the
call, although Brown shoved Trent McDuffie's facemask.
