by (CNN) The Kansas City Chiefs won their second Super Bowl in four seasons, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 on Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes seemed to get over his ankle injury’s re-acceleration in the first half and rallied the Chiefs to a second-half win that puts the team on “dynasty” talk.
The Chiefs also won the Super Bowl in 2020 and reached the title game in 2021.
Mahomes threw three touchdown passes to three receivers, Isiah Pacheco ran for a score, and linebacker Nick Bolton hit on a fumble return. Kicker Harrison Butker scored the winning 27-yard field goal with 8 seconds remaining.
“It was just lifeblood. We knew we didn’t do our best in the first half,” said tight end Travis Kelcie as Kansas City scored on every drive after the break. He said some players played uncharacteristically in the first half given the magnitude of the moment.
“And we were just able to regroup at half-time and figure it out. In that second half we just flew around.”
Here are some of the highlights from the biggest day in US esports.
Mahomes plays through pain
While the rest of the audience loved Rihanna’s halftime performance, Kansas City fans were sweating it out.
Mahomes, who suffered a serious sprained ankle in his right leg against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Jan. 21, appeared to injure the same ankle late in the first half. With just over 90 seconds left at halftime, Mahomes climbed to third and 15th when linebacker TJ Edwards grabbed him around his ankles. Mahomes stayed down for an uncomfortably long time after the duel for Chiefs fans.
Mahomes hopped to the sidelines, winced in pain on the bench, and briefly laid his head on a staffer’s shoulder. The Chiefs did not return to the field at halftime.
However, the 27-year-old quarterback didn’t look too hurt as he ran off the field at halftime.
At halftime, Mahomes was 8 of 13, passing for 89 yards and had two rushes for 11 yards.
Patrick Mahomes limped after being tackled by Philadelphia Eagles linebacker TJ Edwards in the second quarter.
The youngest quarterback to start three Super Bowls made Chiefs fans feel a lot better on the second-half first drive and led his team to a touchdown drive that included an important 14-yard streak .
On the game-winning drive, Mahomes had another crucial rush for 26 yards that put the winners in field goal position. TV replays showed Mahomes wincing as he got up to go back into the group.
“Well, he’s the MVP,” said Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. “That’s all that needs to be said. … And he showed it tonight.”
And Mahomes will add the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award to his trophy case following his outstanding performance on Sunday.
Philadelphia QB Jalen Hurts has a great game, only with one major error
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was brilliant, rushing to a Super Bowl quarterback record of three touchdowns and 70 rushing yards, another record. And his two-point conversion across the floor made it 35-35. He has also passed for a score and completed 27 of 38 passes for 304 yards.
“Jalen played the best game I’ve seen him play in the two years we’ve been together,” said Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni. “I really thought he was in complete control. He did things with his legs in the running game, he did things with his arm in the passing game, made some incredible throws, incredible reads. I thought he played superbly.”
AJ Brown had a 45-yard touchdown catch and Jake Elliott kicked two field goals.
But no doubt Hurts will regret a fumble that just slipped from his hands.
It was the first Eagles fumble of the postseason, and it briefly cost the NFC champions some momentum at a crucial point in the second quarter.
Linebacker Nick Bolton of the Kansas City Chiefs puts pressure on Jalen Hurts just before the Eagles quarterback fumbled.
As the Eagles raced for a score that would give them two possessions, Hurts ran to the right as he let the ball slip out of his hands at Eagles ’44. The ball made a nice bounce and was picked up by Kansas City linebacker Nick Bolton at 36, who slid untouched into the end zone. At 9:39 it was again 14:14.
To his credit, Hurts shrugged off the error almost immediately and got those points back on the next ride.
On the 12th play of the ensuing drive, Hurts ran for his second touchdown of the game, slicing through the Chiefs defense from 4 yards. That and the extra point made it 21-14 with 2:20 at halftime.
This year’s controversial penalty
It never fails; Every big game — heck, almost every game, every period — has a disputed penalty or missed call factored into the score. And the Super Bowl ended in a tie with just under two minutes left.
Mahomes aimed a pass for JuJu Smith-Schuster, who sailed over the Chiefs wide receiver into the Eagles’ end zone. It seemed like the Chiefs would have to kick a field goal and the Eagles would get the ball back with enough time on the clock to possibly get a shot on goal.
But the flag came out and an official said Philadelphia defense attorney James Bradberry was guilty as Smith-Schuster made his move to go open.
Rather than being forced to kick a field goal off the 22, a new set of downs allowed the Chiefs to tick off valuable time and get closer to the game-winning kick.
Many Eagles fans hated the call, and other people thought even if it was technically correct, it was being picky at a momentous time in a momentous game.
“On that stage, I think you let them play, end that thing,” said Fox broadcaster Greg Olsen, a former star tight end. “I don’t like this call.”
But the network’s rules expert Mike Pereira said: “I think you have to see the whole thing. It seemed to me on the first break that he grabbed the back of the shirt and pulled at it. If we see that, I think that it is so.” a stop.”
Damar Hamlin becoming super fan, says he’s aiming for a return to the field
The Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin was able to fulfill a dream by making it to the Super Bowl – albeit as a fan, not a player. But it was heartwarming to see the 24-year-old, who nearly died on the pitch last month while enjoying the big game.
In a pre-game interview with Super Bowl broadcaster Fox, the security sophomore said he wanted to return to a football field at some point but was grateful to be given a second chance at life.
“Ultimately, that is always the goal. Like I said, I’m trying to do things to further advance my situation. But I leave that in God’s hands. I’m just grateful he gave me a second chance,” he told Michael Strahan.
Hamlin collapsed after making a tackle in the first quarter of the Bills-Bengals game on January 2. Doctors and coaches gave Hamlin CPR on the field and he was wheeled out of the stadium in an ambulance, leaving players, coaches, fans and spectators on TV in shock, unsure if he was alive. Experts credit the workers at the scene with saving Hamlin’s life after he went into cardiac arrest.
Hamlin said the hardest part of the experience was processing his emotions.
“In a way, I like my privacy, but you know, this situation kind of put me out there, which in a way is a good thing because I really feel like I stand for so much good,” he said . “I want to be a good example for … communities around the world. There is a reason for everything.”
During the game, Hamlin could be seen in the commissioner’s box seated with Donna Kelce, who had a son who played for each team, and Roger Goodell.
He later posted a photo with LeBron James.
CNN’s Homero De la Fuente and David Close contributed to this report.
