Kansas City hoists the Lombardi trophy for the second time in the last four seasons.
Super Bowl 57 was a tale of two halves as the Chiefs exploded scoring on all of their second half possessions. In the first half, the biggest play was a defensive touchdown by Nick Bolton. The worst moment of the first half is when Mahomes re-injured his ankle. While Chiefs Kingdom went back into ankle watch mode, Kansas City came out in the second half an unstoppable machine.
Mahomes would finish the game with an underwhelming overall stat line but his play on the field left nothing to be desired. Mahomes threw for 182 yards and three touchdowns. His 44 yards on the ground included a huge 26-yard run to get the Chiefs in field goal range that would ultimately give the Chiefs the lead with eight seconds left in the game.
The Chiefs’ offensive line was a big reason why the Chiefs were able to stay in this game despite the offensive woes, in the first half. The touted Eagles defensive line did not sack Mahomes a single time. This Eagles’ defensive line was on a historic pace. The only team in NFL history that had more sacks than the 2022 Eagles was the 1985 Chicago Bears.
The Chiefs were even able to run the ball effectively against the Eagles. Isiah Pacheco finished the game with 76 yards, on 15 carries and a touchdown. He broke out a key 24-yard run and was a dependable guy to move the chains.
No single player, including Patrick Mahomes, had a great stat line but this was a team win for Kansas City. Notable players include Juju Smith-Schuster who was a key player in the second half and caught four balls in a row. Travis Kelce was the leading receiver for the Chiefs and was Mahomes’ safety blanket. Kadarius Toney had one of the biggest plays on the day when he returned a punt for 65 yards, the longest punt in Super Bowl history. Toney would be able to finish the drive by catching the first of two walk-in touchdowns by Kansas City.
The Chiefs’ rookie class had multiple key plays in this game. Skyy Moore’s single reception was a four-yard catch to score a touchdown. This play was beautifully schemed up. Moore was lined on the left side of the field by himself with three receivers to the right of Mahomes. Moore was sent into motion and when he got behind Orlando Brown the ball was snapped. Moore stuck his foot in the ground and went out in the flat to catch the ball in the flat to walk into the end zone. His touchdowns gave the Chiefs their first lead of the game.
Linebacker Leo Chenal had one of the Chiefs’ two sacks on the day and ended the day with six tackles, Trent McDuffie, Joshua Williams, and Jaylen Watson were all over the Eagles’ wide receivers.
Even players who had little impact on the stat line still had a big impact on the game. Frank Clark officially had only one tackle on the day but was causing havoc for the Eagles. He forced multiple incomplete passes when he broke through the Philadelphia offensive line and chased Jalen Hurts out of the pocket.
The Super Bowl win caps off one of the best seasons in NFL history. Mahomes is the first QB since 1999 to win Super Bowl and regular season MVP. The first QB to win the Super Bowl and lead the league in passing. This game expands Mahomes’ legacy and sets the Chiefs up for a real chance to have the best run in NFL history. One might say a dynasty is born
