The Philadelphia Eagles demolished the Kansas City Chiefs to win 40-22 and deny them an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl win.
The Chiefs were playing in their fifth Super Bowl in six years and much of the pre-game hype focused on a potential three-peat.
But the Eagles utterly dominated in New Orleans, in particular their defence, to avenge their Super Bowl defeat by the Chiefs two years ago.
Kansas City’s star quarterback Patrick Mahomes was sacked six times and threw two interceptions as the Chiefs’ bid for NFL immortality was ruthlessly quashed.
It is the Eagles’ second Super Bowl win having claimed their first in 2018, despite the Chiefs managing to keep their star running back Saquon Barkley relatively quiet.
Instead, quarterback Jalen Hurts stepped up to silence those who continue to question his passing game, throwing a superb 46-yard touchdown pass to seal a humbling defeat for the Chiefs.
Victory was revenge for the Eagles’ 38-35 Super Bowl defeat to the Chiefs two years ago, when Hurts put in a superb performance but ended up on the losing side.
“I’ve been able to use every experience and learn from it, the good and the bad, using it as fuel. I couldn’t do any of this without the guys around me,” he said amid colourful celebrations on the Superdome pitch.
“Defence wins championships. We saw the difference they made in the game today.
“I’m still processing this. I can’t wait to enjoy this with my family.”
Donald Trump became the first sitting US president to attend America’s biggest game, while Taylor Swift was among the many celebrities at the Superdome, cheering on her boyfriend Travis Kelce, the Kansas City tight end.
Yet he and the Chiefs were never in the game. They earned just one first down in the first half and that was on their very first play.
The Eagles opened the scoring on their second possession with Hurts scoring on the ‘tush push’ play which they have mastered and no team has found answer to.
Jake Elliott kicked a field goal on the Eagles’ next possession before their defence took charge, sacking Mahomes on successive plays and on the next, Cooper DeJean returned an interception for a 38-yard touchdown.
Mahomes had gone 298 pass attempts without throwing an interception, and he threw another just six plays later. It was right in front of his own end zone and resulted in a touchdown for AJ Brown.
The Eagles added another field goal after half-time, before Hurts launched the ball down the middle for DeVonta Smith to claim a score fitting for the Super Bowl stage.
No team has ever been shutout in a Super Bowl, but the Chiefs avoided that ignominy with Mahomes throwing touchdown passes to Xavier Worthy and DeAndre Hopkins either side of two more field goals by Elliott in the fourth quarter.
Mahomes threw a huge touchdown pass to Worthy at the death but this proved one game too far for the Chiefs, who have at least gone further than any previous back-to-back champion in pursuit of a Super Bowl three-peat.
By BBC News
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