It wasn’t easy, but the Kansas City Chiefs were able to claim a massive win over the Philadelphia Eagles to take home the title of Super Bowl 57 champions. With a final score of 38-35, the game was filled with high-scoring action plays, controversial officiating calls, and back-to-back shifts in the score.
Kansas City, led by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes out of Texas Tech, had gotten to the big game before. Making the Super Bowl three times out of the last four seasons, Mahomes’ quick thinking, big arm, and stunning accuracy was coupled with some of the best receivers in the game. Star tight end Travis Kelce led all Chiefs receivers with 81 yards and was second on the team in total receptions with 6, only one behind wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster. Kelce also had a touchdown in the game. Mahomes had just 182 yards but had staggering precision with his throws, just having six incompletions (21/27) with no interceptions. He also had 44 yards rushing, earning him the honor of Super Bowl MVP.
For the Eagles, quarterback Jalen Hurts played a remarkable game, scoring 3 touchdowns on the ground alone while passing for one through the air. He threw for 304 yards on 27/38 attempts with no interceptions alongside 70 yards on the ground. Hurts had a great trio of receivers at his arsenal, with wide receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown pacing all players with 100 and 96 receiving yards respectively. Tight end Dallas Goedert had six receptions for 60 yards as well.
In a game between the two top teams in the league this year, it came down to defensive schematics and big plays. Perhaps the turning point were some key stops for Kansas City in the third quarter and a 65-yard, record-breaking punt return from Kadarius Toney, who the Chiefs acquired in a midseason trade from the New York Giants. The product from the Florida Gators set up Kansas City in prime field position, who eventually cashed out with a touchdown from unlikely source Skyy Moore, whose four yard score would be one of his two touches in the entire game.
The Eagles would later on tie the game with another magical Jalen Hurts drive plus a dazzling two-point conversion, but a late holding flag on defensive back James Bradberry iced the game and set up a game-winning field goal from close range by Harrison Butker with just 8 seconds remaining on the clock. The call would be berated by Eagles fans after the game, but Bradberry later admitted that the call on him was right. Bradberry played a stellar game overall, with four tackles and one assisted.
In the end, the Chiefs are world champions, and fans around the world wait once more for the 2023-2024 NFL season to begin.
Sources:
https://www.google.com/search?q=super+bowl&c
http://www.espn.com/nfl/superbowl/history/winners
Image Credits: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images
