By Eddie Young
Sports Editor
The Kansas City Chiefs pulled out a 38-35 tough victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. This was the Chiefs third Super Bowl win in franchise history, and the second in the Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes era.
The NFC champion Eagles got out to an early start, being the first to score and holding the lead throughout the entire first half. Running the ball at will, the Eagles were able to keep control of the ball and keep the Kansas City offense on the sideline. They went into halftime with a 24-14 lead, but the lead quickly shrunk as the second half started. There were concerns that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had tweaked his sprained right ankle at the end of the first half, but he came out in the second half on a mission. Kansas City scored on every drive in the second half, adding on 24 points. The Eagles put together a great drive to score a touchdown and a two point conversion to tie the game at 35, but a 12 play, five minute long drive at the end of the game brought the Chiefs into field goal range and gave kicker Harrison Butker the opportunity to kick the game winning field goal with eight seconds left.
Patrick Mahomes finished the game 21/27 with 182 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and took home his second Super Bowl MVP, further adding to his already impressive trophy collection. At only 27 years old, he became the 13th quarterback with two Super Bowl wins, the 11th to win the MVP and Super Bowl MVP in the same season, and the fifth with two Super Bowl MVPs. After only having started for five seasons in the NFL, the Texas Tech product has put together an impressive resume for being considered one of the best quarterbacks of all time.
Isaiah Pacheco, the rookie seventh round pick running back from Rutgers, was the leading rusher for the victorious Chiefs, finishing with 76 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Travis Kelce was the Chiefs’ leading receiver, with 81 yards and a touchdown.
Even in the loss, the Eagles offense put together a stellar performance. Quarterback Jalen Hurts proved that a right shoulder injury that the media had been enamored with in the weeks leading up the game was not bothering him at all, as he threw for 304 yards and a 45 yard touchdown to wide receiver A.J. Brown. Hurts was also the team’s leading rusher, as he ran for 70 yards and three touchdowns, tying a Super Bowl record for most rushing touchdowns. However, Hurts also had a costly fumble in the second quarter that was returned for a touchdown by Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton.
Wide receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown also had great performances. Smith finished with 100 yards on seven catches, and Brown had six catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Kansas City’s head coach Andy Reid won his second Super Bowl in his fourth appearance. Having already been considered one of the best head coaches in the league for a long time, Reid added another accolade to his already Hall of Fame worthy career.
