Eagles win Super Bowl LIX
By Elwyn Henderson
Super Bowl LIX kicked off at Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday, pitting the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles against the back-to-back Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs who were trying to get a 3-peat, something never done in the history of the world’s biggest football game. The game was also a rematch of Super Bowl LVII. The Chiefs won that game 38-35 after trailing for a good bit of the game. Harrison Butker broke a 35-35 tie with a field goal with just 8 seconds left in regulation.
Needless to say, the Eagles came into Sunday’s game with revenge on their mind due to the fact that a large number of players in the game were part of the team that lost to KC just two years earlier.
Kansas City came into the big game as 1.5 point favorites to capture the 3-peat, but it would not happen. When the dust settled, Philadelphia won the game in blowout fashion by the score of in front of 65,719 fans.
The coin toss prior to kickoff was won by the Chiefs who were the designated visiting team for the game and they chose to defer to the second half to begin the game.
Harrison Butker’s kickoff sailed into the end zone for a touchback and the Eagles began their first drive at their 30.
Jalen Hurts led the Eagles to one first down and then on a 4th and 2 he hit AJ Brown on what appeared to be a first down inside the Kansas City 20 but Brown was called for offensive interference, forcing a Jake Elliott punt that was returned to the KC 12 where
Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs offense out for their first possession of the game.
KC managed one first down but Matt Araiza was forced to punt the ball away on the next series and after a return out to the Philly 32 Hurts brought his offense back to the field again.
Hurts led his unit down the field, aided by a personal foul penalty on Trent McDuffie after a third down incompletion. The drive ended with a 1-yard TD run by Hurts with 6:15 left in the opening quarter on a patented Philly “tush push”. Jake Elliott added the PAT and Philly took a 7-0 lead. The drive was 7 plays, 69 yards and took 3:25.
The ensuing kickoff was returned to the KC 33 where Mahomes set up again. It was a quick three-and-out and Araiza punted the ball away once again. The kick traveled to the Philly end zone and Hurts brought his troops out to their 20 to begin their next drive.
The Chiefs sacked Hurts on a big 3rd down but they were off sides on the play and the resulting 5-yard penalty resulted in an Eagles first down. Hurts moved the team down to the Chiefs 30 and on a 3rd and 10 Bryan Cook intercepted a Hurts pass at the 2 and Mahomes and company went on the offensive again with 14:15 left in the first half.
For the second time in three possessions Travis Kelce dropped a pass that would have resulted in a first down. Arizia punted the ball away and it was returned to the Philly 43.
The Eagles moved down to the KC 25 and faced a 4th and 3. Hurts tried to pull the KC defense across the line of scrimmage but the ploy did not work and after a time out Elliott came in and kicked a 43-yard field that was good but Philly was called for a false start, forcing a 48-yard try by Elliott. The kick was good with 8:38 left in the first half, putting the Eagles up 10-0. The drive was 7 plays, 32 yards and took 3:59 off the second quarter clock.
The Chiefs next drive began at their 30 after a touchback. Cooper DeJean intercepted Mahomes for a 39-yard pick-6 with 7:03 left in the first half. Elliott’s PAT put the Eagles up 17-0 and left the Chiefs in a major hole.
They began their next drive at their 30 after a touchback of Elliott’s kickoff. It was another three-and-out for Mahomes and the Chiefs. After yet another punt and return, Philly set up at their 34 with 4:49 left in the first half.
The KC defense held, forcing a Braden Mann punt on 4th and 3 from the KC 49. The punt went out of bounds at the Kansas City 9 with 1:49 left in the half.
The Chiefs KNEW they urgently needed to get a score before the half but on the first play of the possession Mahomes was intercepted at the KC 14 and the Eagles got the ball back with an excellent chance to pretty much put the game away before the halftime break.
On the third play of the possession Hurts hit AJ Brown from 9 yards out with 1:35 left in the half. Elliott added the extra point and
the Chiefs were in total shock, finding themselves down 24-0. The 3-play drive took just 10 seconds.
KC had another quick three-and-out and after the return of the punt the Eagles were back in business at their 37 with 25 seconds remaining in the half. They ran one play and the half ended with the Eagles in total command, 24-0.
Elliott kicked off to begin the second half and Mahomes brought his offense out at their 30 after a touchback knowing they needed to get on the scoreboard to get back into the game, but all they could do was get up to their 35 before being forced to punt yet again. The ball went into the end zone and Hurts brought his group out at their 20 for their first possession of the second half.
Hurts moved the team down the field with precision clockwork. The drive ended with a field goal after the Eagles moved down to the KC 6. Elliott hit a 29-yarder after a false start on the first try with 5:18 left in the third quarter, pushing the Philly lead up to 27-0. The drive was 12 plays, 74
yards and took 6:42 off the clock.
Mahomes and the KC offense began their next drive at their 30 after another touchback. After picking up one first down the Chiefs went for a 4th and 3 at their 46 and the pass was broken up, turning the ball over on downs and setting the Eagles up in great field position once again with a chance to drive the final nail in the Chiefs coffin.
On the first play of the possession Hurts hit DeVonta Smith on a 46-yard TD pass with 2:49 left in the third stanza. Elliott hit the point after and the Eagles lead moved to 34-0 and the game was officially over.
The kick after the touchdown was advanced to the 29 but KC was called for a block in the back, moving the ball back to the 10.
On the first play of the drive Mahomes hit Xavier Worthy on a 50-yard completion down to the Philadelphia 40, giving KC their deepest penetration of the game. Mahomes hit Worthy on a 24-yard TD pass with 34 seconds left in the third quarter, getting the Chiefs on the board. They went for the 2-point conversion after the score but the try was no good, leaving the score 34-6 in favor of the Eagles. The drive was 7 plays, 90 yards and took 2:06.
The kickoff after the TD was returned up to the 30 and Hurts led his unit back on the field again. The Eagles drove down to the KC 30 and on 4th and 13 Elliott hit another filed goal and the score moved to 37-6 with 9:51 left in the game. The drive was 11 plays, 40 yards and took 5:43.
The Chiefs got the ball back at their 30 after a touchback of the kickoff and on the first play of the possession Mahomes dropped back to go deep but was hit from behind and fumbled. The ball was recovered by the Eagles at the KC 18, but thanks to a personal foul on the defense the ball was moved back to the 33 where Hurts went to work again with 9:42 left in the game.
The defense held and forced an Elliott 45-yard field goal attempt. A false start call moved the ball back 5 yards and the kick was a 50-yard attempt. The kick was good and the Eagles led 40-6 with 8:01 left in the game. The drive was 4 plays, 6 yards and took 1:41.
After a return KC set up on their 25. Mahomes moved the offense down the field and got them into the end zone again when he hit DeAndre Hopkins on an 8-yard TD pass with 2:54 left in the game. A try for 2 was good when Mahomes hit Justin Watson, bringing the score to 40-14. The drive was 16 plays, 81 yards and took 5:07 off the clock.
As the trailing team is allowed to do when trailing, KC announced they would be trying an onside kick. The ball was recovered by the Eagles at the Philly 45.
Kenny Pickett came in at quarterback and many of the Eagles starters went to the sideline for the final possession the winners
would have. The Chiefs held and a 4th and 6 went incomplete and KC got the ball back with 1:56 left at midfield.
On the first play of the possession Mahomes hit Worthy with 1:48 left in the game. The try for 2 points on the conversion was good on a pass to Hopkins and KC closed the gap to 40-22 but it was too much, too little, too late.
The Chiefs kicked onside again and once again it was recovered by the Eagles at the KC 49 with 1:47 left in the game.
With KC out of time outs Pickett came in and took a knee in victory formation three times and the game came to a close. The Super Bowl Champion Eagles end the season at 17-3 while the Chiefs close out at 17-3.