NEW ORLEANS — Cooper DeJean, Josh Sweat, and the Philadelphia Eagles’ ferocious defense denied Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs a third Super Bowl title.
It was not even close.
DeJean scored a pick-6 on his 22nd birthday, Sweat tormented Mahomes, and the Eagles defeated the Chiefs 40-22 on Sunday to win the franchise’s second Super Bowl title.
Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns and scored on a tush push, and Vic Fangio’s defense was so strong that the Eagles didn’t need much from Saquon Barkley.
The game-changing running back finished with 57 yards, breaking Terrell Davis’ rushing record for a season, including the playoffs. Hurts passed for 221 yards.
With Donald Trump becoming the first president to attend a Super Bowl, the Eagles outperformed Kansas City in every way, delighting a raucous pro-Philly crowd that chanted “Fly! Eagles! Fly!” after each score.
Even Taylor Swift’s appearance could not help the Chiefs. They lost for the first time in ten games this season, with the pop star sitting in a suite watching boyfriend Travis Kelce, who did not catch a pass until late in the third quarter.
Kansas City’s fans could not have predicted such a poor performance. The Chiefs had won three of the previous five Super Bowls before falling 31-9 to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers four years ago.
Mahomes went 8-0 against Fangio’s defenses before the longtime coordinator and former Broncos head coach outcoached Andy Reid to finish his first season with his hometown team. Reid finished 3-3 in Super Bowls, including a loss to the Eagles.
The Eagles sacked Mahomes six times, the most in his career, including two and a half by Sweat. And they accomplished it without Fangio issuing a single blitz.
Barkley, the 2024 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year, had only 31 rushing yards in the first half as Philadelphia built a 24-0 lead.
The Chiefs hoped to become only the third team in NFL history to win three consecutive championships, and the first to do so in the Super Bowl era.
Hurts nearly led the Eagles to a win over the Chiefs in Arizona two years ago, but Mahomes led a comeback and Harrison Butker kicked the game-winning field goal in the final minute for a 38-35 victory. Last year, Mahomes rallied Kansas City to an overtime victory over San Francisco, securing the Chiefs’ second consecutive title.
This time, a revamped Philadelphia defense with eight new starters from the 2022 team ensured Mahomes had no chance to perform his magic.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, who mocked fans chanting “Fire Nick!” during an October victory over Cleveland and was dubbed a “clown” on national television, should finally silence critics by adding a championship ring to a resume that includes the league’s fifth-best winning percentage.
Sirianni was showered with Gatorade with nearly three minutes left in the game, and backup quarterback Kenny Pickett took snaps in mop-up duty.
Barkley assisted Hurts in finding the end zone from the one, giving Philadelphia a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
Sweat and Jalyx Hunt sacked Mahomes on consecutive plays after they were up 10-0 thanks to Jake Elliott’s 48-yard field goal. Mahomes then rolled out and threw an errant pass, which DeJean intercepted and returned 38 yards for a 17-0 lead.
It was Mahomes’ first pick-6 in 21 playoff games, breaking a streak of 297 consecutive passes without an interception.
Late in the second quarter, All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun intercepted Mahomes again, and Hurts connected with A.J. Brown on a 12-yard touchdown pass for a 24-0 lead.
Hurts threw a perfect 46-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith late in the third quarter, making it 34-0.
Mahomes threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy to avoid a shutout, but the two-point conversion failed. He threw two late, mostly meaningless touchdown passes: one to DeAndre Hopkins and the other to Worthy.
After two weeks of discussions about questionable calls that led to public perception that officials favor the Chiefs — a theory NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called “ridiculous” — the first penalty of the game only fueled critics.
A penalty for offensive pass interference negated Hurts’ 32-yard pass to Brown on fourth-and-2 at the Chiefs’ 18 yard line. Brady, now a Fox analyst, and officiating analyst Mike Pereira both disagreed with the call, although Brown shoved Trent McDuffie’s facemask.
On the next possession, the Eagles benefited from an unnecessary roughness penalty on McDuffie against Dallas Goedert following an incomplete pass on third-and-5.
Hurts then connected with Jahan Dotson on a 27-yard pass to the one, scoring on the next play.
Hurts’ streak of 217 passes without a pick ended in the first half when he was intercepted deep in Kansas City territory, but the Chiefs didn’t capitalize.
The Green Bay Packers are the only NFL team to win three championships in a row, doing so from 1929 to 1931 and 1965-1967.
The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers from 2000-02, led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neill, are the last team in the major American professional leagues to win three straight titles.
