Super Bowl LVII ended with a painfully close final score: Kansas City 38, Philadelphia 35. This marks Kansas City’s second Super Bowl win and third appearance in just three years.
Though Jalen Hurts arguably outplayed Patrick Mahomes, displaying one of the best quarterback performances in Super Bowl history, an injured Mahomes and the Chiefs showed resilience that ended in victory.
During the game’s opening drive, Hurts successfully pulled off a QB sneak and ran in a 1-yard touchdown. DeVonta Smith (WR) ensured the drive stayed alive for Hurts to be able to score.
Soon after, Kansas City TE Travis Kelce made two skilled catches, adding up to 38 yards and a touchdown. To break the tie on the first play of the second quarter, Hurts launched a 45-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown (WR), who read the pass perfectly.
After an Eagles false start that made it 3rd-and-5, Hurts attempted to rush the ball. But he lost control, fumbling the ball for Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton to return for a 36-yard touchdown. It’s now 14-14. With 2:20 left in the half, Jalen Hurts made up for his previous fumble with another rushing touchdown.
Right before halftime, the Eagles extended their lead. After a sizable punt return, then a 22 yard run from A.J. Brown, the Eagles scored a 35-yard field goal. At the half, the Eagles were up 24-14.
It was nearing the end of the first half when a Patrick Mahomes tackle seemingly re-injured his right ankle sprain. It looked pretty bad, with Mahomes writhing in pain on the field and on the bench. But he insisted on pulling through.
On the Chiefs opening drive of the second half, they moved 75 yards in just 10 plays, ending the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run from Isiah Pacheco (RB). However, Harrison Butker (K) missed the field goal, so it’s 24-21 with the Eagles still in the lead.
On their first play of the third quarter, the Eagles nearly let Nick Bolton score his second touchdown on a fumble return. Though it was called a Kansas City touchdown on the field, this was ultimately overturned.
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert made two important catches, the second showing his and Hurts’ impressive talents. These were capped off by another field goal. But in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs took their first lead. Mahomes passed to Kadarius Toney (WR), making it 28-27 and putting new pressure on the Eagles.
Toney wasn’t done yet. With a 65-yard punt return, the longest in Super Bowl history, Toney set Mahomes up for a 4-yard touchdown pass to Skyy Moore (WR).
It’s the perfect conclusion to a season – a back-and-forth nail-biter. Another big pass to Devonta Smith allowed Hurts to set himself up for his third rushing touchdown of the game. Then Hurts rushed again on the 2-point conversion and scored, making it 35-35 with 5:15 remaining in the game.
Super Bowl LVII ended when Eagles WR James Bradberry was called for holding on an incomplete pass JuJu Smith-Schuster (Chiefs WR). This was a controversial call, with announcers and sports analysts expressing their dislike on media platforms. Kansas City was able to run out the clock, then set Butker up for a game-winning field goal.
Despite the penalty, the Eagles should’ve won this one. They were the better team for the majority of the game, and Jalen Hurts proved his place as a top-tier quarterback. Hurts broke the record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a Super Bowl. He also became the first to run for two touchdowns in the first half of a Super Bowl. Lastly, Hurts is the first player in history to complete 300 passing yards, 70 rushing yards, and three touchdown yards in a game. But the Eagles became overwhelmed and stopped playing strategically. What they were excelling at became nonexistent.