‘We needed everyone to win.’ How the Chiefs came back to defeat the Eagles in the Super Bowl.
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GLENDALE, Ariz. — Rihanna put on a spectacular halftime show that featured a medley of her greatest hits and a multiple level stage that rose to the rafters at State Farm Stadium.
It still wasn’t enough to upstage Patrick Mahomes, who shined bright like a diamond in Super Bowl LVII Sunday night, the Chiefs MVP quarterback belting out a few hits of his own over the final 30 minutes.
Mahomes overcame a 10-point halftime deficit and a balky right ankle that he reaggravated early and led the Chiefs to a 38-35 victory before 67,827 that wasn’t secured until Harrison Butker’s 27-yard field goal with 8 seconds left.
In winning his second Super Bowl title in three tries, Mahomes, the game’s MVP, overshadowed a brilliant performance from Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts, who became the first quarterback in history to rush for three touchdowns in a Super Bowl.
Mahomes finished 21 of 27 for 182 yards and three touchdowns, but it was his gutsy 26-yard scramble on that gimpy ankle on the final drive to help set up Butker’s kick that was his biggest play of the game.
“I told you all this week there’s nothing that’s going to keep me off that football field,’’ said Mahomes. “I just want to shoutout to my teammates — we challenged each other. We needed everyone to win this football game — so shoutout to my teammates. We’re the Super Bowl champs.”
Hurts was 27 of 38 for 304 yards and a score, plus ran for three touchdowns in rushing for an additional 70 yards. He scored his final touchdown — and bowled over for the 2-point conversion — with 5:15 left, unintentionally setting the stage for Mahomes’s late heroics.
“He’s the MVP,” said Chiefs coach Andy Reid. “That’s all that needs to be said: MVP.”
Mahomes and the Chiefs looked dead in the desert after a first half in which they held the ball for just eight minutes and couldn’t get anything going offensively after scoring on their initial drive — a Travis Kelce 18-yard catch — which tied things at 7.
It was the 14th postseason touchdown hookup for Mahomes and Kelce, trailing only the 15 between Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.
Hurts, who ran it in from 1 yard on the Eagles’ first possession, answered with a 45-yard scoring strike to A.J. Brown. Yes, Hurts’s much talked about strained shoulder was just fine.
Kansas City was fortunate to trail just 24-14 at the break because it capitalized on a rare Hurts mistake. An inexplicable fumble led to Nick Bolton’s 36-yard scoop and score touchdown that tied it at 14.
Mahomes sent an early message in the second half, storming out of the locker room and leading the Chiefs on a 75-yard touchdown drive capped by Isiah Pacheco’s 1-yard run to get within 24-21.
“The ankle felt great until that one tackle [in the first half],” said Mahomes. “Went in at halftime, there was a lot of soreness, got taped up a little bit. It didn’t feel great, but I was going to leave it all out there.”
Jake Elliott’s 33-yard field goal boosted the lead back to 27-21, but the Chiefs scored back-to-back touchdowns on Mahomes passes to Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore for a 35-27 lead.
“We came in and made some adjustments at halftime,” said Reid. “The offensive line, Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the offensive players, they did a great job.”
The win capped a historic run for Mahomes. He is the only player to lead the league in passing yards and win the Super Bowl in the same season.He is the first MVP to also win the Super Bowl since Kurt Warner in 1999.
It’s also the second Super Bowl title for Reid, who coached both these franchises to the big game.
“We really wanted to win this for him,” said Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. “To go against his old team, yeah, we wanted this for him.”
Mahomes was still going 100 miles per hour in the postgame locker room.
“It was a crazy year, but we end up on top,” he said. “It was a special performance by a lot of men.”
. . .
It was the first Super Bowl in which two Black quarterbacks started. Doug Williams, the first Black quarterback to start for a Super Bowl champ when he led Washington over Denver in Super Bowl XXII, brought the Vince Lombardi trophy out before the game and received a nice ovation . . . It was the third Super Bowl crown for Chiefs left guard Joe Thuney, who won LI and LIII with the Patriots . . . Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year winner, and former Cowboys defender DeMarcus Ware, part of the new Hall of Fame class, were both soundly booed by the large contingent of Eagles fans on hand
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