You’re Witnessing Something Special

We all knew going into this Super Bowl that the Kansas City Chiefs were in familiar territory with the fact that this was their 3rd appearance in the last five seasons. Would the Chiefs play the way they did against the San Francisco 49ers or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? One thing was certain and it was that QB Patrick Mahomes needed to play to his MVP level if they were to hoist another Lombardi trophy.

A lot needed to go right for the Chiefs in this game. For one they managed on defense to slow down the Eagles vaunted rushing attack. Aside from Eagles QB Jalen Hurts rushing for 70 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground, they kept their three running backs in check for a combined 45 yards rushing. At times in the second half it seemed as if the Eagles also stopped trying to get back to that running game, but that was also when they were trailing.

Kansas City also won the turnover battle as they forced a fumble from Jalen Hurts in the second quarter and it was returned for a touchdown. You could argue that if that play didn’t happen then the Eagles would be celebrating another Super Bowl title. Each team punted the ball twice, but the Chiefs capitalized on one of their returns with WR Kadarious Toney nearly getting a touchdown.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that ref ball had to rear its ugly head on the final scoring drive of the game. A more blatant defensive holding call wasn’t called in the 1st quarter on CB James Bradberry of the Eagles. Yet, he was flagged for one on the final scoring drive of the game that was far less egregious. A terrible way to end an otherwise great game with both teams going back and forth all the way through.

The games MVP, Patrick Mahomes being down 24-14 at halftime and the Chiefs getting the ball first to start the second half, led them on a 10-play, 75 yard drive that resulted in a touchdown. The Eagles answered with a 60-yard drive to end the 3rd quarter, but it only netted them a field goal. That was when the momentum shifted in the Chiefs favor.

Mahomes threw 2 of his 3 touchdown passes in the 4th quarter and almost in the blink of an eye the Chiefs had taken the lead 35-27. Nothing should be taken away from what Jalen Hurts did in this game. He responded with his third rushing touchdown of the game and scored the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 35. One wonders and wanted to see if he could have responded if that defensive holding call had not been made. Obviously Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker still had to make that kick to seal the victory, but this game wasn’t trending to have that kind of an anticlimactic finish.

Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs on winning their 3rd Super Bowl title in franchise history. They should start getting used to being the new ‘most hated’ franchise in the NFL. Simply because like the New England Patriots consistently winning with QB Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, the Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid are doing the same thing.