The Eagles win the Super Bowl by crushing the Chiefs on Mahomes’ darkest night

Sunday’s Super Bowl in New Orleans was a nightmare for Patrick Mahomes. The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback faced his darkest hour, with his performance plagued by mistakes and offensive struggles. Once seen as the heir to Tom Brady’s throne as the greatest player in NFL history, Mahomes instead found himself clearing the path for the Philadelphia Eagles to claim a long-awaited Super Bowl rematch — avenging their loss to the Chiefs two years prior. The Eagles dominated the Chiefs in the first half (24-0) and cruised to victory with astonishing ease (40-22), securing the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Jalen Hurts delivered a standout performance, sealing the triumph.

Mahomes, who arrived amid high praise from U.S. President Donald Trump, dreamed of leading his team to an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl victory. Favored to win, the Chiefs instead found themselves outmatched by a hungrier Eagles squad, determined to seize their long-awaited redemption. For two years, Philadelphia had been waiting for this moment. Their quarterback and offensive leader, Jalen Hurts, carried a reminder of their past defeat — a photo on his phone — using it as fuel to ensure history wouldn’t repeat itself. On Sunday, he delivered, cementing his legacy and taking center stage in the Eagles’ triumph.

Philadelphia fans also did not want another defeat, and made their presence felt in the electrifying Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Their anthem, Fly, Eagles, Fly, and their signature war chant (“E-A-G-L-E-S, Eagles!”) echoed louder as the game progressed. Even Trump and pop star Taylor Swift — Travis Kelce’s partner and a known Chiefs supporter — were met with boos when they appeared on the stadium’s giant screen.

A defensive wall

On the field, Philadelphia’s defense became an impenetrable wall for Mahomes, who played a sloppy first half — uncharacteristic for a player widely regarded as one of the greatest in NFL history at just 29 years old. This was Mahomes’ fifth Super Bowl appearance in six years, and he had won three of his previous four with remarkable poise and command of the game. But on this Sunday, he was completely blocked.

Mahomes was partly neutralized by the Eagles’ relentless pressure, which closed passing lanes, collapsed the pocket, and brought him down at every opportunity — sacking him six times, the most in his Super Bowl career. “Defense wins championships,” Jalen Hurts remarked after the game. In the first quarter, the Chiefs failed to advance past midfield, while the Eagles quickly took control with a 10-0 lead, courtesy of a Hurts rushing touchdown and a field goal.

However, it was in the second quarter that Mahomes made rookie mistakes. His only touchdown pass of the first half landed in the hands of an opponent — rookie Cooper DeJean, who happened to be celebrating his 22nd birthday. DeJean gladly accepted the gift, returning the interception 38 yards for a touchdown and extending the Eagles’ lead to 17-0 after the extra point.

Mahomes’ woes continued shortly after. He threw another interception, this time to Zack Baun, deep in Chiefs territory. The Eagles wasted no time capitalizing on the turnover, as Jalen Hurts quickly connected with A.J. Brown for another touchdown.

“Turnovers hurt. I take full blame for that,” Mahomes admitted in the press room after the game. Two of the Eagles’ three first-half touchdowns came directly from mistakes by the Chiefs’ offensive leader. Kansas City’s offense was in complete disarray. Every drive ended in frustration, and as the halftime whistle blew, they found themselves staring at a 24-0 loss.

On defense, Kansas City came out determined to shut down Saquon Barkley, one of the best running backs in NFL history and the Eagles’ most significant upgrade since their Super Bowl loss two years ago. Barkley racked up enough yards to break the all-time single-season record set in 1998, but the Chiefs succeeded in preventing him from becoming the game’s decisive player.

However, their intense focus on containing Barkley gave Jalen Hurts space to exploit other options — whether finding open passing lanes or taking off with the ball himself. After capitalizing on Kansas City’s first-half mistakes, the Eagles’ offense only grew more dominant as the game progressed.

Hurts completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards, including two touchdown passes. On the ground, he was just as dangerous, rushing for 72 yards on five carries — a Super Bowl record for a quarterback — and adding another touchdown.

At halftime, with the Eagles leading 24-0, some recalled the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history — when Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to overturn a 28-3 game against the Atlanta Falcons in the 2017 final, securing his fifth of seven championships.

But this time, there would be no historic turnaround. Late in the third quarter, the Eagles extended their lead with a field goal, followed by a 46-yard touchdown pass from Hurts to DeVonta Smith. With the score at 34-0, the Chiefs had yet to even reach midfield on offense. At that point, only a miracle could have turned the game around — but it was clear that this was not a day for miracles, especially for Mahomes.

The Chiefs managed to avoid the embarrassment of a shutout, but a comeback was never truly within reach. Their first touchdown came with just half a minute left in the third quarter, a pass to rookie Xavier Worthy, though they failed to convert the ensuing two-point attempt. Mahomes showed signs of life, but by then, it was far too late to change the course of the game.

With two more field goals from the Eagles, the score reached 40-6, and all hope for a Kansas City comeback vanished. The rest of the game was nothing more than a countdown to the inevitable.

Travis Kelce recorded his first catch — setting a Super Bowl record for receptions — only when the game was already well out of reach at 40-6 in favor of Philadelphia. At that point, it hardly mattered. The Chiefs managed to narrow the score slightly with two late drives, including a desperate, long touchdown pass from Mahomes.

Mahomes finished with 257 passing yards and three touchdown passes, but most of that came in garbage time. What truly mattered, though, were his struggles: completing just 21 of 32 passes, rushing for only 25 yards, and, most critically, committing two costly turnovers that helped seal his team’s fate.

The Eagles began celebrating their title early during the long breaks for TV commercials. And Philadelphia fans started to quiet in the stadium as the breaks dragged on — perhaps hoping for a more dramatic game.

The Kansas City Chiefs were unable to secure a third consecutive Super Bowl victory, a feat that remains an impossible challenge in the 59 years of competition. Tom Brady, now a highly-paid commentator for Fox, was spared from having to acknowledge that Mahomes, his rival in the debate for football’s all-time great, had achieved something he never did.

To be fair, the Green Bay Packers are the only team to have won three consecutive championships, securing titles between 1929-1931 and again between 1965-1967. However, no team has ever won three consecutive Super Bowls across the 59 editions of the game.

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