Super Bowl LVII produced an instant classic as the Kansas City Chiefs topped the Philadelphia Eagles with a last second field goal. The game was full of twists and turns, with the Eagles looking dominant for long stretches of the game only for a hobbled Patrick Mahomes to show why he was voted the 2022 NFL MVP and produce when it mattered most. Jalen Hurts also put on a show, with the statistics he produced proving he is indeed one of the best in the game at the quarterback position, and seemingly every big-name player played one of their best games of the season. Thrilling from start to finish, and not without controversy, here is my review of one of the best Super Bowls of the 21st century.
The Eagles came out guns blazing in the first half with Head Coach Nick Sirianni’s hyper-aggressive style providing plenty of fireworks. The Philly-based team controlled the football for most of the first half; at one point in the second quarter, the Eagles had nearly triple the time of possession as the Chiefs, and it also took well into the second period for Kansas City to even run their 10th play of the game.
Hurts in particular was unstoppable, especially in 3rd-and-short situations. The Eagles perfected the art of the QB sneak this season, and it showed as the Eagles gunslinger converted time and time again on 3rd-and-1 or 4th-and-1 to keep long Philadelphia drives alive. They opened the game with a five minute long drive, which culminated in a Jalen Hurts 1 yard rushing touchdown by-you guessed it-a quarterback sneak. Three minutes later, however, the Chiefs evened the scores with a touchdown of their own. With his receivers stifled by the Eagles secondary, Mahomes relied on All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce time and time again, with Kelce eventually catching Mahomes’ first touchdown pass of the game to end the drive. Isaiah Pacheco also played a key role on the opening Chiefs possession, keeping the Eagles defense honest with his aggressive running style. Kansas City would then blow a golden opportunity to go ahead after an Eagles punt as they drove down the field only for kicker Harrison Butker to shank a 42-yard attempt wide left with just over two minutes to play in the period.
Leaving points on the field would ultimately seem to cost the AFC champions as with great starting field position, Hurts drove the Eagles onto the Kansas City half before launching a 46-yard bomb to wide receiver AJ Brown in the end zone to put Philly up by a score. Brown made one of a series of amazing catches by Eagles receivers in the game as he climbed the ladder over two defenders to haul in Hurts’ pass for a touchdown.
But the Kansas City offense would get some much needed help from their defense, as after being forced to punt linebacker Nick Bolton scooped up a Jalen Hurts fumble on his own strip sack and took it to the house, leveling the score at 14 apiece. But the Eagles QB made up for his error as he once again took the game by the scruff of the neck, willing his team down the field with both his arm and his legs. Hurts completed key 3rd and 4th down conversions on the drive before a key neutral zone infraction from Chiefs defensive tackle Khalen Saunders on a 4th-and-2 inside the Chiefs 10-yard line led to a Philly 1st down and ultimately Hurts’ second rushing TD of the game from four yards out. And things went from bad to worse for Kansas city as Mahomes re-injured his right ankle just a few plays later before the Eagles ended the half with a field goal inside the final minute to go into a Rihanna-inspired halftime up ten.
Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid clearly made some halftime adjustments as with despite Mahomes’ limited mobility, Kansas City was able to turn the tide of the game early in the second half. They capped their half-opening five minute drive with a 1 yard touchdown run by Pacheco to bring themselves within three points before holding the Eagles to just a field goal on their next possession. This left the door open for Mahomes and co, who promptly stormed down the field to score another touchdown on a five yard pass to a wide open Kadarius Toney and take the lead after the ensuing extra point early in the fourth.
From this point on, the drama only grew. The Eagles were forced to punt on their next possession, which led to the Chiefs completely seizing the game’s momentum. Toney received the punt and after a quite incredible cutback that fooled five defenders, ran the ball back to the Eagles 4-yard line. They promptly scored again to go up eight with a pass from Mahomes to another wide open receiver, this time Skyy Moore.
But Hurts was not to be outdone. He walked his offense through the Chiefs defense with ease, bringing his team to within touching distance of tying the game after throwing a 42 yard rocket to receiver Devonta Smith, only to complete yet another sneak to get into the endzone. But alas, the Eagles scored too early.
With 5:15 remaining, Mahomes got the ball back for what would be the final possession of the game. A 30 yard scramble from the Chiefs quarterback later, he got his team into the red zone with just 2:45 to play. The very next play caused immense controversy. Mahomes looked to massively overthrown receiver Juju Smith-Schuster into the corner of the end zone on 3rd down, only for the defender, James Bradberry, to be flagged for holding and the Chiefs to subsequently get a fresh set of downs with 1:49 to play. The call admittedly looked to be very weak, but after the game Bradberry admitted he had indeed pulled Smith-Schuster’s jersey, and the referees had also made a massive mistake in calling back a second fumble return for a touchdown by the Chiefs after what was clearly a catch and fumble by running back Miles Sanders. The Chiefs then ran the clock down to eight seconds and kicked what would ultimately be the game-winning field goal.