The Kansas City Chiefs defeated Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 Sunday to win Super Bowl LVII after kicker Harrison Butker drilled a 27-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining.
The Eagles led throughout the first half and went into halftime, holding a 24-14 lead. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes appeared to re-injure his right ankle just before halftime. Meanwhile, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts put on a show throughout the first 30 minutes, passing for one touchdown and rushing for two more.
The Chiefs scored on their first possession when Mahomes found tight end Travis Kelce for an 18-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. However, that would be the only time Kansas City’s offense found the end zone in the first half. The Chiefs’ second touchdown came when linebacker Nick Bolton picked up a Hurts’ fumble and ran it back 36 yards for the touchdown.
Momentum shifted toward the Chiefs in the second half when Mahomes led a 10-play, 75-yard drive to cut Philly’s lead to 24-21.
Hurts and the Eagles answered with a 17-play, 60-yard drive that took up almost eight minutes of game time but came up short in the red zone. The Eagles were forced to settle for a field goal, making it 27-21 with 1:45 remaining in the third quarter.
Mahomes led another 75-yard drive, finding wide receiver Kadarius Toney for a five-yard touchdown to give the Chiefs their first lead of the game at 28-27.
Kansas City’s defense forced a punt, and Toney returned a punt 65 yards deep into Philadelphia territory. It was the longest punt return in Super Bowl history. Rookie wide receiver Skyy Moore caught a four-yard touchdown pass shortly after to extend the Chiefs’ lead to 35-27.
Hurts and the Eagles finally got back on track, as he found wide receiver DeVonta Smith for 45 yards to set up another Hurts’ touchdown run. Philadelphia went for two and Hurts ran it in, tying the game at 35.
The final stage would belong to Mahomes, who engineered another fantastic drive but faced a 3rd-and-8 with 1:48 remaining. He threw a pass into the end zone intended for wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and the ball fell incomplete.
Wait, there’s a flag.
Philadelphia cornerback James Bradberry was called for a defensive holding on Smith-Schuster, giving the Chiefs an automatic first down. Judge for yourself.
This was called holding
Do you agree?
pic.twitter.com/9FzVFXkD9Q— PFF (@PFF) February 13, 2023
From this point, it was just about running the clock out and forcing the Eagles to use their last timeout. Then the Eagles were apparently going to allow the Chiefs to score, but Kansas City running back Jerick McKinnon slid and downed himself at the two-yard line.
A few plays later, Butker’s kick gave the Chiefs their second championship in four seasons.
Mahomes finished 21 of 27 for 182 yards with three touchdowns. Hurts completed 27 of 38 passes for 304 yards with one touchdown. He also rushed for 70 yards and three touchdowns.
Mahomes was named Super Bowl LVII MVP, finishing the season as the regular-season MVP and Super Bowl MVP for the first time since 1999.
