Super Bowl LVII
Chiefs prevail in Super Bowl with second half comeback
Photo by Kailyn Williams
February 13, 2023
The Philadelphia Eagles, NFC Champions, and Kansas City Chiefs, AFC Champions, faced off in the fifty-seventh Super Bowl Feb. 12, 2022 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona in a rich, nail-biting match up.
Both the Chiefs and Eagles possessed a 16-3 record going into the Bowl, carrying strong assets offensively and defensively.
The Chiefs won the toss and deferred to the second half, bringing the Eagles out onto the field first offensively.
Eagle quarterback Jalen Hurts rushed at touchdown two minutes into the first quarter to put Philadelphia on top quickly.
Hurts is one of two African American quarterbacks in the Super Bowl, accompanied by the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes. The last six out of ten Super Bowls have featured an African American quarterback on either team. However, the pair are the first ever black quarterbacks to compete against each other on the big stage, one of many histories made in the fifty-seventh Bowl.
In response to the Eagles’ big play, Kansas City pushed a fast-paced offense downfield.
Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce, one of two Kelce brothers who competed in the Super Bowl (the other being Jason Kelce for the Eagles), ran tricky routes leaving him open on the majority of their drives throughout the game. Mahomes found Travis downfield, who ran the ball in for a touchdown with 6:57 remaining in the first quarter and tied the game at seven.
The Chiefs attempted a 42-yard field goal as time ran down at the end of the quarter, but it was no good, leaving the score at 7-7 going into the second quarter.
There was a list of firsts and histories made in Super Bowl LVII, one of them being an experimental turf Tahoma 31, made of a specific blend of two types of Bermuda grasses and rye grass. This new golfing grass proved slick, with multiple players slipping throughout the game. The turf warranted multiple players making a change in their cleats, including quarterback Hurts who slid across the field on a few too many pass attempts.
Despite the hardships with slick turf, the Eagles came out hard in the second, keeping their energy and momentum high.
Hurts completed a 45 yard pass to receiver AJ Brown in double coverage in the endzone for a touchdown eight seconds into the quarter.
Hurts continued to flash his accuracy, dotting more receivers in double coverage to convert first downs.
The Eagles dampened the success of the Chiefs’ offense, forcing punts early.
Kansas City caught a break a little under halfway through the quarter, when Hurts fumbled the ball in transition. Chiefs’ linebacker Nick Bolton recovered the fumble and ran it in for a touchdown with 9:39 remaining in the quarter.
The quarter went dormant for about seven minutes, with little to no action from either side.
Hurts brought back some liveliness with his second rushing touchdown of the night. Hurts strutted into the endzone untouched with 2:20 left on the clock, putting Philadelphia back on top.
Jan. 21, 2023, Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain in his match up with the Jaguars. Mahomes has played through the injury, and his trainers told sources that he was at “100 percent” going into the championship game. In the final minutes of the half, Patrick got tackled from behind and got up limping. Mahomes exited the half and sat on the sideline wincing in pain and grabbing for the injured ankle, adding to the growing tension of the game.
With Mahomes sidelined and the Eagles’ offense back out on the field, Hurts completed another pass to Brown, putting Philadelphia in field goal position in the final minute of the half. The kick went up good, making the score at the end of the second 24-14, bringing out Rihanna for a halftime performance.
To kick off the third quarter, to Chiefs’ fan relief, Mahomes re-entered the game seemingly healthy.
The Eagles’ offense became shaky in the second half, while the Chiefs’ seemed to be with new life after their uncharacteristic first half appearance.
“We knew we didn’t play our best, we knew we didn’t play for each other as much as we wanted to,” Mahomes said in an interview with ESPN. “That first half, a lot of guys played a little uncharacteristically. We were able to regroup at half time and figure it out in that second half, and we were flying around.”
Chiefs’ running back Isiah Pacheco got loose on the left side and ran in another touchdown for Kansas City with 9:30 remaining in the third.
The Eagles only managed another field goal near the end of third, putting the score going into the final quarter at 27-21.
The Chiefs’ continued wreaking havoc on the Philly defense, with routes that kept their corners and safeties off balance and out of position.
Mahomes found receiver Kadarious Toney downfield in coverage for a touchdown two minutes into the fourth, followed by a sneak pass to Skyy Moore with 9:22 remaining in the game.
These two touchdowns put the Chiefs on top with a score of 35-27.
Hurts answered with his third rushing touchdown of the night. The Eagles were forced to forgo the point after kick and attempt a two point conversion to tie the game. Hurts ran in the game tying two point conversion, knotting the game at 35 and further intensifying the match.
After the two minute warning, an Eagle defender was called on a defensive holding, moving the Chiefs comfortably into game-winning field goal position.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid ran the play clock all the way down before calling a timeout, ensuring the Eagle offense would be helpless in saving the game.
With eleven seconds left, the kicker who got the Chiefs to the Super Bowl with a game-winning field goal against the Bengals kicked up another game winner from 27 yards out, making the final score of Super Bowl LVII 38-35.
The Chiefs scored on every drive of the second half, securing their third Vince Lombardi Trophy.
“[None] of y’all said the Chiefs were going to take it home this year,” Kelce said in an interview with ESPN. “None of you. Put some respect on our name.”
