The night before Super Bowl LIX, the Eagles told each other they didn’t want their season to end without a parade and ring ceremony. Broad Street, here they come.
Philadelphia’s defense dominated the line of scrimmage, sacking Patrick Mahomes a career-high six times. Rookie Cooper DeJean returned an interception 38 yards for a second-quarter touchdown on his 22nd birthday, and Jalen Hurts earned MVP honors in a 40-22 triumph at the Caesars Superdome to secure the second Super Bowl title in franchise history.
“This is the ultimate team game,” said head coach Nick Sirianni, soaked in green Gatorade. “You can’t be great without the greatness of others.
“We didn’t really ever care what anyone thought about how we won, or their opinions. All we wanted to do is win.”
They won with their best defensive effort of the year, led by 66-year-old architect Vic Fangio. Incredibly, Philadelphia got 16 pressures on Mahomes and did it without a single blitz. Josh Sweat had 2½ sacks and Milton Williams added two, including a fourth-quarter strip-sack that extinguished any hope Kansas City had.
DeJean and Zack Baun were the beneficiaries of the Eagles’ defensive line. DeJean’s touchdown gave Philadelphia a commanding 17-0 lead with 7:03 left in the second quarter. And Baun, who began his career in New Orleans before signing with the Eagles in March, picked off Mahomes late in the first half to set up Hurts’ 12-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown. Philadelphia took a 27-0 lead into the locker room at intermission, then extended the lead to 34-0 – the largest deficit of Mahomes’ career – when Hurts hit DeVonta Smith on a 46-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.
Kansas City earned a first down on its game-opening drive but didn’t get another until early in the third quarter, opening 0-for-8 on third downs. Philadelphia also neutralized Travis Kelce. The NFL’s all-time postseason receptions leader, Kelce didn’t have a first-half catch for the first time in his 25-game playoff career.
Hurts, meanwhile, gashed the Chiefs’ vaunted defense. The game’s leading rusher, he finished with 72 yards – a Super Bowl record by a quarterback — on 11 carries and a 1-yard Brotherly Shove touchdown that put the Eagles on the board. Silencing doubters – and there were plenty throughout the last two seasons – Hurts became only the fourth quarterback ever to rebound in victorious fashion after losing a first Super Bowl start. He joined a trio of Hall of Famers in the exclusive club, Len Dawson, Bob Griese and John Elway. Hurts was stoic after the game.
“Still processing it,” said Hurts, who finished 17 of 22 for 221 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. “It’s been a long journey of ups and downs, and highs and lows. I’ve always stayed true to it in the end, just having this vision of being the best that I can be, and evolving that over time into this desire and this flame to win.”
He won by becoming the first player in NFL history with 10 passing touchdowns and 10 rushing touchdowns in a postseason career. Plus, he’s now only the third quarterback ever to beat Mahomes in the playoffs, joining Tom Brady and Joe Burrow, and halted the Chiefs’ nine-game postseason winning streak while preventing Kansas City from an unprecedented three straight Super Bowl titles.
While Hurts delivered the Eagles’ knockout blow, Saquon Barkley got them there. And as the defense shined, the phenomenal running back was happy to serve as a decoy and total a pedestrian 57 yards on 25 carries. Still, Barkley established the single-season NFL record for a combined regular and postseason with 2,504 rushing yards, breaking a 26-year-old record held by Hall of Famer Terrell Davis.
Philadelphia turns its attention to the scouting combine and draft. The Eagles will host the first game of the 2025 NFL season in 207 days.
For more information on the Eagles and Chiefs, visit the Philadelphia and Kansas City team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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