The Philadelphia Eagles are back on top of the NFL summit to claim their second bragging right seven years after winning their first Vince Lombardi trophy.
The Eagles steamrolled to a 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night in New Orleans, highlighted by a most valuable player (MVP) performance from quarterback (QB) Jalen Hurts and a defensive masterclass that harried, hit and harassed Patrick Mahomes into one of the worst games of his career.
The 59th Super Bowl was the second meeting in three years between Philadelphia and Kansas City on the NFL’s biggest stage, with the Eagles still nursing the scars of the first instalment: a heart-stopping 38-35 Chiefs win in Arizona in which a hobbled Mahomes orchestrated a near-perfect second half to overturn a 10-point deficit that erased Hurts’ career-best performance. This one went the other way – and was not nearly as close.
Hurts threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns, running for 72 yards and adding a third score on a Tush Push – the result more than making up for a stat line that was not quite as flashy as two years ago.
But it was a commanding defensive performance, including a pick-six by rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean on his 22nd birthday and six sacks from the ravenous Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Jordan Davis and Jalyx Hunt that sparked a first-half avalanche and helped ensure Philadelphia could weather a rare ordinary day from star running back Saquon Barkley.
The Eagles’ gameplan was simple: pound the rock with Barkley, keep things simple for Hurts and shut down Travis Kelce, Mahomes’ favourite target; and they achieved them all. Barkley was denied the home-run touchdown burst he had expected to break but kept the Kansas City defense honest with 25 carries for 57 yards, enough to eclipse Terrell Davis’s record for yards rushing in a season, including the playoffs.
Hurts ran Kellen Moore’s offense to near-perfection. In addition, by the time Kelce made his first catch, the Eagles led by 31 points with three minutes left in the third quarter.
There were around 80 Super Bowl advertising slots, and some cost a record US$8million for 30 seconds this year.
USA President Donald Trump was a special guest at this year’s Super Bowl and made history as the first sitting USA president to attend the NFL finals.
Celebrities, including Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, Sir Paul McCartney and Bradley Cooper, were out in force for arguably America’s biggest sporting event of the year.
The half-time show
One of the most famous parts of the Super Bowl is the half-time show, which rapper Kendrick Lamar headlined this year. Hollywood actor Samuel L. Jackson, dressed as Uncle Sam, introduced the musician.
Lamar performed a string of hits, including Humble – which featured a group of dancers in red, white and blue, forming an American flag; before moving on to Toxic Love with SZA.
