On Sunday, February 9th, two of the best teams in football matched up at the famous Caesars Superdome for one of the most highly anticipated annual events in America. The Chiefs, coming off a 15-2 season, were widely expected to be the first three-peat in NFL history, and even discussed patenting the term before the game. The Eagles, after a 14-3 season, had hopes for redemption after the 2022 Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs. After a suspenseful coin toss between the champions of their respective conferences, the tails call by the Chiefs was correct, and elected to defer the ball to the Eagles so they could receive the ball in the second half.
The first half dominance from the Eagles had the majority of America ecstatic, as almost 10% more Americans were rooting for the Chiefs demise, including the Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s own brother and former Eagle, Jason Kelce. The Eagles started off the scoring with a march downfield into their famous “Tush Push” for a Jalen Hurts rushing touchdown. The “Tush Push” is a formation where they load the offensive line and put running backs behind the quarterback. The quarterback then gets pushed for one to three yards into the endzone. After a quick punt from the Chiefs, the Eagles then racked up another three points on a 48-yard field goal from kicker Jake Elliot. After the kickoff, the dominance of the Eagles defense continued, as rookie Cooper Dejean snagged a 38-yard pick six. This stellar rookie had many fans out of their seats, including Hingham High School student James Slankas. When asked about the game, he remarked, “I voted Cooper Dejean for MVP.” A final first half score on yet another interception thrown by Mahomes, this time
to Zach Baun, allowed for a touchdown pass to star receiver A.J Brown with just 1:35 left in the half. This Zach Baun interception inspired Hingham High School student Connor Downey to state, “Zach Baun is underrated.” This first half shutout created a 24-0 lead for the Eagles by halftime.
Although the Chiefs got themselves on the scoreboard in the second half, the Eagles continued with their stifling defense to keep the lead intact. After back-to-back turnover on downs drives for the Chiefs, the Eagles were able to put up ten more points with a 29-yard field goal and a touchdown pass to Devonta Smith. With 34 seconds left in the 3rd quarter, Mahomes and Xavier Worthy connected for a 50-yard touchdown pass, finally getting Kansas City on the scoreboard. When Philadelphia got the ball back in the fourth quarter, they were able to put up two 45 plus yard field goals and prevented the Chiefs offense from scoring, making the lead a whopping 40-6. The Chiefs finally seem to figure out their offense, however it is too late, as they score back-to-back touchdowns in the fourth quarter with less than 3 minutes left. They were also successful on two-point attempts on each of these touchdowns. The Eagles then kneeled the ball out to prevent the three-peat and bring a title home to Philadelphia.
