The Kansas City Chiefs, with QB Patrick Mahomes battling through an ankle injury, captured their second Super Bowl in four seasons with an epic win over Philadelphia Eagles.
Harrison Butker kicked the game-winning field goal of Super Bowl 57 to secure a 38-35 win with five seconds left on the clock.
His 27-yard kick with five seconds left completed a drive that was helped by a controversial illegal-contact penalty on the Eagles on third down in the final two minutes. The Chiefs milked almost the rest of the clock to set up the winning kick – declining to take a touchdown in the dying moments.
The penalty call enraged many fans who considered it spoiled an otherwise superb contest.
The player involved, James Bradberry put his hand up for the error.
The Eagles had two Australians attempting to become the first Aussies to win American Football’s biggest game but Jordan Mailata and former AFL player Arryn Siposs ended up on the losing team.
Mailata, a former South Sydney rugby league junior, made an early impact his quarterback Jalen Hurts to get into a position to score two running touchdowns in the first half as the Eagles went to the rooms leading 24-14.
The left tackle and punter were the third and fourth Australians to feature in the NFL decider, seeking to become the first to play in a win after Ben Graham (Arizona, 2009) and Mitch Wishnowsky (San Francisco, 2020) both played on losing Super Bowl teams.
Siposs had a moment to forget in the fourth quarter with a poor punt leading to to a Chiefs touch down as they roared back into the game.
His wayward kick, shanked away from defensive coverage, gave Kadarius Toney way too much time to get wound up and the Chiefs returner produced a stunning 65-yard punt return – the longest in Super Bowl history. Skyy Moore then scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive as the Chiefs’ lead to 35-27.
The defeat was tough on Hurts, who produced a record breaking performance for his team. But the Chiefs came from behind at halftime, scoring on every time with the ball after the break.
Patrick Mahomes . (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid speaking on Fox said: “I will give the credit to the big o-line, Patrick Mahomes and everyone around him.
“He is the MVP, that is all that needs to be said and you saw it tonight.”
Mahomes limped off the field after aggravating a right ankle injury just before halftime but said nothing was going to keep him from completing the contest.
Mahomes added: “It didn’t come from one person it was everyone, our defence played hard and we found our way, we battled so hard and got it done.
“I told you before the season, we got coach Andy Reid, Travis Kelce, Frank Clark we are going to be the Kansas City Chiefs.”
Mahomes and Hurts excelled in the first Super Bowl matchup featuring two Black starting QBs. But Mahomes, the two-time AP NFL MVP, turned it up in the second half after reaggravating a sprained right ankle.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who couldn’t win the big game in Philadelphia, beat his former team to earn his second ring with Mahomes and the Chiefs.
With the score tied at 35-35, the Eagles tried to let the Chiefs score a touchdown with under two minutes left so they could get the ball back. But Jerick McKinnon slid at the 2, forcing the Eagles to use their last timeout.
After Mahomes took a knee two times, Butker nailed his kick, sending thousands of red-clad Chiefs fans into a frenzy.
The Chiefs won their second Super Bowl following the 2019 season, 50 years after the first one. It took just three years to get another Lombardi.
Chiefs fans were outnumbered in the stadium, but they did their part to silence the boisterous Philly fans with the tomahawk chop chant.
Down 24-14 with a limping Mahomes, the Chiefs followed up Rihanna’s electrifying halftime performance with a sensational offensive outburst.
Mahomes, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the divisional round, hurt it again on a 3-yard scramble late in the second quarter. He limped off the field but showed no ill effects on Kansas City’s next possession.
Mahomes slipped — several players lost their footing on the natural grass surface — in the pocket yet somehow regained his balance and scrambled 14 yards to the Eagles 4, setting up Isiah Pacheco’s 1-yard TD run that cut the deficit to 24-21.
After Jake Elliott’s 33-yard field goal extended Philadelphia’s lead to 27-21, the Chiefs struck again.
Mahomes tossed a 5-yard TD pass to a wide-open Kardarius Toney to give Kansas City its first lead, 28-27, early in the fourth quarter.
The Chiefs tightened up their defense, forcing Philly to punt. Then Toney returned a line-drive kick 65 yards to the Eagles 5 for the longest punt return in Super Bowl history.
On third down from the 4, Mahomes connected with Skyy Moore to extend their lead to 35-27. Moore also was wide open on the play.
But the Eagles wouldn’t go away.
Hurts hit DeVonta Smith for a 46-yard gain to the Chiefs and ran in for his third score of the game. He also ran in for the 2-point conversion to tie it at 35-35 with 5:15 to go.
As “Fly! Eagles! Fly!” reverberated throughout the stadium, Mahomes and the Chiefs went back to work.
The 27-year-old Mahomes became the third player to win his second NFL MVP award before age 28. He also became the youngest QB to start three Super Bowls. Then, Mahomes became the first player to win the Super Bowl the same season he was MVP after nine straight players lost.
Just five years after winning the first Super Bowl in franchise history, the Eagles came close with a new coach — Nick Sirianni — and new quarterback — Hurts.
Hurts set a Super Bowl record with 70 yards rushing and tied a record with three rushing scores.
The Eagles marched 75 yards down the field with Hurts scoring from the 1 for a 7-0 lead, and controlled the ball for almost 22 minutes in the first half.
Hurts, who missed two games late in the season with a shoulder injury, had no trouble throwing a perfect deep ball to A.J. Brown, giving the Eagles a 14-7 lead with a 45-yard connection on the first play of the second quarter.
But Hurts then made a rare mistake on the next drive when he fumbled without being hit while scrambling away from pressure. Nick Bolton picked it up and raced 36 yards for a score that made it 14-14. Hurts had just eight turnovers this season, six picks and two fumbles.
Undeterred, Hurts kept running.
He took off for 14 yards on the first play after the fumble. On fourth-and-5 from Chiefs 44, Hurts ran 28 yards. He finished off the drive with a 4-yard TD run to put Philadelphia ahead 21-14.
Elliott kicked a 35-yard field goal to send the Eagles into halftime leading 24-14.
Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce on an 18-yard TD pass in the right corner to tie it at 7-7 in the first quarter. The Chiefs’ All-Pro tight end and Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce became the first set of brothers to play against each other in the Super Bowl.
Their mom, Donna Kelce, wore a half-red, half-green jersey with No. 87 on the front for Travis and No. 62 on the back for Jason. She sat in a suite between NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Damar Hamlin.
Eagles fans turned State Farm Stadium into a sea of green, chanting “E-A-G-L-E-S!” and singing the team’s fight song after each score. But they left disappointed.
Reid won more games than any coach in team history during 14 seasons with the Eagles but the one knock against him was that he couldn’t win the big one. Reid finally earned his ring with the Chiefs when they beat San Francisco in the Super Bowl following the 2019 season. They went back the next year and lost to Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The first Super Bowl involving both No. 1 seeds since the Eagles beat the Patriots in February 2018 lived up to its hype. It was the third-highest scoring Super Bowl and the Eagles scored the most points by a losing team.
Plenty of celebrities were the Eagles fans wearing, including Bradley Cooper and Kevin Hart, who wore a Reggie White No. 92 jersey.
Paul McCartney and LeBron James also were in the crowd of 67,827.
(With Associated Press)
Albo
Roar Rookie
At the end of the day, the officials missed ( or ignored) so many penalties in that game , it is a bit rich picking out one moment as a "defining decision" in this game ? There was little in the match with both QB's having great games and both offensive teams doing well. In the end a bit more big match experience and coaching nous, might have got the Chiefs home.
Albo
Roar Rookie
Yep ! I have been a Chiefs fan since the Montana days ! We are currently in a purple patch thanks to having a great coach & QB !
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
Some call it boring but it’s obviously part of the game and it’s a results-based business with the obligation to win at all costs. Play calling and decision making all night was impressive from both sides to be fair
Christian Montegan
Roar Pro
Agree. The officials get slaughtered as it is. The holding was minimal but it still needed to be called regardless of the occasion.
Worlds Biggest
Guest
Fantastic game, one of the best Super Bowls ever, had everything. The Eagles looked very good at halftime but this Chiefs team can run down any deficit. Hard to believe the Eagles didn’t sack Mahommes once with there stellar defensive front. Great job by the Chiefs O-line. Both QB’s were outstanding. As for the call, it was marginal and a shame it killed the clock and any chance of an Eagles last drive. All up an incredible Super Bowl.
mushi
Roar Guru
He grabs him as he cuts even the defender admitted the call. He probably tried to be savvy and only grab on the cut to make it look innocuous, that's what I'd have done :)
Griffo 09
Roar Rookie
"It diminished the game, and prevented the last 2 minutes from being something special." Not relevant. Match officials have no obligation to ensure something special. They have an obligation to call what they see. The effect it had on the pass is also not relevant. Rules are rules. In situations of mutual infringements it may ok to apply discretion, but this was not one of those situations.
mushi
Roar Guru
Your final sentence about it diminishing the game and preventing it being special was likewise poor. If you hadn’t made that sweeping statement I’d have left it at the first two. You reacted without the information, I’ve subsequently reacted to that. Perhaps if the first reaction didn’t occur the subsequent one would not have
Pete McAloney
Roar Pro
No need to make it personal mate, attacking the person you are arguing with is poor form and a classic blunder. Your first two comments are solid evidence to support your stance, which is implied as being it was a fair call. The third is just petty.
mushi
Roar Guru
Eagles also got a blatant PI no call on a 3rd down and was it AJ Brown that went helmet first into a block that could have been sidelined material? Refs didn't decide the game
mushi
Roar Guru
He grabs him as he's trying to change direction even the defender admits it was a hold. If he hadn't grabbed him he explodes out of his cut. But hey the defender admitted it and the refs called it maybe you've got better insight into how the game should be officiated
mrl
Roar Rookie
Thank god we now know which celebrities were there.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
I hoped you watched the game Albo. Very enjoyable. Cheesehead, yep, gotta go tha green and gold.
Birdy
Roar Rookie
We can only look at the bright side Piru, the NFL made a gazillion more in tv adds while the review was in progress. As for us, well I'll never complain about our video decisions ever again..Very soft. The one just before half time against an eagles receiver was rediculous.
josh
Roar Rookie
The call was there. Was a great game, then a perfect example of clock management. New time viewers need to know the game doesn't play to the clock. Game was all but over at the 2 minute warning.
Dingo
Roar Rookie
As a chiefs fan I’m rapt they got the win, especially given they had less than 50% of the ball. This year Mahomes and the Chiefs just keep finding a way to win. However I’m disappointed in that penalty, have seen plenty worse than that NOT given. Hurts was fantastic- he was probably best on the field but Mahomes just made the crucial plays when needed. Best since Brady.
Big Dave
Roar Rookie
I thought it was a little worse than that, slowed the receiver trying to get around the corner and get upfield which threw the timing off slightly. Much worse than that not called during the game though. There were a couple of calls like the reversed fumble TD and and sideline catch that might have been technically correct but didn't pass the common sense test.
Albo
Roar Rookie
Cheeshead , Birdy !
piru
Roar Rookie
Go the Packers. A man of culture. I didn't see the flag in real time, but the replay looks pretty innocuous
piru
Roar Rookie
Offensive linemen never get mentioned unless they jump offside or get done for holding