Chiefs conquer Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII

In a battle of two elite offenses, Kansas City squeaks out a second-half victory over the Eagles

GABE KAIJA, Evergreen reporter

After a somewhat rough and tumble start in the first half of this year’s Super Bowl, Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs were down, but certainly not out.

Falling to 24-14 through 30 minutes of play, Kansas City turned up the heat in the second half on Sunday to eventually beat the Eagles 38-35 and became only the second team in NFL history to come back from a 10-point halftime deficit in the Super Bowl.

Mahomes, who was crowned Super Bowl MVP, received help from his defense in the second half, after struggling to get a stop against the Eagles’strong offense. The Chiefs held the Eagles to just 11 points in the second half.

After trading star wide receiver Tyreek Hill in the offseason, Kansas City had receiver Kadarius Toney step up in the big game with a Super Bowl-record 65-yard punt return and Skyy Moore caught his first career touchdown.

A large reason for the outcome of the game came on one of the last plays of the game, in which Eagles’ defensive back James Bradberry was flagged for grabbing the jersey of Chiefs’ receiver Juju Smith-Schuster.

The controversial call occurred on a third down play inside the two-minute warning, allowing the Chiefs to chew the clock and kick what would become the game-winning field goal. The penalty quickly became the focal point of post-game analysts, as many were unable to see what the referees saw.

Philadelphia will likely be kicking itself after what may be considered a waste of an all-time quarterback performance by Jalen Hurts, who finished the game with 304 passing yards, one passing touchdown, 70 rushing yards and a whopping three rushing touchdowns. It was the first time any quarterback has reached those marks in a single game, let alone doing it on the biggest stage of the NFL.

Both Eagles have two first-round picks in the upcoming NFL draft, so it is likely that they will seek to improve in the offseason and avenge this season’s shortcomings.