Philadelphia’s defense forced Patrick Mahomes into the worst playoff performance of his career Sunday night, as the Eagles prevented Kansas City from winning a third straight Super Bowl with a decisive 40-22 victory in New Orleans.
The Eagles built a 34-0 lead through three quarters before Kansas City scored twice in garbage time. Philadelphia’s defense, orchestrated by first-year coordinator Vic Fangio, pressured Mahomes on nearly half his dropbacks without blitzing once.
“We had a special group this year, we were able to learn from the past,” quarterback Jalen Hurts said after earning Super Bowl MVP honors. “Defense wins championships. We saw how they played today. We saw the difference they made in the game. They gave us opportunities, gave us short fields.”
Hurts threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns while adding 72 rushing yards and another score. The Eagles’ defense picked off Mahomes twice, including rookie Cooper DeJean’s 38-yard interception return touchdown on his 22nd birthday that made it 17-0.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid took responsibility for his team’s collapse on the big stage.
“Today was a rough day all around. Nothing went right. I didn’t coach well,” Reid said. “Too many turnovers, too many penalties. Against a good football team, can’t do that.”
The Chiefs opened by throwing on 12 of their first 13 plays, abandoning the run game early. Mahomes completed just 6 of 14 first-half passes for 33 yards – his lowest first-half total ever – as Philadelphia built a 24-0 halftime lead.
“This is the ultimate team game. You can’t be great without the greatness of others,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “Great performance by everybody – offense, defense, special teams. We didn’t really ever care what anyone thought about how we won, or their opinions. All we want to do is win.”
Josh Sweat and Milton Williams combined for 4.5 of Philadelphia’s six sacks as the Eagles defense allowed just three third-down conversions on 12 attempts. The dominance avenged Philadelphia’s 38-35 loss to Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII two years ago.
Travis Kelce didn’t record his first catch until three minutes remained in the third quarter, with Philadelphia ahead by 31 points. The Eagles defense played just two snaps of man coverage all night, frustrating Kansas City’s passing game with disciplined zone coverage.