A pair of Black quarterbacks put on a show for the ages in Super Bowl LVII.
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs outdueled Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in a game that came down to the final seconds.
Mahomes won his second Super Bowl title and also his second Super Bowl MVP recognition.
Had it not been for the Chiefs’ dramatic second-half comeback and game-clinching field goal drive in the fourth quarter, Hurts would most likely have been the game’s MVP.
Simply put, Hurts was outstanding. The Eagles QB completed 27 of 38 passes for 304 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 70 yards and three touchdowns. His only blemish during the game was his second quarter fumble that was returned 36 yards for a touchdown by Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton, a former Missouri Tiger.
Mahomes completed 21 of his 27 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 44 yards on six carries.
After a first-quarter TD pass to Travis Kelce to tie the score 7-7, the Eagles dominated time of possession. Philadelphia took a 24-14 lead into halftime.
The other two Mahomes TD passes came in the fourth quarter during the furious Chiefs rally. He connected with Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore on similar plays to opposite parts of the end zones to put the Chiefs ahead in the fourth.
Moore’s touchdown was set up by a 65-yard punt return by Toney, the longest in Super Bowl history. Toney was signed by the Chiefs during the season after the New York Giants released him. He wore out his welcome there, and the Chiefs laid down a welcome mat. It paid off big time.
Mahomes, who had re-injured his high ankle sprain late in the second quarter, was in obvious pain when he strung together key completions and a 26-yard run to help set up Harrison Butker’s game-winning field goal.
Mahomes had high praise for Hurts following the epic battle.
“If there were any doubters left there shouldn’t be now,” Mahomes said.
“I mean, the way he stepped on this stage, and ran, threw the ball, whatever it took for his team to win. I mean, that was a special performance. I don’t want it to get lost in the loss that they had.”
If any football fan doubted that Mahomes is among the greatest quarterbacks to step on to an NFL field, he put those thoughts to rest. He willed his team to the win with his arm, injured leg, and heart.
He is the seventh quarterback to win both the NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP awards in the same season and is the sixth player ever to win multiple Super Bowl MVP awards.
On Monday, during the Super Bowl MVP press conference, Mahomes said he was aware that people doubted him and his team in the Super Bowl.
“I’m not a guy who’s gonna respond and say stuff back to people or anything like that on social media. I’m just gonna go out and prove it on the football field. Once you do that, there’s nothing they can really say,” he said.
Super job in the Super Bowl, Patrick Mahomes
The Reid Super Bowl Roundup
Eagles receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith were magnificent. Brown snared six passes for 96 yards and a 45-yard touchdown grab. Smith seemed unstoppable in the first half and closed with 100 yards on seven receptions…All the bluster about the defensive holding penalty on James Bradberry should be silenced. Juju Smith-Schuster was about to sail uncontested into open space and Mahomes would have had another touchdown pass. Bradberry did what he had to – hold. All the “it was a penalty, but the ref should not have called it” talk is ridiculous…The Eagles vaunted pass rush finished the Super Bowl with no sacks. The Chiefs registered two, one each by Leo Chenal and Khalen Saunders… “Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid for a great Super Bowl win and for sustained excellence,” tweeted former President Barack Obama. “And shout out to the Eagles and Jalen Hurts —outstanding competitors with a bright future.”…The Chiefs are the betting favorite to win next year’s Super Bowl.
