NEW ORLEANS — This time they left no room for a comeback.
The Philadelphia Eagles waited two years to avenge a Super Bowl defeat by the Kansas City Chiefs.
On Sunday, there was no way they were going to let Patrick Mahomes and the two-time defending champion Chiefs do it again.
Dynasty?
The Eagles derailed it by dominating the Chiefs in a 40-22 victory before 65,719 in Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome.
Eagles players celebrate in the locker room after defeating the Chiefs. (Athan Atsales / Los Angeles Times)
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, earning Super Bowl MVP honors. Saquon Barkley set a single-season record for rushing yardage and the Eagles’ defense sacked Mahomes six times and forced two turnovers.
Rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean returned an interception for a touchdown and linebacker Nick Baun’s interception set up a touchdown pass from Hurts to A.J. Brown as the Eagles raced to a 24-0 halftime lead en route to their first Super Bowl victory since the 2017 season.
That Super Bowl LII victory over the New England Patriots will forever be remembered for quarterback Nick Foles’ touchdown catch on the “Philly Special” trick play.
No trickery was required Sunday.
On a night when Kendrick Lamar wowed the crowd at halftime with a set that included his monster hit “Not Like Us,” the Eagles showed there was no team like them.
“This is the ultimate team game. You can’t be great without the greatness of others,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said on the winner’s podium. “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.”
Their 18–point margin of victory was the largest in a Super Bowl since the Seattle Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos 43-8 in 2014.
After the Eagles were eliminated in the wild-card round last season, coach Nick Sirianni fired both coordinators and hired Kellen Moore to oversee the offense and Vic Fangio to run the defense.
The moves, which paid huge dividends during the season, reached their apex on Sunday.
Hurts, who rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another in the Super Bowl two years ago, outplayed Mahomes. He passed for 221 yards, with an interception, and rushed for 72 yards.
Barkley did not break off a long touchdown run, but the NFL offensive player of the year celebrated his 28th birthday by rushing for 57 yards in 25 carries. The effort pushed his season total, including playoffs, to 2,504 yards, breaking the record 2,476 yards set by Denver’s Terrell Davis in 1998.
And Fangio’s defense never let up.
With tackle Jalen Carter disrupting the middle, edge rusher Josh Sweat sacked Mahomes 2 ½ times. Milton Williams had two sacks for a pass rush that pressured Mahomes into uncharacteristic mistakes.
Mahomes completed 21 of 32 passes for 257 yards and three late touchdowns with the two interceptions. He rushed for 25 yards.
“Defense wins championships,” Hurts said. “We saw how they played today. We saw the difference they made in the game. They gave us opportunities, gave us short fields. And we’re able to do what we do.”
From the moment actor Bradley Cooper introduced them coming out of the tunnel before the game to the moment green and white confetti showered the field, the Eagles appeared in control.
When Eagles defensive back Avonte Maddox broke up a fourth-down pass late in the third quarter, and Hurts followed with a 46-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith, Eagles fans heartily began belting their fight song, “Fly Eagles Fly” echoing through the stadium.
Mahomes finally answered with a pair of touchdown passes to Xavier Worthy, but it wasn’t enough for Mahomes to join Tom Brady, Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana as the only quarterbacks to win four or more Super Bowls.
It was a disappointing finish for a Chiefs team that was trying to win a fourth Super Bowl in six years and become the first team to win three in a row.
Two years ago, the Chiefs defeated the Eagles with a last-second field goal at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Last year, they beat the San Francisco 49ers in overtime in Las Vegas to become the first team since the Patriots in the 2003 and 2004 seasons to win back-to-back Super Bowls.
Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata celebrates after a win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday.
(Doug Benc / Associated Press)
But the Eagles ended coach Andy Reid’s shot at a three-peat.
“Today was a rough day all around. Nothing went right. I didn’t coach well. Proud of our guys for fighting,” Reid said. “Too many turnovers, too many penalties. Against a good football team, can’t do that.”
The victory capped a dominant season for the Eagles.
It did not start particularly strong: They were 2-2 going into their open date.
However they came back from the break and won 10 games in a row before suffering a 36-33 defeat by the Washington Commanders on Dec. 22, a game during which Hurts suffered a concussion that sidelined him until the playoffs.
The Eagles won their final two games and then defeated the Green Bay Packers, Rams and Commanders to advance to the Super Bowl for another shot at the Chiefs.
This time, they finished the job.