The Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champions for the third time in franchise history. On Sunday from Glendale, Arizona, the Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35. The game was tied at 35 points apiece up until the third final play of the game, when Harrison Butker of Decatur, Georgia hit the game-winning field goal of 27 yards.
There were two significant plays on the Chiefs’s final drive. Patrick Mahomes had a 26-yard run with less than three minutes minutes left, to move the football from the Philadelphia 43 yard line to 17 yard line. (The run was even more impressive when you consider the fact Mahomes was dealing with a high ankle sprain). The second significant play came on a third and eight situation. Mahomes threw an incomplete pass to JuJu Smith Schuster, but the Chiefs still got the first down because of a holding penalty to James Bradberry of the Eagles. The Bradberry penalty allowed the Chiefs to take significant time off the clock.
The Super Bowl MVP was Mahomes, as he completed 21 of 27 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns, alongside six rushes for 44 yards. It was the second honour in the last four days for Mahomes, as on Friday he was named the most valuable player of the 2022 NFL regular season.
Mahomes was also the Super Bowl MVP in 2020 when the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Kansas City’s other Super Bowl in franchise history came back in 1970 in New Orleans, when they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 23-7.
The surprising statistic was the fact that the Chiefs had 158 yards rushing compared to 115 for Philly. Most expected the Eagles to out rust the Chiefs.
