NEW ORLEANS — The Philadelphia Eagles earned their second Super Bowl championship in franchise history on Sunday, using two first-half interceptions to build a 24-0 halftime lead before defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX.
The Eagles, who previously won Super Bowl LII 41-33 against the New England Patriots, got after Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to the tune of six sacks and a fumble as well as the two interceptions, limiting Kansas City to six points through 57 minutes.
“We had to come out and play our best, and we did,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “They’re a team, in the greatest team sport there is.”
In addition to a dominant defensive performance, a key in that team effort was Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who was named Super Bowl MVP after completing 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also led the team in rushing with 72 yards and a score on 11 carries.
“I couldn’t do it without these guys around me,” Hurts said.
It was a measure of revenge for the Eagles after they’d lost to the Chiefs, 38-35, in Super Bowl LVII two years ago, kicking off the Chiefs’ run at a three-peat.
This time around, Hurts helped end that run quickly, navigating his way into the end zone in the first quarter on a “tush push” rushing touchdown, then adding scoring throws of 12 yards and 46 yards to increase Philadelphia’s advantage to 34-0.
“He was poised all game,” Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown said of Hurts. “He was in control.”
Rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy hauled in eight catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns for the Chiefs, who were emphatically prevented from becoming the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls.
Philadelphia’s Saquon Barkley, the NFL Offensive Player of the Year, celebrated his 28th birthday by setting two NFL records in the first half, becoming the single-season scrimmage yards leader (regular season plus playoffs) on his first carry before breaking the single-season rushing yards record on the final play before the break.
Barkley finished with 57 yards on 25 carries and added six catches for 40 yards. Across the regular season and postseason, Barkley finished with 2,857 yards from scrimmage and 2,504 rushing yards to break both records, previously held by the Denver Broncos’ Terrell Davis (1998).
After back-to-back sacks of Mahomes during a second-quarter drive, Eagles rookie defensive back Cooper DeJean, who was also celebrating a birthday (his 22nd), broke in front of a pass and returned his interception 38 yards for a touchdown with 7:03 left in the first half to stake Philadelphia to a 17-0 lead.
“I was trying to find the fastest way to the end zone,” DeJean said of his interception return. “I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a kid.”
Two drives later, edge rusher Josh Sweat, who finished with 2.5 sacks, pressured Mahomes into his second interception, which linebacker Zack Baun collected at the Chiefs 14-yard line. Two plays after that, Hurts found Brown for a 12-yard touchdown, putting the Chiefs in a 24-0 hole with 1:35 left in the half.
The Eagles went up 27-0 on Jake Elliott’s 29-yard field goal, and after the Chiefs failed on a fourth-down attempt, Hurts found DeVonta Smith alone behind the defense for a 46-yard scoring play and a 34-0 lead.
“We’ll learn from this,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We battled our tail off to get this far.”
Mahomes, who completed 21 of 32 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns, finally got the Chiefs on the board with a 24-yard scoring pass to Worthy with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.
“They got after it,” Mahomes said of the Eagles’ defense. “I just can’t turn the ball over.”
With the outcome decided in the fourth quarter, Mahomes added a 7-yard scoring toss to DeAndre Hopkins and a 50-yard touchdown pass to Worthy.
Just before the Eagles’ first score, a pass by Hurts down the right sideline was reeled in by Jahan Dotson for 27 yards to set up a first-and-goal from 1 yard out. Hurts punched it in a play later to help Philadelphia go up 7-0.
Kansas City safety Bryan Cook snuffed out the Eagles’ second straight scoring opportunity with an interception of Hurts at the Chiefs 2-yard line, but a drive later, Philadelphia made it 10-0 on Elliott’s 48-yard field goal, capping a seven-play drive.
The Eagles held a 179-23 edge in first-half yardage and outgained the Chiefs 345-275 for the game.
Elliott connected on field goals of 48 and 50 yards to conclude the Eagles’ scoring.
–David Gladow, Field Level Media
