I made early Super Bowl predictions in October, two weeks into the NFL season. Needless to say, I was wrong (partially). The Buffalo Bills did not win Super Bowl 57, or even make it past the second round, but the Philadelphia Eagles did exactly as predicted. The Birds made it to the Super Bowl and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in one of the best Super Bowls in recent years.
At the time, the Buffalo Bills remained one of the most dominant teams in the NFL in recent years, and until the AFC Divisional round, things looked good for Josh Allen and the company. The Bills had the entire league rooting for them after Damar Hamlin’s accident in week 17. However, the storybook ending was prevented by Joe Burrow and the Bengals in the second round of the playoffs, leaving Stephon Diggs standing alone after a crushing playoff loss once again.
A win in the AFC Championship provided Patrick Mahomes with his third Super Bowl appearance in four years. As for the Eagles, their dominant offense provided them with a somewhat easy path to the Super Bowl, winning by more than 24 points in both playoff games prior. Entering the game, these two teams could not have been more evenly matched. Both came into Arizona as the number one seed in their respective conferences at an overall record of 16-3, 546 points scored, 4.6 average rushing yards and one Kelce brother a piece. The striking similarities were on full display Sunday night.
The Eagles dominated the first half, scoring first and things looked good as they maintained a double-digit lead going into halftime. Patrick Mahomes went down with an ankle injury with just minutes left in the first half, and at this point, it looked like Jalen Hurts could ride into the sunset with the Lombardi Trophy. Nope. Philadelphia joined the 2017 Atlanta Falcons in being the only teams to blow a double digit lead in the Super Bowl. It’s only fitting that the Falcons team was led by Philly native Matt Ryan. Lackluster defense in the second half by the Eagles allowed Mahomes, in clear pain, to lead his team to narrow Philadelphia’s lead. Entering the fourth, down six, Pat reminded the world why he was crowned MVP. The Chiefs continued to pick the Eagles’ defense apart, gaining a 35-27 lead with minutes remaining. Jalen Hurts backfired with his own third rushing touchdown of the night to tie the game at 35, but they left Mahomes too much time.
In typical Chiefs fashion, they march into field goal territory within the last two minutes. With some Philly hope still alive, the refs bailed out the Chiefs once again. A questionable pass interference call on Eagles cornerback James Bradberry placed Kansas City in a game-winning position, and a Harrison Butker field goal ended the game.
A very anticlimactic ending to an extraordinary game left me as a fan disappointed. Jalen Hurts played a phenomenal game, gathering 374 all purpose yards and 4 total touchdowns. This Eagles team played an exceptional game, and the future is bright. However, we are in the era of the Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs dynasty, and it will be interesting to see what the young quarterback is capable of in the future. As a Dallas Cowboys fan, I wish both teams could have lost and Rihanna could have won, but I’ll settle for a good game. Maybe next year Cowboys fans.
