WASHINGTON — The Philadelphia Eagles have finally unseated the Kansas City Chiefs from the top of the NFL, defeating the back-to-back-Super Bowl champions in a blowout game Sunday night to claim the Lombardi trophy.
The final score was 40-22, with the Eagles flying above the Chiefs for the entire Super Bowl, blocking any scoring for nearly three quarters of the game.
The entire game was a testament to the Eagles’ defense, which consistently stymied, spoiled and repeatedly sacked Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes was sacked several times during the game, and didn’t make it into Eagles territory until near the end of the third quarter. The first points Kansas City scored during the game were in the final seconds of that quarter, but a potentially record breaking rally never came.
With three minutes left in the game, most NFL players know anything can still happen. But leading by 26, the Eagles appeared confident enough to dump Gatorade on head coach Nick Sirianni on the sidelines, kicking off the Super Bowl tradition. The Eagles even put in their backup quarterback at that point.
A second touchdown near the three-minute mark of the final quarter saw the Chiefs succeed in a two-point conversion, but with only a few minutes left on the clock, there simply wasn’t enough time to come back.
Another touchdown and two-point conversion within the two-minute warning brought Kansas City to 22 points, still three possessions down from the Eagles’ 40.
The Chiefs were favorites to win headed into the Super Bowl. Kansas City was favored by 1.5 points in betting markets before the game.
Even with the big loss, the Kansas City Chiefs have made history as the first team to ever make it to three consecutive Super Bowls. The Chiefs won against the Eagles two years ago, and defeated the San Francisco 49ers last year.
The lopsided game was at one point a few possessions away from the current record for largest Super Bowl blowout. The biggest Super rout was Jan. 28, 1990, when San Francisco beat Denver 55-10.
Maybe New Orleans is the city for blowout wins. That 55-10 game was also at the Superdome.