Battered quarterback Patrick Mahomes leads his Kansas City Chiefs to triumph in one of the most gripping Super Bowls in football history. A pop star also causes a sensation.
After triumphing in one of the most spectacular Super Bowls in history, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce provided the lead singers for Kansas City Chiefs fans. Vince Lombardi Trophy in hand and a shower of confetti in the air, the Chiefs’ two biggest football stars roared their joy at the 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, to a chorus of response.
“We are Super Bowl champions. Let’s go,” shouted the outstanding quarterback Mahomes on Sunday evening (local time) on the small stage at State Farm Stadium.
The 27-year-old has been playing in the NFL for six years and is now twice the Super Bowl champion, twice the most valuable player in the game and twice the most valuable player in the main round. “This is Pat Mahomes,” his congenial partner Kelce yelled – and intoned “Fight for Your Right” by the Beastie Boys. Shortly before halftime, Mahomes hobbled off the field and then led the Chiefs to their third Super Bowl triumph in team history. Kicker Harrison Butker decided the game with a field goal eight seconds before the end.
Double digit deficit at half time
The Chiefs had earned the party night with a comeback like there had never been before in a Super Bowl. It was 14:24 at the break, a double-digit deficit at halftime had only been turned by one team in 27 previous cases.
First, Rihanna caused a sensation with her comeback appearance at the halftime show and then with the news of her second pregnancy – then Mahomes & Co. delivered the big gala. Also because the Chiefs made three touchdowns from the first three attacking series after the break, the outstanding performance of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts remained uncrowned. His three runs for a touchdown plus a touchdown pass were still a Super Bowl best.
“Philadelphia had a great game. But we’re the Chieeeeeeeeeefs,” joked coach Andy Reid at the awards ceremony. Mahomes was “phenomenal” with his three touchdown passes. “He’s the MVP. That’s all there is to say. He showed that today.”
Mahomes also with MVP title
Before being honored as the Super Bowl’s most valuable player, Mahomes had already been named the main round’s most valuable player last week. He is now the first pro since 1999 to win both the Super Bowl and the MVP title in a single season. It was also the second Super Bowl win for Chiefs coach Reid. The Eagles had won the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the only time so far in 2018.
The game offered great spectacle from the start. The Eagles and Chiefs each scored a touchdown on their first attacking series. That hadn’t happened in a Super Bowl for 25 years. The fans and celebrities around LeBron James, Jay-Z and Paul McCartney got their money’s worth early on.
With the Eagles, Hurts, 24, completed the game with a short run to start the game, while with the Chiefs Kelce was the recipient of a long throw from Mahomes. The Eagles controlled the ball and clock and took advantage of the Chiefs’ decision to forfeit first possession despite winning the coin toss. The consequence: Mahomes and his attackers only had the football for a good 8 of the first 24 minutes and had to watch from the sidelines for a long time. They saw a brilliantly caught pass from AJ Brown for 45 yards and put the Eagles back in the lead.
Kelce: “Flyed around”
A Chiefs field goal hit the post was another setback for the Chiefs fans, who were clearly inferior in terms of acoustics. However, Kansas City supporters were able to celebrate a ball loss from Eagles quarterback Hurts, which Nick Bolton used for a touchdown.
Before the break, another run from Hurts gave the Eagles a touchdown and a field goal to go ten points clear at halftime. “We knew we weren’t playing our best game, we weren’t playing as hard as we wanted,” Kelce said. “In the second half we did better and flew around.”
By this point, in a Super Bowl full of historic firsts, Hurts had already put an exclamation mark on his own chapter. He and Mahomes are the first black quarterback duo in a Super Bowl and also the youngest together. There has also never been a brother duel before: Travis Kelce from the Chiefs and Jason Kelce from the Eagles changed that in Arizona.
With two wins in the world’s most important football game, Travis Kelce, the younger of the two brothers, now has “ultimate braggart rights,” as his older brother announced earlier this week. (dpa)