Philadelphia Eagles Crush Kansas City Chiefs’ Three-Peat Dream

Forgive any football fan who’s wondering—what was that? 

The Philadelphia Eagles really obliterated the Kansas City Chiefs, the two-time defending champs and the slight betting favorite, in Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans on Sunday night? The Chiefs, the team chasing much publicized history in trying to become the first three-peat Super Bowl champ, played like they forgot to show up?

Philadelphia’s 40-22 triumph over Kansas City—the Chiefs tacked on two late touchdowns to make the point difference barely respectable—was a stunning display of offensive firepower and defensive ferocity. The victory gave Philadelphia its second Super Bowl title in franchise history: Kansas City trailed 24-0 at halftime, and 34-0 late in the third quarter. Star Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes had never faced such a deficit in his career, and while he engineered a pair of Super Bowl comebacks the last two seasons, this spread was just too much. Philadelphia made off-season moves, coming into the 2024 campaign, that were just too good. The Eagles left no question that they’re deserving champions.

The most important maneuver was signing running back Saquon Barkley, formerly of the New York Giants, to a free agent contract. In this Super Bowl, Barkley broke the NFL record for most rushing yards in a regular season and postseason. But the Eagles needed no eye-popping performance from their best player on Sunday: he finished the game with just 57 yards, on 25 carries. Kansas City’s gameplan was clear: we’ll load up to stop Saquon, and dare Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts to beat us.

That was a mistake. On Philadelphia’s first possession, the Eagles went for it on a 4th and 2 from midfield. Philly took a gamble, and sent a message: rather than give the ball to Barkley, Hurts fired a deep pass downfield to A.J. Brown, who corralled it for a 32-yard gain. A ticky-tack offensive pass interference flag nullified the play; the Eagles punted. But Hurts didn’t stop airing it out: he hit Brown with a 12-yard touchdown pass late in the first half, off of Mahomes’ second interception of the game, to give Philly that 24-0 edge going into halftime.

In the third quarter, Hurts hit DeVonta Smith with a 46-yard touchdown strike up the middle to increase the lead to an insurmountable 34-0 advantage. He finished the game completing 17 of 22 passes, for 221 yards and a pair of TDs. Hurts was also Philadelphia’s leading rusher, as he finished with 72 yards on 11 carries, including a one-yard first quarter TD via Philadelphia’s signature “brotherly shove,” or “tush-push,” that gave the Eagles their first points of the game. Hurts completed passes of 20 and 27 yards in that masterclass possession. He was rightfully named Super Bowl MVP. 

After a 2023 season in which he threw a career high 15 interceptions, Hurts attempted 25% fewer passes per game this season, as Barkley put together one of the best running seasons of all-time. But in this Super Bowl, Hurts more than delivered on his early promise: he nearly led the Eagles to a title over the Chiefs two seasons ago, but fell just short in a 38-35 Super Bowl defeat. He then put a picture of himself, dejected while walking off the field that night in Arizona, confetti at his feet, as his cell phone lock screen, to remind him of what he still had to accomplish.

Time for an update.

Philadelphia’s defense also deserves its flowers. This off-season, the Eagles hired veteran defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to upgrade Philly’s effort on that side of the ball. The team had drafted a slew of strong, young defensive talent in the last few years, and added a pair of rookies—defensive backs Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell—this year who played key roles flummoxing Mahomes on Sunday. DeJean, who was also celebrating his 22nd birthday on Sunday, intercepted a Mahomes first-half pass and returned it 38 yards for a score. Philadelphia’s defense sacked Mahomes a half-dozen times, and held KC to a single first-half first down. The pressure on Mahomes was relentless. Travis Kelce did not catch a single pass until after Kendrick Lamar performed at halftime, when the game, for all intents and purposes, was already out of reach.

So the Lombardi Trophy returns to the City of Brotherly Love, where Eagles coach Nick Sirianni jawed with the city’s notoriously surly and demanding fans earlier this season. Sirianni silenced any doubters. Hurts is still just 26. The Eagles defense should remain loaded. If Barkley can stay healthy, the NFL’s narrative for these next few years has a strong chance to be rewritten. The league’s next dynasty may reside in Philadelphia.