Super Bowl LVII’s face-off between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles is now behind us, bringing the NFL season to a close and giving the Chiefs their second ring in just four years. This was a highly anticipated matchup, highlighting 24-year-old Philadelphia quarterback (QB) Jalen Hurts’ Super Bowl debut versus Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes, making his third Super Bowl appearance in four years at 27 years old. 

Although the teams were identical in record and points scored, the Eagles were favored across several sources such as Fox Sports and BetMGM sportsbook, to take home the Lombardi Trophy. 

Just like much of what was seen throughout the regular season, the Eagles struck first with an opening drive touchdown–a sneak by Hurts–just over four minutes into the first quarter. Though this was the exact start they were hoping for, tight end (TE) Travis Kelce and the Chiefs quickly answered back with a touchdown of their own just three minutes after. The first quarter would end at 7-7. 

Early on in the second quarter, the Eagles broke the tie with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Hurts to wide receiver (WR) A.J. Brown. While this was a great play from the young QB, its success was short-lived. On the Eagles’ next offensive possession, Hurts fumbled while scrambling out of the pocket, and the Chiefs recovered the ball for another game-tying touchdown. 

This mistake lit a spark under Kansas City’s offense, who had been scoreless since their first drive of the game. Despite this, Philadelphia still went into halftime with a ten-point lead, the score being 24-14.

Although the Eagles dominated in the first half, the Chiefs came alive after the break, scoring on every offensive possession they had. Aside from this, the third quarter consisted of the same back-and-forth plays that were made in the previous half. 

The fourth quarter of the game proved to be the most intense, with both teams tied, 35-35, until the final two minutes of the game. A questionable holding call on Eagle’s cornerback James Bradberry resulted in a late penalty with a minute and 52 seconds left in the game, which would give Kansas City the opportunity to run the clock down and kick the game-winning field goal with only 11 seconds left. Because of this, the Eagles wouldn’t have enough time to make a comeback. The game ended with the Kansas City Chiefs winning 38-35. 

The game’s MVP, QB Mahomes, gave quite a performance, securing his second Super Bowl MVP award with three passing touchdowns. This honor came in spite of an injury he has been dealing with since the divisional round of the playoffs in late January. Though it was clear he was struggling to get through the game with this injury, he pulled through, leading Kansas City to victory. 

Next season might look a little different for these teams, as the Eagles will likely lose many players to free agency, while the Chiefs are already listed as favorites for Super Bowl LVIII.