To the dismay of many NFL fans (myself included), the Chiefs trekked onward to “The Big Game” for the third straight year – the fifth time total in the Mahomes era. Kansas City was seeking to rewrite football history and take home a “three-peat” along the likes of the 90’s NBA giants Chicago Bulls (and probably cause riots across the football world simultaneously).
Maybe the Chiefs were in an uncharted position due to some *outside help*. Maybe the Chiefs were there due to a future-HOF superstar in Patrick Mahomes.
No matter what the circumstances might have been, they didn’t do anything to steer the outcome of Super Bowl 59. Simply put, KC was battered and shattered.
Mahomes had 33 passing yards in the first half, also tossing two uncharacteristic interceptions – one a pick-six by Eagles rookie cornerback Cooper Dejean.
The Chiefs trailed at half 24-0, the first time the team has been shutout in the first half of a Super Bowl in their team’s history – and more notably in the Mahomes era itself. The Chiefs didn’t score a point until they were down 34-0 with the third quarter nearly concluding – and it took some Patrick Mahomes arm magic to make this score occur.
The Eagles defense didn’t blitz at all. Philly sacked Mahomes six times (the most Mahomes has taken in a game in his NFL life), and Travis Kelce didn’t have a catch until the third quarter. In addition to all of these shocking notes, the first nine drives for Kansas City netted a total of 43 yards, according to EaglesWire.
Averaging this out would give KC a staggering 4.78 yards each drive. Yeesh.
However, a Super Bowl of disarray for the Chiefs did yield a couple of goodies, as Kansas City held rushing star Saquon Barkley to a mere 57 yards on 25 runs. In addition, Mahomes was able to find rookie wideout Xavier Worthy on a deep shot to the endzone with under two minutes in the fourth, giving Mahomes three TD passes on the day… somehow. In a game that saw the Eagles fly high to a 40-6 lead in the fourth quarter, though, these goodies could only be bite-sized compared to what went south for KC.
In a game that saw Philly notch a tie for the second-largest halftime lead in the history of the “Big One,” those prior goodies could really be labeled as sour candy.
While the Eagles were munching on some sweets, the Chiefs didn’t really enjoy any candy of their own – and things will stay that way until next year, when KC gets back to the top of the NFL food chain for the fourth time in seven years… right?