Eagles turn doubters into believers after thwarting Chiefs' Super Bowl three-peat

Los Angeles Times

10-02-2025

NEW ORLEANS — The Kansas City Chiefs wanted a three-peat in the worst way.
They were half-right.
Although they didn't get an unprecedented third consecutive Lombardi Trophy, they got the 'worst way' part down pat.
Seven years after reaching the NFL mountaintop with a down-to-the-wire win, the Philadelphia Eagles left no room for doubt Sunday, bringing Broad Street to Bourbon Street with a 40-22 Super Bowl victory over the two-time defending NFL champions.
'It says champion on my hat,' Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson bellowed as he made his way from the confetti-covered Superdome field to the locker room.
'Do you believe us now?' cornerback Kelee Ringo yelled to reporters as he happily jogged past.
Surely, Patrick Mahomes is a believer. Philadelphia's defense had the Chiefs quarterback scrambling to survive and limited one of the league's most lethal weapons to a passer rating of 10.7 in the first half. The Chiefs wobbled to 23 yards of offense and a single first down in the first two quarters.
Before they scored their first touchdown, the Chiefs saw their first nine possessions end: punt, punt, punt, interception, punt, interception, punt, punt, turnover on downs.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts, whose team lost in the Super Bowl to Kansas City two years earlier, threw for 221 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for 72 yards and a touchdown, and was named the game's most valuable player.
'What's crazy is, everyone has questions about this quarterback, which blows my mind because I think he's one of the best quarterbacks in all of football,' said legendary Philadelphia receiver Mike Quick, the color analyst on Eagles radio. 'He does what you need him to do to win football games.
'On the biggest stage is where he performs the best. And people still question him? I think they should put respect on his name.'
MVP could easily have gone to a host of Eagles defenders, among them rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean, who had a 38-yard pick-six; linebacker Zack Baun, who led the team with seven tackles and had a key interception before the end of the first half; edge rusher Josh Sweat, who had six tackles and 2½ sacks; and defensive tackle Milton Williams, who contributed two sacks.
'Hats off to the Eagles, man, they got after us,' said Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who had four catches for 39 yards. '[We] couldn't get it going offensively, then on top of that turnovers, penalties, playing behind the sticks on offense, dropped passes, not taking advantage of the play calls and executing. There's a lot that goes into it.'
In short, the lopsided game was Snoozer Bowl LIX, and the TV cameras spent much of the time scanning the stands for Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Adam Sandler, Bradley Cooper, Kevin Hart and President Trump, the first sitting U.S. president to attend a Super Bowl.
The blowout was a stark contrast to Philadelphia's harrowing first Super Bowl victory seven years earlier over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
This time, Brady was in the broadcast booth for Fox, and the guy chasing his seven rings was stymied at every turn. Mahomes, playing behind a porous offensive line, had a New Orleans Super Bowl experience that rivals Denver's Craig Morton (four interceptions) or New England's Tony Eason (0 for 6 passing). Mahomes' numbers improved in the second half, but only after the Chiefs had fallen behind, 34-0. He wound up with three touchdowns, but they proved to be cosmetic scores.
'Just didn't play to my standard, and I have to be better next time,' Mahomes said.
The last three Super Bowls were decided by three points each, with Sunday's game being the first blowout on the big stage since Tampa Bay throttled the Chiefs by 22.
In that game, it was Todd Bowles, then Buccaneers defensive coordinator, who drew up a devastating game plan against Mahomes. This time, the mastermind was Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who finally got the better of the Kansas City superstar.
Coming into the Super Bowl, Mahomes had faced a Fangio defense eight times — and won all eight.
A lot of the talk in the week leading up to the game concerned officiating and whether Kansas City would get extra help from the stripes in their bid for history. The Eagles left nothing to chance.
The Eagles have been to three Super Bowls in eight years, winning two.
'This was the best Eagles team in modern history,' said longtime play-by-play man Merrill Reese, who called each of the club's five Super Bowls. 'There were no holes. They didn't have to cover up for anybody. They had a great defensive coordinator. Team didn't have any weaknesses.'
Philadelphia scored a combined 95 points in the NFC championship victory over Washington and Super Bowl win.
Running back Saquon Barkley set an NFL record for the most rushing yards in a season, counting playoffs (2,504), surpassing the 2,476 of Denver's Terrell Davis in 1998.
The Eagles' locker room was like a rollicking nightclub, with players, coaches and even some wives smoking cigars and dancing to the thumping music. Many players wore ski goggles to protect their eyes from the spray of champagne.
Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni has led his team to the Super Bowl twice in his four seasons, and now has a ring to show for it.
After the game, while being interviewed on the field by Fox, he picked up his young son and held him on his hip.
'Here come the happy tears,' the coach said.
Cry, Eagle, cry.