The National Football League crowned its 105th champion in the Big Easy on Sunday. The Philadelphia Eagles won their second Lombardi Trophy in eight years, and their fifth league title overall. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs’ attempt at making Super Bowl history came to a decisive halt at the Superdome as Nick Sirianni’s squad dethroned the league’s current dynasty, 40-22. The Eagles scored the first 34 points of the game and never looked back.
It was a lesson on physical football by Philadelphia’s offensive and defensive fronts. The Eagles came up with six sacks of Patrick Mahomes, who turned over the ball three times. That included a pair of second-quarter interceptions, one of those returned for a touchdown by rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean.
Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts led an offense that ran a total of 70 plays, 45 rushing, and gained 345 total yards. There was one interception, but the game’s Most Valuable Player set a new Super Bowl record for rushing yards by a quarterback (72) and ran for one score. Hurts also hit on 17-of-22 throws for 221 yards and two scores, touchdown tosses to A.J. Brown (12 yards) and Devonta Smith (46 yards).
History repeats itself
There are three key numbers to look at in terms of Super Bowl success. All three went the way of the Eagles on Sunday.
The team that finishes with the most rushing attempts in the game is 48-9 on Super Sunday (there were two games in which the teams finished with the same amount of running plays). That’s a gaudy .842 winning percentage. On Sunday, Philadelphia ran the ball 45 times, the Chiefs managed only 11 attempts.
The Eagles finished with 135 yards on the ground, while Andy Reid’s team ran for only 49 yards. The Chiefs’ running game was outgained by both Hurts (72) and Saquon Barkley (57). Teams winning the rushing yardage battle are 44-14 (.759) on Super Sunday.
Finally, those miscues. The Chiefs gave up the ball three times, all by Mahomes, while Hurts’s pick was the lone miscue for the Birds. Teams winning the turnover battle are 40-6 in the “Big Game,” an impressive .870 winning percentage.
The Eagles’ dominating performance can be attributed to a lot of outstanding performances in all three phases of the game. A job well done by Sirianni and company.