Eagles Deny the Chiefs a Super Bowl Three-Peat with Dominant Defense in 40-22 Rout

AP

13:04 JST, February 10, 2025

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Cooper DeJean, Josh Sweat and the Philadelphia Eagles’ ferocious defense denied Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs a Super Bowl three-peat.

It wasn’t even close.

DeJean got a pick-6 on his 22nd birthday, Sweat tormented Mahomes and the Eagles routed the Chiefs 40-22 on Sunday to secure the franchise’s second Super Bowl championship.

Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score on a tush push, and Vic Fangio’s defense was so dominant that the Eagles didn’t need much from Saquon Barkley.

The game-changing running back finished with 57 yards, breaking Terrell Davis’ record for yards rushing in a season, playoffs included. Hurts threw for 221 yards.

“This is the ultimate team game. You can’t be great without the greatness of others. Great performance by everybody — offense, defense, special teams,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “We didn’t really ever care what anyone thought about how we won, or their opinions. All we want to do is win.”

With Donald Trump becoming the first president in office to attend a Super Bowl, the Eagles outplayed Kansas City in every facet, delighting a raucous pro-Philly crowd that celebrated each score with a familiar rendition of “Fly! Eagles! Fly!”

Even Taylor Swift’s presence couldn’t help the Chiefs. They lost for the first time in 10 games this season with the pop superstar in a suite watching boyfriend Travis Kelce, who didn’t catch a pass until late in the third quarter.

Not in Kansas City’s worst nightmares could its fans have imagined such a lackluster performance. The Chiefs had won three of the previous five Super Bowls, losing 31-9 to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers four years ago.

Mahomes was 8-0 against Fangio’s defenses before the longtime coordinator and former Broncos head coach outcoached Andy Reid, capping his first season with his hometown team. Reid fell to 3-3 in Super Bowls, including a loss with the Eagles.

The Eagles sacked Mahomes six times, the most of his career, including 2 ½ by Sweat. And they did it without Fangio calling a single blitz.

“Defense wins championships,” Hurts said. “We saw how they played today. We saw the difference they made in the game. They gave us opportunities, gave us short fields. And we’re able to do what we do.”

Barkley, the 2024 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year, only had 31 yards rushing in the first half when Philly built a 24-0 lead.

The Chiefs were aiming to become the third team in NFL history to win three straight championships and the first to three-peat in the Super Bowl era.

Hurts nearly led the Eagles to victory against the Chiefs two years ago in Arizona, but Mahomes led a comeback and Harrison Butker kicked the game-winning field goal in the final minute for a 38-35 victory. Mahomes rallied Kansas City to an overtime victory over San Francisco last year for the Chiefs’ second straight title.

This time, a revamped Philly defense featuring eight new starters from the 2022 team made sure Mahomes had no chance to pull off his magic.