Chiefs Prevail in Super(b) Bowl LVII

February 13, 2023 by CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

Super Bowl LVII (57) offered a much-anticipated matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, and quarterbacks Pat Mahomes vs. Jalen Hurts. The game did not disappoint.

The Chiefs ultimately covered the 1.5-point spread, the Eagles' Jalen Hurts scored the first TD, and the length of the national anthem (2minutes, 2 seconds) was a push in the Prop Bets results.

Kansas City's Harrison Butker kicked the a 27-yard field goal with 8 seconds remaining for the 38-35 win. Butker's only previous attempt in the game was a doink off the left upright from 42 yards out in the 2nd quarter when the game was tied at 7-apiece. The Chiefs had the time and opportunity to salt the game away with a touchdown, but played conservatively for the field goal instead. It's a move that always drives me nuts, but it worked.

Kansas City is also now the early favorite to repeat.

Pat Mahomes, who was playing with a high-ankle sprain injury that was aggravated on a scamper early in the game, won the Most Valuable Player award after a flawless performance. He finished 21-of-27 for 182 yards and 3 TD's with a QB rating of 96.4. He tacked on 44 gusty rushing yards.

The Chiefs' Isiah Pacheo was the game's leading rusher with 76 yards on 15 carries, including a 1-yard TD that pulled his team to with 24-21 at the start of the 3rd quarter.

To nobody's surprise, Travis Kelce led the team with 6 receptions for 81 yards and a TD. All 6 targets were completed catches. Juju-Smith Shuster made a solid contribution of 7 receptions for 53 yards.

Philadelphia's quarterback also played a great game with one critical turnover that came early when the Eagles looked like they might just roll the Chiefs. Already ahead 14-7, Philly was driving again when Hurts simply dropped the ball while trying to shift it to his right hand and Nick Bolton took advantage for a 36-yard scoop-and-score.

Hurts shook off the mistake and led his team on TD drive on the very next possession and, by halftime, the Eagles had taken a 24-14 lead.

The Philadelphia QB, who was 13-1 in games in the regular season, otherwise was phenomenal as he went 27of-38 for 304 yards and led the team in rushing with 70 yards and 3 TD's.

Prior to the drive that produced KC's winning kick, Hurts led the Eagles on an 8-play 75 yard drive that ended with his 2-yard TD run AND 2-point conversion rush to tie it at 35. DeVonta Smith's 45-yard catch set up the tying TD run as he finished the night with 100 receiving yards on 7 catches, while AJ Bown had 2 catches on that drive for 18 yards before the Smith completion.

In the end, Kansas City celebrated it second Super Bowl win in four years after putting 50 years between the first 2. Philadelphia was hoping to secure its second Lombardi Trophy after capturing the franchise's first in 2017.

Kansas City outscored Philadelphia 24-11 in the second half, including 17-8 in the final period.

The 35 points scored by Philadelphia became the most every scored in a Super Bowl by the non-winning team. It was the 9th Super Bowl since 2008 that was decided by 6 points or less, and the second straight with a 3-point difference.