The NFL season came to an end earlier this month with Super Bowl LIX, with the unprepared Kansas City Chiefs being thoroughly humiliated with a 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in a rematch of Super Bowl LVII.
For such a high-scoring game, the real stars of the game were the Philadelphia defense. While Jalen Hurts put up two passing touchdowns and tush push score and running back Saquon Barkley had a questionable game, only putting up 57 yards, the defensive squad was able to keep Chiefs QB Patrick Maholmes under pressure, forcing two fumbles and six sacks, as well as two interceptions, one returned for a pick six by Cooper DeJean, whose birthday was that day, while also forcing six punts from Kansas City.
While the game ended 40-22, the score does not accurately reflect the dominance of Hurts and the entire Eagles squad throughout the game, particularly through the first half. The Chiefs were unable to get past midfield until late in the third quarter and managed to push the score up to 34-0 late in the third, and 40-14 by the time Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was showered with Gatorade with 3 minutes left.
Following the game, the Eagles hoisted their second Lombardi Trophy, with Jalen Hurts winning the Super Bowl MVP award; However, the team with a more interesting near-future appears to be Kansas City, most notably with Travis Kelce. The tight end had a disappointing season, with a low 823 yards and only three touchdowns throughout 19 games played. Additionally, fans of both teams noted Kelce’s sluggish and underwhelming play in the Super Bowl, dropping several passes, which included a 2-point conversion attempt, as well as simply standing and watching near the line of scrimmage while Patrick Maholmes scrambled under the pressure of the Eagles defense. In addition to perceived sloppy and subpar play, Kelce’s age is beginning to become a factor, and the 35-year-old has until March 15th to declare if he will play out the last year of his contract, or if he will retire following the Super Bowl loss. The current situation is unclear as to which decision he will make.
The dominance of the Eagles, as well as the unexpectedly lopsided performance of the Chiefs, will seal Super Bowl LIX as one of the more memorable in recent history, bringing a shock to the Chiefs’ dynasty with another Super Bowl blowout loss; However, both teams seem to have a strong foundation still remaining under their feet and can be expected to make more deep playoff runs in the future to come.
