Super Bowl LIX was certainly not the Super Bowl we were expecting. Instead of becoming the first team to three-peat in the Super Bowl era, the Kansas City Chiefs were walloped by the Philadelphia Eagles, 40-22. This game was a blowout from beginning to end, as Philly raced out to a 24-0 lead by halftime and never looked back.
What happened? Patrick Mahomes was viewed as a quarterback quickly approaching Tom Brady for “GOAT” status, but Sunday’s outcome is going to stop that debate in its tracks. The 34-0 deficit Mahomes faced Sunday was the largest of his career (133 career starts), and two of the four largest losses of his career have now come in Super Bowls. Mahomes was sacked a career-high six times and turned the ball over thrice, as the Eagles defense dominated the Chiefs’ offensive line despite not blitzing a single time.
It was the first time in Mahomes’ career where the Chiefs failed to score a single point through nine drives. Mahomes did not look like Mahomes on this big stage, which isn’t something fans are used to. Unfortunately, according to Mahomes himself, the Super Bowl losses hurt more than the Super Bowl victories feel good.
“Any time you lose the Super Bowl, it’s the worst feeling in the world it’ll stick with you for the rest of your career,” Mahomes told reporters after the game. “These will be the two losses that will motivate me to be even better for the rest of my career because you only get so few of these, and you have to capitalize on these, and they hurt probably more than the wins feel good.”
Star tight end Travis Kelce caught four passes for 39 yards on Sunday, and his future is reportedly up in the air. Sunday could have been the last time we’ve seen him on the gridiron. Kelce told reporters afterwards that the Chiefs were dominated in every aspect of the game.
“Hats off to the Eagles, man,” Kelce said, via The Washington Post. “They got after us. All three phases.”
“Couldn’t get it going offensively, I mean they just got after us on all three phases and then on top of that, turnovers, penalties, playing behind the sticks on offense, dropped passes, not taking advantage of the play call and executing. There’s a lot that goes into it, you don’t lose like that without everything going bad.”
What was the most shocking part of this loss?
“That we haven’t played that bad all year,” Kelce said.
What’s next for Chiefs? Kansas City dynasty faces key questions after blowout Super Bowl loss to Eagles
Tyler Sullivan
