The Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl winners for the second time in four years.
Kansas City came from behind to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35, in Super LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday. The victory also marked Kansas City’s third championship win in franchise history, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes' second time as Super Bowl MVP.
“I’ve been very fortunate,” said head coach Andy Reid after leading his team to the title. “I’ve had a lot of great players who’ve helped me get to this spot and great coaches.”
Mayor Quinton Lucas has announced that Kansas City's victory parade will be held at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 15. The festivities also include a rally at Union Station at 1:45 p.m.
And for local students, don’t worry: Kansas City Public Schools and Shawnee Mission School District have already announced that class will be canceled that day, and likely many more will follow.
In case of inclement weather, the backup day for the parade is Thursday, Feb. 16.
A very very very tight game
With the game tied, 35-all, Harrison Butker kicked the game-winning field goal with eight seconds left from 27 yards.
The Chiefs didn’t grab their first lead of the game until the 12:04 mark of the fourth quarter, thanks to a five-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to wide receiver Kadarius Toney.
It was Toney’s first reception on Sunday as Mahomes followed his pattern of using all his tools on offense. He completed passes to nine different receivers, and his 26-yard run put the Chiefs in a position to score the winning field goal.
Then Toney — picked up in a trade from the New York Giants before the Nov. 2 deadline — returned a punt from the Eagles to set up another touchdown pass by Mahomes to make it 35-27.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to tie the game, 7-7, after the Eagles scored on their opening drive. With the catch, Kelce moved to second all-time in postseason touchdown catches, trailing only to Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice.
A win for Kelce left his brother, Eagles center Jason Kelce, disappointed with a loss. Jason does have a championship ring, however, from the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory in the 2017 season.
A long road for the Chiefs
Before their win over San Francisco in Miami three years ago, the Chiefs suffered from a half-century Super Bowl drought — they last won Super Bowl IV in 1970 against the Minnesota Vikings.
But under Mahomes, it’s been a very different conversation around the Chiefs. After their 2020 win, they made it to the championship again the very next year, although they fell to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-9.
Mahomes was named the NFL’s 2022 Most Valuable Player just three days ago, and today he became the first MVP to lead his team to a Super Bowl championship in the same season since Kurt Warner with the St. Louis Rams in the 1999 season.
Mahomes limped off the field on the final offensive play of the first half after an open field tackle, but was back on the field to start the second half and directed the Chiefs to a touchdown immediately after Rihanna's halftime performance.
“I did not get a pain-killing shot,” Mahomes said. “We did some stuff to get it ready to go for that second half.”
Mahomes first injured his ankle in the Chiefs’ Divisional Round win over Jacksonville and was playing on a high ankle sprain since then.
“It didn’t feel good, but I was going to leave it all out there,” said Mahomes. “I’m glad it was enough for the win.”
Mahomes also became the first quarterback under the age of 30 to start three Super Bowls in a four-year span since Brady (2001-04). The other three quarterbacks who did it – Troy Aikman, John Elway and Bob Griese – are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“I appreciate it because of the failures," Mahomes said of winning his second Super Bowl championship and MVP award. "The failure of losing a Super Bowl and losing that AFC Championship game, it gives you a greater appreciation of standing here as a champion.”
This season, the Chiefs and Eagles were both No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences, with both teams earning the AFC and NFC’s first-round byes. The Chiefs advanced to the Super Bowl with wins over the Jacksonville Jaguars and, in an AFC Championship rematch, the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Chiefs’ last regular-season loss was Dec. 4, 2022, at Cincinnati. After that game, the Chiefs won the remaining five games of the regular season to finish with a 14-3 record, the same as the Eagles.
