Cooper DeJean, Josh Sweat, and the Philadelphia Eagles‘ dominant defense crushed the Kansas City Chiefs’ hopes of securing a Super Bowl three-peat with a commanding 40-22 victory.
The game was never in doubt.
On his 22nd birthday, DeJean delivered a pick-6, while Sweat was relentless in pressuring Patrick Mahomes. The Eagles steamrolled the Chiefs to claim their second-ever Super Bowl championship.
Jalen Hurts threw two touchdown passes and rushed for a score, earning Super Bowl MVP honors. The Eagles’ defense, masterminded by Vic Fangio, was so effective that they didn’t need much from Saquon Barkley, who ended up with just 57 rushing yards, but still set a new record for most rushing yards in a season, including playoffs, surpassing Terrell Davis. Hurts also threw for 221 yards.
“This is the ultimate team game,” said Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni. “You can’t be great without the greatness of others. Great performance by everybody—offense, defense, special teams. All we want to do is win.”
The Eagles dominated every facet of the game, delivering a performance that thrilled the pro-Philly crowd, who erupted after each touchdown with chants of “Fly! Eagles! Fly!” Even Taylor Swift’s presence in the stands couldn’t help the Chiefs. The star-studded crowd watched in disbelief as the Chiefs suffered their first loss in 10 games with Swift in attendance, with Travis Kelce failing to catch a pass until late in the third quarter.
The Chiefs, who had won three of the last five Super Bowls, including the previous two years, were no match for the Eagles’ revamped defense, which featured eight new starters. Mahomes struggled all game, enduring six sacks, including 2.5 by Sweat, with no blitzes called by Fangio.
Hurts reflected on the Eagles’ defensive performance: “Defense wins championships. They gave us opportunities, gave us short fields, and we were able to do what we do.”
The Chiefs, who sought to become the third team in NFL history to win three straight championships, were instead outplayed at every turn. Sirianni’s Eagles ensured Mahomes had no chance to work his usual magic, unlike two years ago, when Mahomes led the Chiefs to a last-minute comeback win over the Eagles.
The Eagles’ dominance wasn’t just on defense, as Hurts orchestrated efficient drives, including one in which Barkley helped him score from the 1-yard line to put the Eagles up 7-0 early.
By halftime, the Eagles had built a 24-0 lead, capped off by a pick-6 from DeJean and another interception by Zack Baun, which set up another Hurts-to-Brown touchdown. Hurts connected with DeVonta Smith for a 46-yard touchdown to make it 34-0 in the third quarter, and Mahomes’ late touchdowns came far too little, too late.
Despite some controversy over penalty calls, including an offensive pass interference penalty on the Eagles that nullified a big play to A.J. Brown, the game was well in hand for Philly.
This dominant win prevented the Chiefs from joining the ranks of the NFL’s elite teams with a three-peat, a feat accomplished by the Green Bay Packers in the 1930s and ’60s, and most recently by the Los Angeles Lakers in the early 2000s.
The Eagles’ victory not only silences critics of Nick Sirianni but also cements their place among the NFL‘s best, securing the franchise’s second Super Bowl title.
