You just can’t have a high-profile NFL game without some blatant refereeing controversy these days, can you? The Kansas City Chiefs came back from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat the Eagles to win their 3rd Super Bowl in franchise history, though many say controversially.
What a fantastic game that was unjustly mired by controversy from a referee core that has distinguished itself of being either corrupt or brainless over the past year of football.
First, let me start off by congratulating the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite the controversy at the end, they were more than deserving of this win as they were able to do something I thought was impossible: they stopped the Eagles pass rush. And I mean STOPPED the Eagles pass rush cold in its tracks.
The Chiefs offense line of Orlando Brown Jr., Joe Thuney, Creed Humphrey, Trey Smith, and Andrew Wilie had the single best blocking game any team in the NFL accomplished this year as they not only forcefully shut down one of the greatest sacking teams in NFL history (the Eagles finished the year with 78 sacks, which is 2nd all-time), but they also opened huge rushing lanes for Isaih Pacheco (15 CAR, 76 yards, 1 TD), Patrick Mahomes (6 CAR, 44 yards), and Jerrick McKinnon (4 CAR, 34 yards) to exploit for 158 rushing yards.
I know offensive lines don’t get much coverage or praise in today’s media, so I couldn’t help but applaud this unit for the performance it had last night. It was the sole reason why Patrick Mahomes was able to ball out for his greatest Super Bowl performance of his young career to date.
And, boy, did Patrick Mahomes play like a champion as he was able to complete a near flawless game on one leg! Completing 21-27 passes for 182 yards and 3 TDs, Mahomes was magnificent in picking apart the Eagles defense with both his arm and his legs.
He was finding Travis Kelce (6 REC, 81 yards, 1 TD), who solidified himself as a Top-5 TE of all-time, Juju Smith-Schuster (7 REC, 53 yards), Justin Watson (2 REC, 18 yards), Kadarious Toney (1 REC, 5 yards, 1 TD), who also had the biggest punt return in Super Bowl history to set up a TD, and Jerrick McKinnon (3 REC, 15 yards) like it was nothing, despite the Eagles possessing of some of the best defensive backs in football.
Of course, the Eagles defense collapsing in the second half helped him out, but you can’t use that to take away from his greatness.
He’s simply the best player in the NFL today and has solidified his Hall of Fame status, even though he’s only been a starter for 6 years, with yet another 10+ point comeback in the playoffs (only Tom Brady’s 6 comebacks overtakes him in that category).
As for the Chiefs defense, the best way to sum up their night was that they came up with a big play when the game hung in the balance.
Giving up 35 points, over 300 passing yards, over 110 rushing yards, over 400 yards of total offense, and 4 touchdowns isn’t great, but players like Nick Bolton (9 tackles, 1 FR, 1 DEF TD), Willie Gay (8 tackles, 2 TFL), L’Jarius Snead (7 tackles, 2 PD), Leo Chenal (6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL), Juan Thornhill (5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 PD), Chris Jones (3 tackles), and Khalen Saunders (2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL) were responsible for the game’s momentum switching the way it did.
These players caused the Jalen Hurts’ strip-sack to turn into a defensive touchdown and slow down the Eagles offense early on and tie the game at 14, and then they held the Eagles to a field goal late on in the first half to keep the game close at 24-14.
Moreover, Steve Spagnolo’s, who is now a certified legend at the defensive coordinator position, defense adjusted to Jalen Hurts (who I’ll get to in a second) and kept the Eagles to just a single TD in the ENTIRE second half. Meanwhile, Mahomes, Andy Reid, and Eric Bienemy engineered 24 points in the same time span and are now the reigning champions of the NFL.
Anyway, the one person who I really feel for is the Eagles starting quarterback and 2nd in MVP voting, Jalen Hurts.
That guy literally played his heart out on that horrific Arizona field last night (seriously, could the field have been anymore slippery?) as he not only completed 27/38 passes for 303 yards and 1 TD, but he also rushed 15 times for 70 yards and 3 TDs.
Essentially, he was the Eagles offense as the “vaunted” Philly running attack (I’m guilty of over praising them too) of Myles Sanders (7 CAR, 16 yards), Boston Scott (3 CAR, 8 yards), and Kenneth Gainwell (7 CAR, 21 yards) accumulated a grand total of 15 CAR for 45 yards last night BETWEEN THE THREE OF THEM! I know Hurts coughed up a fumble to kill the Eagles momentum in the 1st quarter, but you can’t blame him at all for this loss.
In my opinion, it’s the Eagles defense dreadful outing that cost them the game most of all.
How do you go from 78 sacks against some of the best teams in the NFL for your first 19 games, but then get shut out in the most important game of the season? I’m sorry, but Fletcher Cox (1 tackle), Hasson Reddick (1 tackle, 2 QB hits), Brandon Graham (0 tackles), Josh Sweat (1 tackle, 1 QB hit), T.J. Edwards (6 tackles, 1 PD), and Kyzir White (4 tackles) dropped the ball on this one as they blew the chance of being immortalized as one of the NFL’s greatest ever defenses with that no-show.
Mahomes was literally hobbled and limping around, yet you guys couldn’t get more than just a couple of QB hits?
Regardless, to close out this review, the NFL refs ‘effed up once again.
For those who somehow haven’t seen the play I’m talking about, the refs called a soft holding penalty on Eagles CB James Bradberry (5 tackles) on a 3rd and 8 inside the Eagles redzone after Mahomes’ attempted pass to Smith-Schuster fell incomplete in the back of the endzone. Thus, with the Eagles out of timeouts and the ball moved inside their own 10-yard line, Harrison Butker was able to make an ease Super Bowl winning kick as time practically expired.
It’s honestly the softest penalty called all game…and it also happened to be the ONLY HOLDING CALL too.
Coincidence? I’m not so sure.
Of course, if Bradberry knocked Smith-Schuster unconscious as Vontaze Burfict did to Antonio Brown in the Bengals-Steelers 2016 Wild Card game that helped the Steelers get into field goal range and win, throwing the flag would have been acceptable. Yet, this wasn’t that at all.
The Chiefs still would have been able to go up 38-35 but allowing that minute or so left on the clock to run down to 6 seconds (the Eagles didn’t have any timeouts left) from the penalty decided the game for the Chiefs. Sure, one could argue that the Eagles should have been more clinical at earlier points, and that is a very fair point.
However, the Eagles could also have taken the ball down 75-80 yards and scored a Super Bowl winning TD or a game-tying field goal in the final minute that remained if the penalty was never called. I mean, it’s not like that’s a crazy idea as Hurts had his greatest game ever and his receivers, A.J. Brown (6 REC, 96 yards, 1 TD), Dallas Goedert (6 REC, 60 yards), and DeVonta Smith (7 REC, 100 yards), were brilliant too.
I’m not saying that the Chiefs bought off the refs or that the NFL rigged the game in the Chiefs favor, but I am saying that Patrick Mahomes winning the Super Bowl and being named Super Bowl MVP was the outcome Roger Goodell and the NFL was hoping for.
Mahomes and his Chiefs are the face of the league and at the head of every marketing campaign, unlike the Eagles or essentially NFL newcomer Jalen Hurts (this is only his 3rd year starting). If the game was 28-2 in favor of Philly going into that final Chiefs drive, there wouldn’t have been any flags thrown against the Eagles as they were the dominating victors.
Yet, since the game was 35-35 and the Chiefs just needed one first down to solidify a game-winning field goal, that flag was always coming out if the refs caught even the slightest of tugs/holds/pulls.
This might not be a popular opinion, but marketing a 2X Super Bowl champion, 2X Super Bowl MVP, 2X regular season MVP, and a budding NFL dynasty built on fast, fun offensive football is a far more lucrative proposition to the NFL than the hard-nose, tough, in-your-face rushing and defense-driven Eagles.
Nevertheless, like I said, congratulations, Kansas City Chiefs. You guys are the rightful and deserving champions of the NFL and unanimous “Top Dog” in the league too. None can say that the now 2X Super Bowl Champion Chiefs under the Andy Reid-Patrick Mahomes regime are inferior to anyone or anything.
And, as for the Super Bowl MVP, Patrick Mahomes, you are also just as worthy of the honor. Playing a near flawless game on one leg will forever go down in NFL history as one of the greatest quarterback performances in the Super Bowl ever.
What a 2022/23 NFL season!
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