In a historic game where two Black quarterbacks faced off for the first time, Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to their second Super Bowl win in four years by defeating Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona,
Mahomes, who was named MVP of the game, also became the first player since Kurt Warner in1999 to win the NFL MVP and the Super Bowl in the same season.
Cementing his legacy as an all-time great quarterback, Mahomes was 20-of-26 for 182 yards, threw three touchdowns and became the 13th quarterback to win multiple Super Bowls. He managed to make magic happen while playing through a high-ankle sprain that he re-aggravated in the second quarter of the game.
“There was nothing that was going to keep me off the football field,” he said in the post-game celebration.
“He’s the MVP. The MVP,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said in his postgame interview. “That’s all that needs to be said.”
“M-V-Pat, you know what I mean,” Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce added. “You can’t say how much he means to this team.”
Kelce posted six catches, 81 yards, and a touchdown, claiming victory against his brother, Eagles center Jason Kelce, who became the first brothers to play against each other in a Super Bowl.
Despite the loss, Jalen Hurts showcased his star power at just 24 years old. He was 27 of 37 for 304 yards passing and rushed for three touchdowns (15 carries, 70 yards) tieing a Super Bowl record.
From the start, the game was a hotly contested, evenly matched battle that was one of the best-played Super Bowls in recent years. Hurts ran for two touchdowns in the first half and threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown. The Eagles looked poised to break the game open in the second half as they were clearly in control.
The night began with Emmy-winning actress Sheryl Lee Ralph singing “Lift Every Voice “and multiple Grammy-winning singer/songwriter. Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds performed a soulful rendition of “America the Beautiful” before the game. Country singer Chris Stapleton sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
During the highly anticipated halftime show, Rihanna thrilled the crowd with a rousing performance of some of her biggest hits. Suspended in midair, she was dressed in a custom Loewe red jumpsuit and bralette with an Alaïa red leather maxi puffer coat, which she accessorized with MM6 Maison Margiela x Salomon Cross Low sneakers. Her set list included “B—- Better Have My Money,” “Where Have You Been,” “Only Girl (In The World),” “We Found Love,” “Rude Boy,” “Work” and more. If that wasn’t enough, she showed off her baby bump for the first time as she is expecting her second child.
After being down 24-14 going into halftime, the Chiefs came roaring back to take the lead led by a pair of touchdown passes from Mahomes. Hurts answered back with a rushing touchdown of his own, followed by a 2-point conversion that knotted the game at 35-35.
With five minutes left to go in the fourth quarter, a 26-yard run by Mahomes combined with a late holding penalty placed the Chiefs near the goal line where Harrison Butker would kick the game-winning field goal.
After being let go by the Eagles in 2012, Reid defeated his former team where spent his first 14 seasons as head coach. He also became just the 14th coach to win multiple Super Bowls.
Other firsts in the game included Autumn Lockwood, who became the first Black woman to coach in a Super Bowl and the pre-game military fly-over featured all women pilots.