Super Bowl LVII is in the books and the Kansas City Chiefs are once again Super Bowl champions. There was plenty of hype surrounding this game and it certainly didn’t disappoint. It was one of the highest scoring Super Bowls in history and went right down to the wire with a last second go-ahead field goal. With that said, here are five of our takeaways from the big game.
Patrick Mahomes is an all-time great
This was probably still true regardless of the result, but Mahomes getting his second Super Bowl win in four years cements him as one of the game’s greatest ever quarterbacks. In five years as a starter Mahomes has won two MVPs and two Super Bowls. Only three other quarterbacks in NFL history have matched that feat – Tom Brady, Joe Montana, and Peyton Manning.
What makes Mahomes’ achievements even more impressive is that he has done all of this at the age of 27. It took Manning until he was 40 to achieve that feat. Brady and Montana were both 33. He has also done it without suffocating defenses. Those other quarterbacks were all supported by some of the game’s best ever defenses. The Chiefs have not ranked above 14th in defensive DVOA in the Mahomes era. It feels like we are watching the next great chapter of NFL history unfold before our eyes.
No Tyreek, no problem
Before the season there was an awful lot said about the Chiefs and how their offense would fare without Tyreek Hill. Travis Kelce might have been overdoing it when he said that everyone had written Kansas City off before the season, but it is true that many had doubts about whether this offense could maintain its potency in the absence of one of the game’s true greats. The answer to that question was a definitive yes, and the Chiefs had their new trio of receivers to thank for the victory.
Travis Kelce might have led the Chiefs in receiving yards, but the likes of JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kadarius Toney, and Skyy Moore all stepped up when the lights were the brightest. Smith-Schuster had 48 yards on his five second half catches. All but one of those resulted in a first down. Toney had a crucial 65-yard punt return in the fourth quarter that set the Chiefs up with a goal-to-go play. He and Moore also provided second half touchdowns that helped secure the victory. Tyreek who?
The Chiefs’ offensive line was exceptional
Rewind back to Super Bowl LV. The Chiefs were held to just nine points in a humiliating 31-9 loss to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their offensive line was overpowered all night, forcing Patrick Mahomes to run for a ridiculous 497 yards behind the line of scrimmage. That game marked a watershed moment for Kansas City, who signed Joe Thuney and Orlando Brown the following offseason, whilst also adding Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith in that year’s draft.
It isn’t an overstatement to say that those moves won them Super Bowl LVII. Their offensive line was dominant against a historically impressive Eagles defensive front. Philly’s 70 sacks this year was the third most all-time and they had consistently overpowered their opponents all season. The Chiefs didn’t allow that to happen and became just the team to hold Philly to zero sacks since November 2021. They also generated a tonne of movement in the running game, with their running backs averaging 5.8 yards per carry.
Jalen Hurts is the future in Philly
It seems strange to be singing the praises of the quarterback who lost the Super Bowl, but Hurts was hugely impressive on the night. Whilst the Eagles have been utterly dominant all year, there was still some small lingering doubts about what Hurts would look like on the biggest of stages. After all, their route to the Super Bowl came via the Giants and an injury-riddled 49ers team. That’s hardly the kind of gauntlet you’d expect to reach the promised land.
There should not have been any doubt. Hurts never looked out of place and kept the Eagles in a position to compete with a historically impressive Chiefs offense. He had a handful of beautiful deep balls throughout the game and finished with four total touchdowns. His ability to keep plays alive in spite of a ferocious Chiefs pass rush stood out too. Hurts’ performance in this game and throughout the season have put him in the conversation as one of the best young quarterbacks in football.
Officiating leaves a sour taste
By now I’m sure everyone has already seen the play. It was the fourth quarter and the Chiefs needed a first down to effectively run out the clock and score a chip shot field goal. On third down the officials called James Bradberry for holding on Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. This gave Kansas City the first down they needed and effectively ended the contest.
It is important to say that this wasn’t an egregious call – in fact by the letter of the law it was probably correct. Bradberry himself admitted after the game that he had held Smith-Schuster’s jersey. It was more the fact that this felt like an undeserved and anti-climactic ending to what was otherwise a historically entertaining Super Bowl contest.
