Eagles flip doubters into believers after successful 2025 Tremendous Bowl

NEW ORLEANS — The Kansas Metropolis Chiefs wished a three-peat within the worst manner.

They had been half-right.

Though they didn’t get an unprecedented third consecutive Lombardi Trophy, they received the “worst manner” half down pat.

Seven years after reaching the NFL mountaintop with a down-to-the-wire win, the Philadelphia Eagles left no room for doubt Sunday, bringing Broad Road to Bourbon Road with a 40-22 Tremendous Bowl victory over the two-time defending NFL champions.

“It says champion on my hat,” Eagles security C.J. Gardner-Johnson bellowed as he made his manner from the confetti-covered Superdome subject to the locker room.

“Do you consider us now?” cornerback Kelee Ringo yelled to reporters as he fortunately jogged previous.

Certainly, Patrick Mahomes is a believer. Philadelphia’s protection had the Chiefs quarterback scrambling to outlive and restricted one of many league’s most deadly weapons to a passer ranking of 10.7 within the first half. The Chiefs wobbled to 23 yards of offense and a single first down within the first two quarters.

Earlier than they scored their first landing, the Chiefs noticed their first 9 possessions finish: punt, punt, punt, interception, punt, interception, punt, punt, turnover on downs.

In the meantime, Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts, whose workforce misplaced within the Tremendous Bowl to Kansas Metropolis two years earlier, threw for 221 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He additionally ran for 72 yards and a landing, and was named the sport’s most useful participant.

“What’s loopy is, everybody has questions on this quarterback, which blows my thoughts as a result of I believe he’s the most effective quarterbacks in all of soccer,” mentioned legendary Philadelphia receiver Mike Fast, the colour analyst on Eagles radio. “He does what you want him to do to win soccer video games.

“On the most important stage is the place he performs the perfect. And folks nonetheless query him? I believe they need to put respect on his identify.”

MVP may simply have gone to a bunch of Eagles defenders, amongst them rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean, who had a 38-yard pick-six; linebacker Zack Baun, who led the workforce with seven tackles and had a key interception earlier than the tip of the primary half; edge rusher Josh Sweat, who had six tackles and 2½ sacks; and defensive sort out Milton Williams, who contributed two sacks.

“Hats off to the Eagles, man, they received after us,” mentioned Chiefs tight finish Travis Kelce, who had 4 catches for 39 yards. “[We] couldn’t get it going offensively, then on prime of that turnovers, penalties, taking part in behind the sticks on offense, dropped passes, not profiting from the play calls and executing. There’s lots that goes into it.”

Briefly, the lopsided sport was Snoozer Bowl LIX, and the TV cameras spent a lot of the time scanning the stands for Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Adam Sandler, Bradley Cooper, Kevin Hart and President Trump, the primary sitting U.S. president to attend a Tremendous Bowl.

The blowout was a stark distinction to Philadelphia’s harrowing first Tremendous Bowl victory seven years earlier over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

This time, Brady was within the broadcast sales space for Fox, and the man chasing his seven rings was stymied at each flip. Mahomes, taking part in behind a porous offensive line, had a New Orleans Tremendous Bowl expertise that rivals Denver’s Craig Morton (4 interceptions) or New England’s Tony Eason (0 for six passing). Mahomes’ numbers improved within the second half, however solely after the Chiefs had fallen behind, 34-0. He wound up with three touchdowns, however they proved to be beauty scores.

“Simply didn’t play to my commonplace, and I’ve to be higher subsequent time,” Mahomes mentioned.

The final three Tremendous Bowls had been determined by three factors every, with Sunday’s sport being the primary blowout on the large stage since Tampa Bay throttled the Chiefs by 22.

In that sport, it was Todd Bowles, then Buccaneers defensive coordinator, who drew up a devastating sport plan in opposition to Mahomes. This time, the mastermind was Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who lastly received the higher of the Kansas Metropolis famous person.

Coming into the Tremendous Bowl, Mahomes had confronted a Fangio protection eight instances — and gained all eight.

A number of the discuss within the week main as much as the sport involved officiating and whether or not Kansas Metropolis would get additional assist from the stripes of their bid for historical past. The Eagles left nothing to likelihood.

The Eagles have been to a few Tremendous Bowls in eight years, successful two.

“This was the perfect Eagles workforce in trendy historical past,” mentioned longtime play-by-play man Merrill Reese, who known as every of the membership’s 5 Tremendous Bowls. “There have been no holes. They didn’t must cowl up for anyone. They’d an incredible defensive coordinator. Workforce didn’t have any weaknesses.”

Philadelphia scored a mixed 95 factors within the NFC championship victory over Washington and Tremendous Bowl win.

Operating again Saquon Barkley set an NFL report for essentially the most speeding yards in a season, counting playoffs (2,504), surpassing the two,476 of Denver’s Terrell Davis in 1998.

The Eagles’ locker room was like a rollicking nightclub, with gamers, coaches and even some wives smoking cigars and dancing to the thumping music. Many gamers wore ski goggles to guard their eyes from the spray of champagne.

Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni has led his workforce to the Tremendous Bowl twice in his 4 seasons, and now has a hoop to indicate for it.

After the sport, whereas being interviewed on the sector by Fox, he picked up his younger son and held him on his hip.

“Right here come the completely satisfied tears,” the coach mentioned.

Cry, Eagle, cry.