Defence, the old coaches used to tell us, wins championships.
And though the scoring-happy modern NFL sometimes makes that old saying sound silly, the Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles would like a word.
Sunday night in a city that has hosted a record-tying 11 Super Bowls, the Kansas City Chiefs’ quest for Super Bowl history never got off the ground.
Philadelphia’s swarming defense held Patrick Mahomes and the two-time defending champions to only 23 yards in the first half, led by 24 points at halftime and rolled to a 40-22 victory that kept the Chiefs from becoming the first team to win three straight Super Bowl titles and delivered the second in Eagles history.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, whose cellphone screen saver for the past two years has been a photo of him walking off the Super Bowl LVII field in Arizona surrounded by yellow and red confetti after losing to the Chiefs, was absolutely brilliant.
He was selected Super Bowl MVP, throwing for 221 yards, rushing for 72 and accounting for three touchdowns. He threw only five incompletions with one interception for a passer rating of 119.7.
Philadelphia’s defense forced three turnovers and held Mahomes and the Kansas City offense to 275 yards, building a ridiculous-looking 40-6 lead before the Chiefs threw a couple of late touchdowns.
By that point, it had turned into an all-night party at the end of a weeklong party for Eagles fans in the Big Easy.
And in the end, it was the oft-maligned Hurts and Eagles coach Nick Sirianni holding up the Lombardi Trophy. (ESPN)
