The 2022-2023 NFL season came to a close this past Sunday with Super Bowl LVII. The top two teams in the league squared off in a thrilling finale to this season that ended in the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35.

The Chiefs came into the season with something to prove. After losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2022 AFC Championship game and trading away one of their top weapons Tyreek Hill, many thought of them as competitive but in a transitioning phase. They managed to prove the doubters wrong going 14-3 in the regular season, good for the number one seed in the AFC, behind their star player and MVP of this past season, Patrick Mahomes.

After a promising 2022 campaign, which saw first-year head coach Nick Siriani lead his team to the playoffs, the Eagles were considered by many to be “one weapon away.” They managed to find this weapon after trading for A.J. Brown in the offseason, turning quarterback Jalen Hurts from a solid starter into a perennial MVP candidate. On the backs of one of the most dynamic offenses and menacing defenses, the Eagles cruised to the number one seed in the NFC en route to a Super Bowl appearance.
The game started off with an opening drive score by the Eagles after a Jalen Hurts rushing touchdown. The score was quickly matched by the Chiefs after Mahomes found his most reliable weapon in Travis Kelce in the endzone. A missed field goal by Harrison Butker on Kansas City’s next possession kept the score tied at seven while giving Philly excellent field position. The Eagles capitalized on the good field position with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Hurts to Brown on the first play of the second quarter.

With the Eagles regaining the ball midway through the second quarter, their drive was halted after Hurts fumbled the ball which was returned by Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton for a KC touchdown. However, the Philadelphia offense would bounce back on the very next possession when Hurts scampered into the end zone for the second time that night, giving the Eagles the lead again at 21-14. After a field goal at the end of the half, the Birds found themselves up 24-14 and controlling their own destiny.
A touchdown on the opening drive of the second half for the Chiefs would dictate how the rest of the game would go. An Eagles field goal would put them up six before a touchdown on the second drive of the half for Mahomes and the Chiefs gave Kansas City its first lead of the game at 28-27. A big stop on defense by the Chiefs led to a punt that was returned by Kadarius Toney for 65 yards, the longest punt return in Super Bowl history. The Chiefs capitalized on the excellent return and field position by scoring another touchdown, putting them up by eight.

The Birds would not go down without a fight with Jalen Hurts tying a Super Bowl record for his third rushing touchdown of the evening, capping it off with a two-point conversion to tie the game. With just over five minutes remaining in the game, the score was knotted at 35 and a chance for none other than Patrick Mahomes to prove more doubters wrong. Mahomes led his team, as he had all season, into field goal range, with the help of a controversial defensive holding call. Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker would nail the game-winning score and gift Kansas City with a 38-35 victory and their third Lombardi trophy.
Patrick Mahomes was named MVP of the game, joining elite company for being recognized as both the MVP of the season and its Super Bowl. The Chiefs and Mahomes win their second Super Bowl in four years, further cementing themselves as a dynasty in the making.