If there was ever a time for the Kansas City Chiefs to have the worst performance of their lives, they chose the worst possible time of the season to do it. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was under duress on more than 47% of his dropbacks as the Chiefs offense registered just 275 total yards in an agonizing 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59.
The Kansas City Chiefs were on the brink of accomplishing something historic after defeating the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship on January 26.
The Chiefs were the first team in NFL history to appear in the Super Bowl five of the last six seasons with an elusive 3-peat lying just 60 minutes of football away.
Instead, the Chiefs had their worst collective performance since their dreadful 31-9 loss to Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55.
Although Kansas City’s defense looked stout against Philly’s rushing attack, limiting Saquon Barkley to just 57 yards, they were picked apart by quarterback Jalen Hurts, who finished 17/22 for 221 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.
Offensively, the Chiefs’ offensive line failed to hold up against Philly’s front four, making it impossible for Mahomes and company to get anything going. What looked like a typical slow start gradually snowballed into a disastrous 34-6 deficit by the start of the fourth quarter.
Mahomes did get off some accurate throws that led to 16 fourth-quarter points, including a 50-yard dime to Xavier Worthy. But it was far too late to mount any kind of comeback as the Eagles added two extra field goals to come away with their second Super Bowl championship in team history.
Eagles shut Kansas City out in the first half
The first half of Super Bowl 59 began exactly like Super Bowl 57 did. Kansas City won the toss but deferred to the second half and Philadelphia jumped out to an early 7-0 lead. Instead of tying the lead, however, the Chiefs’ offense was quickly forced off the field on their first two possessions in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Kansas City made a huge play as defensive back Byan Cook intercepted Jalen Hurts, stopping a potential scoring drive of the Eagles two yards short of the end zone. Unfortunately, Philadelphia’s defense easily overwhelmed the Chiefs’ offensive line and a 3rd down pass to Travis Kelce fell incomplete, forcing Kansas City to punt.
The Eagles retook possession and cashed in on a 48-yard Jake Elliott field goal after seven plays of offense. Philadelphia wasn’t done scoring, however. After sacking Mahomes on consecutive plays to force 3rd & 16, defensive back Cooper DeJean took an interception 38 yards for a pick-six to extend the Eagles lead 17-0.
Two possessions later, Mahomes fired a pass for Hollywood Brown but completely missed linebacker Zach Buan, who was covering the play and made an easy interception. Philly made Kansas City pay for turning the ball over a second time and quickly finished a two-play scoring drive with a 12-yard Jalen Hurts pass to wide receiver A.J. Brown.
After another offensive drive that went nowhere for Kansas City, the two clubs entered halftime with the Eagles ahead 24-0.
Mahomes goes off late in the fourth, but the scoring comes way too late
In the third quarter, the Eagles added ten more points with a 29-yard Elliott field goal and a 46-yard touchdown bomb from Hurts to wide receiver DeVonta Smith.
Down 34-0, Kansas City finally got into a rhythm after a 50-yard connection from Mahomes to Xavier Worthy. Two plays later, Mahomes converted 3rd & 7 with a 13-yard completion to Travis Kelce before finishing the drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Worthy. Unfortunately, the Chiefs tried going for two, but the conversion attempt was unsuccessful.
In the fourth quarter, Philadelphia added two more field goals to pad their lead to 40-6. In garbage time, Kansas City fired off two consecutive scoring drives to cut their deficit to 18 points. Starting with a seven-yard touchdown strike to DeAndre Hopkins to end a 16-play, 85-yard possession and a 50-yard bomb to Worthy that was followed up with a successful 2-point conversion attempt from Mahomes to Hopkins.
Conclusion
The Chiefs had a chance to accomplish something historic and instead suffered one of the most embarrassing defeats of the Mahomes era. Kansas City was simply out-coached, out-played, and was not up to the challenge of playing at the same level of intensity as Philadelphia. But that doesn’t take anything away from the incredible year this team had.
Kansas City is still a dynasty and will be back amid the playoff race on the road to Super Bowl LX. The Chiefs finished the 2024 season with a franchise record 15 regular season wins and an NFL record 17-straight one-possession victories that will continue into next season. Patrick Mahomes is currently second in career playoff wins with 17, moving past Joe Montana last month, and is only behind Tom Brady.
Head Coach Andy Reid moved to fourth all-time as one of the winningest head coaches after winning his 300th NFL game this postseason. Reid currently has 301 victories on his resume and only trails George Halas (324), Bill Belichick (333), and Don Shula (347).
