A tale of two halves for the Kansas City Chiefs ends in the third Super Bowl win in franchise history. The first half saw offensive and defensive struggles, but they were able to overcome it all in the end.
So what else did we learn about the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII?
Final Score: Chiefs 38, Eagles 35
The brilliance of Andy Reid and the Chiefs’ offense was on full display in the second half of the game. The team used several unique play designs to get players open in the red zone and move down the field. Patrick Mahomes had a few “over my dead body” moments during the game, including a 26-yard scramble in the fourth quarter.
Weekly Awards
- Chiefs Wire Game Ball: LB Nick Bolton
- Harrison Butker Rookie of the Game: RB Isiah Pacheco
- Casey Wiegmann Veteran of the Game: TE Travis Kelce
- Jamaal Charles Offensive Player of the Game: QB Patrick Mahomes
- Bobby Bell Defensive Player of the Game: LB Willie Gay Jr.
- Morten Andersen Special Teams Player of the Game: WR Kadarius Toney
- Otis Taylor Play of the Game: LB Nick Bolton’s 36-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.
- Wesley Roesch Stat of the Game: Chiefs 4-of-8 on third down.
Quick-hitting observations and analysis
- It really felt like the first half started to turn as soon as Harrison Butker missed his field goal try on fourth-and-3 at the end of the first quarter.
- The Chiefs’ wide receivers were disappointing in the first half of the game. Justin Watson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Marcus Kemp combined for just two receptions for 11 yards. Credit to the Eagles No. 1 ranked pass defense, they’re executing flawlessly.
- The offense really had no solutions on third down in the first half. They only got to third down three times and they were unsuccessful in converting all three times.
- Isiah Pacheco averaged 5.6 yards per carry on five carries in the first half, though most of that came on just one carry.
- Time of possession was absolutely contributing to defensive struggles in the first half. Those guys were on the field for 21 minutes and they couldn’t get off of it for the life of them. They had themselves in a position to get off the field at times, but unforced errors killed them.
- Mahomes aggravating his ankle injury at the end of the first half was certainly concerning, but this guy has an unrivaled level of toughness. He was looking just fine in the second half.
- Nick Bolton played out of his mind in this game. He was all over the field and making a ton of plays for Kansas City.
- The NFL apparently spent $800K on this special turf for the Super Bowl and it’s basically the football version of a slip-and-slide. It’s shameful and the players deserve so much better than to be losing their footing on every play because of some experimental grass surface.
- The run game really started opening up for the Chiefs in this game. Into the early goings of the fourth quarter, they were averaging 8.6 yards per carry.
- JuJu Smith-Schuster really started to step up in the second half, moving the chains and making a number of key catches.
- Kadarius Toney was seldom used in the first half, but they used him at the right moments in the second half. The play design on his fourth-quarter touchdown was masterful. He couldn’t be more wide-open for the score. His punt return was the longest return in Super Bowl history.
- It was disappointing that a Carl Cheffers penalty helped decide the game, but I’m not sure it was the wrong call.
Up next:
We’re going parading! The Chiefs will hold their Super Bowl LVII parade on Wednesday, Feb. 15. More information on the event coming soon to Chiefs Wire.
