No one ever wants a potential all time classic game to have a sour ending but unfortunately that’s how this year’s Super Bowl would end. Super Bowl LVII was played on Sunday February 12th between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. Each team respectfully won 14 regular season games and earned the number one seed for the playoffs. Both teams would display why they achieved these great accomplishments during the biggest game of the year.
The Super Bowl is such a big deal in the football world and should be one of the best if not the greatest game of the year. This game certainly was the best game of the year and might be one of best Super Bowls of all time. That’s because it featured lots of offense, the casual fan doesn’t enjoy a boring defensive battle, that doesn’t peak their interest, offense and high scoring does. Touchdown’s score tickets and that’s exactly what they did as a combined 73 points kept 113 million viewers very engaged in the game. A majority of those viewers felt a sour taste as the game ended. A controversial flag was called with 1:40 left on the clock. James Bradberry, an Eagles cornerback was called for a defense holding on a third down incompletion giving the Chiefs a new set of downs and the ability to run the clock out before hitting the game winning Field Goal. The call was controversial because Bradberry gave a slight tug on the receivers jersey but it seemed not enough to change the outcome of the play. Zero defense holdings and only a few penalties were called throughout the entire game leaving most fans saying that the referees should have let them play like they had throughout the entire game. Most fans wanted to see what the Eagles would have done with the ball back. They would have received possession of the ball down 3 with 1:35 and one timeout remaining. The Eagles offense had played pretty well throughout the night and it seemed very possible they could have tied the game and sent it to overtime or won it. Fans also believed Jalen Hurts deserved one more shot with the ball as he was most definitely the best player on the field in the Super Bowl. Fans wanted to see an all time ending felt robbed of getting one by tick tacky flag late in the game.
The flag late in the game did not truly decide the outcome of the game. The Super Bowl was decided by the Eagles defense, their defense was very good throughout the season and was a top 5 defense, unfortunately in the Super Bowl they did not show up. A defense that was just 5 sacks short of setting a record of most sacks by a defense had 0 and couldn’t pressure Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Eagles defense also surrendered 24 points in the second half and did not get a single stop. Stopping the Chiefs offense and Mahomes is no easy task but for a defense that had played very well all year and in the playoffs it was very disappointing. The Eagles offense showed off why they were one of the best this season by pointing up 35 points the most ever by a losing team in Super Bowl history. Jalen Hurts who was an MVP finalist showed why he was by throwing for 304 yards and one touchdown, running for 70 yards and 3 scores as well as a 2 point conversion. He shined on the biggest stage except for one moment that changed the outcome completely. Hurts fumbled when switching hands causing a Chiefs defender to scoop up the ball and score. The Eagles were leading 14-7 and were driving down the field prior to the fumble that would tie the game. The Eagles had a chance to extend their lead to 14 points but instead they ended up with a tie game. The Eagles would respond with a touchdown and a stop of the Chiefs offense and score a field goal in the final seconds of the first half. Without that fumble the Eagles had a legit chance of putting the game almost out of reach but instead they were up 10 and that wasn’t enough to hold off Super Bowl and regular season MVP Patrick Mahomes.
Despite an Eagles loss this Super Bowl was a very enjoyable game filled with lots of action, and despite the sour taste left in fans’ mouth, Super Bowl LVII was a great game that will be remembered for a long time.
