On Sunday, Feb. 9, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22, earning their second championship in franchise history. There was no question about who would come out on top, as the Eagles scored 34 unanswered points before the Chiefs responded at the end of the third quarter. The shining performances from Jalen Hurts, Cooper DeJean, and the entire defensive line emphasized their convincing win, leading to Hurts taking home Super Bowl MVP honors.
The dominant victory sparked reactions from across the sports world. NBA players, including Magic Johnson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Jalen Brunson offered their congratulations over X, formerly known as Twitter. Collegiate football programs also shared appreciation for their Eagles alumni, ESPN reported. The Alabama Crimson Tide, Oklahoma Sooners, and Penn State Nittany Lions all posted about offensive superstars — Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley, respectively. Notably, social media has seen a flurry of posts featuring the Eagles’s star-studded defensive line, a majority of whom attended the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs posted their congratulations on X, with others adding a photo of the former Bulldogs playing together in various games. I think this will be shown to be an incredible recruiting tool!
Outside of the Eagles’s win, Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance brought widespread attention. Lamar brought out fellow Samuel L. Jackson, SZA, and Compton, CA native Serena Williams to join in the performance. These celebrities took part in a show centered on Lamar’s recent album, culminating in his performance of “Not Like Us”: a song emblematic of Lamar and Drake’s long-standing beef. The gravity of this show was displayed in the viewership statistics; the NFL reported that a record-setting 133 million viewers tuned in to watch the performance.
Additionally, the NFL is a league full of narratives. And plenty of narratives were affected by this outcome. Firstly, the Chiefs were prevented from claiming the achievement of the first franchise to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs quarterback, was also stopped from winning his fourth career championship. This would have placed him tied for 2nd all-time in rings, securing him firmly in the greatest-quarterback-of-all-time discussion. While he still has many years ahead of him to continue this feat, Mahomes will have to wait a little longer and Brady’s legacy as the quarterback GOAT reigns another day.
Travis Kelce, the Chiefs’s tight end and Taylor Swift’s current boyfriend, had a career-low four receptions in the Super Bowl, taking them for 39 yards, another Super Bowl career low. This poor performance spurred questions about the tight end’s next season and his fate at the franchise. Athlon sports reported that “he will take some time to decide if he wants to put himself through the rigors of NFL football again in 2025.” If he does decide to return, the same piece reports that Kelce will likely see a reduced role in the Chiefs’s offensive scheme. This Super Bowl loss and poor performance may be seen as the beginning of the end of his Hall-of-Fame career.On the Eagles side of the ball, this win and eventual game MVP silenced all doubts about Jalen Hurts. After being drafted in 2020, Hurts has only had winning seasons with the Birds; however, he has been unable to secure a ring. Now he has proved that he can lead a team to a Super Bowl victory. This performance likely earned Hurts tens of millions more dollars for when his contract negotiations come around. Countless other narratives were altered from last week’s game, and we will see in the coming year how they continue to develop.
