The MVP chants inside State Farm Stadium began after Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts accounted for his third touchdown in the first half of Super Bowl LVII. A couple of hours later, it was Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes who actually took home that honor after leading his team to a come-from-behind 38-35 victory over the Eagles in Glendale, Arizona.
Truth is, both quarterbacks put in MVP work on Sunday. Mahomes was 21 of 27 for 182 yards with three touchdown passes, and he had eight carries for 44 yards. Hurts was 27 of 38 for 307 yards and a touchdown, and he carried the ball 15 times for 70 yards.
Mahomes just saved his best for last.
“He’s the MVP,” Kansas City head Andy Reid said during a postgame interview on FOX-TV. “That’s all that needs to be said, right? And you saw it tonight.”
In the first half, Hurts turned the biggest game in professional football into his own playground. Philadelphia scored first on a 1-yard plunge by the former Alabama quarterback and carried a 24-14 lead into halftime. In the first half, Hurts was 17 of 22 passing for 183 yards with a 45-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown. Hurts also rushed for 63 yards on 11 carries with a pair of touchdown runs, including a 4-yard run with 2:20 left in the half. He directed a late drive that ended with a 35-yard field goal by Jake Elliott on the final play of the half.
Hurts did make a huge mistake. His fumble was picked up by Kansas City linebacker Nick Bolton and returned 14 yards for a touchdown to tie the score at 14.
Mahomes had some good moments in the half, including an 18-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce in the first quarter. But Mahomes looked to hurt his right ankle once again with 1:33 left in first half while scrambling on 3rd down. He was tackled by Philadelphia linebacker T.J. Edwards on the play and limped off the field, grimacing from the pain.
Mahomes showed quickly that he was healthy enough to make play after play in the second half. He directed scoring drives on each of the Chiefs' first two drives. The first was capped off by Isiah Pacheco’s 1-yard touchdown run, and the other ended on a five-yard scoring pass to Kadarius Toney. The touchdowns were sandwiched around an Eagle field goal, and the Chiefs had a 28-27 lead in the fourth quarter.
After the second touchdown, the Chiefs forced a quick punt and Toney, a former University of Florida standout, who is played at Blount High in Mobile, made a huge play. His 65-yard punt return gave the Chiefs a first down at the 5-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes hit Skyy Moore on a 4-yard scoring pass to give Kansas City a 35-28 lead with 9:22 left.
Hurts wasn’t done. He directed an eight-play, 75-yard drive that took just 1:02 off the clock and featured a 45-yard connection to former Alabama teammate DeVonta Smith. The long completion moved the ball to the 2-yard line and Hurts scored on the next play, setting a Super Bowl record for the most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. Hurts then ran around the left end and over a defender at the goal line to tie the game at 35 with 5:15 remaining.
Kansas City didn’t give the ball back until there were eight seconds left on the clock. Mahomes methodically moved the ball downfield to set up Harrison Butker’s game-winning 27-yard field goal. Not long after, the celebration began.
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