Super Bowl LVII: Highlights
So, Super Bowl LVII is done, and we are still left in awe after watching two of the league's favorites slip, skid, and glide all over the State Farm Stadium. No big deal; it's only the most important sports event in the NFL.
For those just tuning in post-game, the Kansas City Chiefs are celebrating with the Vince Lombardi Trophy as they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38 -35 in Super Bowl LVII. More than 113 million fans tuned in to the 57th Super Bowl, which occurred at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, this Sunday.
Game Highlights
Sunday's Super Bowl LVII was packed with action, so let's just right into it. Fans got to see an Eastern Michigan University football alumnus being crowned a champion for the 14th time. The Chief's right tackle Andrew Wylie stood tall and proud in the most important event in the NFL.
All eyes were on Chiefs' right tackle Wylie and Eagles' pass rusher Reddick, especially because of the 13 of the latter's 16 sacks coming over the right tackle, which was certainly going to make the game interesting – and it was. But not in a way that Eagles fans expected.
Haason Reddick and the rest of the offensive line seemed to struggle to put Patrick Mahomes and his crew under any sort of pressure during the first half of the game. Things only got worse for the Eagles, whose defense couldn't manage a single sack during the entire game. Kansas City's Mahomes and Kelce (Travis) opened the score for their home team. After some deliberation, the right tackle took on a bull rush from Reddick and fought to reestablish his anchor, giving Mahomes more than enough time to get off the throw to Kelce for the evening's first touchdown.
The Kansas City Chiefs offensive linemen did their job well during the big game, and many Chiefs fans would argue they put on an even better show than Rihanna's halftime performance. While there was much talk about Philly's defensive and offensive fronts, the guys who really brought their A-game to Super Bowl LVII were the Chiefs' O and D lines. It should be pointed out that the Chiefs' offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy leads one of the best offenses in the franchise, and his sharp game-planning chops were evident during Sunday's game.
The two teams slugged (and slipped) it out on a field that looked like an ice skating rink. At some point, after seeing the Eagles struggling to make a dent in the Chiefs' defense line, fans may have hoped the team had signed up a few of KC's o-line to tackle. But that's a personal opinion.
After being pushed around for a while, it seemed the NFC champion had it in the bag. Eagles' quarterback Jalen Hurts put on a performance of a lifetime; explosive and hard-hitting (figuratively speaking, this ain't the UFC!). Fans who thought Philly's Eagles had it all under control thanks to Hurts' dominance and Mahomes' ankle snafu were overjoyed after seeing the Chiefs' quarterback slamming his helmet on the ground as he limped off the field, but the drama was short-lived.
With the Chiefs' quarterback tally down to 15, the game was still wide open. Then entered Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney and his record-shattering 65-yard punt that tilted the game in their favor. Sure, Toney didn't find the end zone, but he sure did make Super Bowl history. Later, Patrick Mahomes would find a wide-open and somewhat surprised Skyy Moore for his 4-yard score, which lifted the Chiefs 35-27.
After Jalen Hurts' touchdown run, the game was tied late in the fourth quarter, but Mahomes once again found the gap for an impressive 12-play, 66-yard drive, setting up an impressive 27-yard field goal that brought the tally to 38-35, and brought the Vince Lombardi Trophy home to Kansas City.
It seems even an ankle-less Mahomes couldn't stop a victory for the Kansas City Chiefs. The 27-year-old led the Chiefs from the front in what was perhaps one of the most historic victories of the franchise. The Philadelphia Eagles and the rest should take notes on team building and strategy from the Kansas City Chiefs, who could do no wrong and are sure to serve as an inspiration for the 31 league teams and young players.
On a Brady-esque Trajectory
With his stellar performance, Mahomes achieved something not done since the AFL-NFL merger back in 1970. Mahomes broke the 52-year Super Bowl curse, which was no NFL MVP quarterback had won the NFL championship since 1999. But one of the more bizarre stats of the game is that in all of the 53 Super Bowls that have been played since the merger in 1970, just 15 NFL quarterbacks have led the league by touchdown passes prior to playing the Super Bowl. Weirdly enough, no NFL quarterback had ever led in passing yards prior to winning a Super Bowl.
With just six quarterbacks making it to the championship game and winning, that record remained unbroken, that is, until last Sunday's game, where Mahomes delivered a performance that puts his name up alongside the all-time greats. We're talking about the likes of Dan Marino (1984), Kurt Wagner (2001), Rich Gannon (2002), Tom Brady (2007), and Peyton Manning (2013).
It was truly a performance that was worthy of the championship belt that Mahomes gleefully posed for pictures with post-game. Bruised ankle and all, Patrick Mahomes was a true warrior at Super Bowl LVII, winning his second Vince Lombardy Trophy at just 27; this quarterback is redefining greatness on the field with a Tom Brady-esque trajectory.
Millions Tune in
Sundays' game pulled an attendance of around 113 million fans of the sport. This makes the Super Bowl LVII the third most-watched program in television history. It was also Fox's 10th Super Bowl since it began airing NFL games back in 1994. According to the sports channel, it is the second most-watched sports event in the history of Fox Sports. According to Adobe Analytics, digital feed averaged 7 million live streams at the Super Bowl LVII, which is an 18% increase compared to the last Super Bowl.
Rihanna's appearance as the main event during halftime is now the second-most watched halftime show in the history of the game, with an average viewership of 118.7 million viewers tuning in during the halftime spectacle. For those wondering, Katy Perry's 2015 halftime performance is still number one with 121 million views.
The Super Bowl LVII also attracted a record 951,000 Spanish-language audience, which makes it the most-watched Super Bowl event in Spanish-language history (cable TV). So, it's safe to say that American football consumed the attention of millions of Americans over the weekend, and the two-time champs deserve every minute of it.
The Celebration Begins
The Chiefs danced their way back to the locker room this Sunday after yet another historic win against. Does it even matter?
For the Chiefs' fans, however, the celebrations have yet to start (officially). Kansas City officials are buckling up for at least 500,000 fans expected to ascend to the hometown of the Chiefs to celebrate their champions.
This will be a major event since it is the second time the Chiefs have brought home the Vince Lombardi Trophy in four years. The celebrations will begin on Wednesday when the Kansas City Chiefs take to the streets to celebrate their victory at Super Bowl LVII with their fans.
If it's one thing that Kansas City has learned from the Chiefs' previous win, it is that planning ahead is going to be key. The city's mayor, Quinton Lucas, was all smiles when he announced a parade in honor of the Chiefs' big win.
If you're looking forward to participating in the celebrations, the parade will begin at 12 pm, where the fans will rally at the famous Union Station. Those who want to view the event as it unfolds can do so at the north lawn of the National WWI Museum and Memorial, which will be hosting viewing options for tourists and parade-goers. Visit KC is also hosting a live stream of the event.
The parade itself is set to start at City market and move towards Grand Boulevard, turning to Pershing Road, and will finally conclude at Union Station. School districts in the area will be closed so families can participate in the festivities. While the celebrations are free to attend, it will cost the city an estimated $2.25 million.
Ending Note
This week's Super Bowl LVII saw the Kansas City Chiefs, who are now two-time champs (1970, 2020), go against the Philadelphia Eagles (who won in 2018) in a historic game that had millions glued to their TVs and phone screens. Fans at the Super Bowl LVII also witnessed a rare spectacle where two brothers faced off each other at opposite sides.
Travis and Jason, two brothers from the Kelce family from Cleveland, were brought face-to-face at the final, with Travis playing for the Kansas City Chiefs and Jason playing for the Eagles, taking home-state pride to the next level (at least, for the Kelce family).
Super Bowl LVII had it all, but the night belonged to Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes who has certainly solidified a place in NFL lore.
Of course, we must address the elephant in the room, or in this case, the room. The State Farm Stadium, the home ground of the Arizona Cardinals, has been in the news since the final this Sunday for all the wrong reasons. Apparently, the only person to stay on their feet longer than the two teams was Rihanna. Resting on a 40-inch deep tray that rolls on 13 railroad tracks, the field happens to be the first retractable natural grass field in the country (so, maybe an update is in store). We'll leave it at that for now. Go, Kansas City Chiefs!!