How it unfolded
Kansas City chased a three-peat no team had ever achieved, against Philadelphia — the team they beat 38–35 in Super Bowl LVII two years earlier. The game effectively ended in the first half. Philadelphia's defence blitzed sparingly yet sacked Patrick Mahomes six times with a four-man front; Mahomes threw two first-half interceptions, one returned 38 yards for a touchdown by rookie Cooper DeJean on his 22nd birthday. Zack Baun also picked him off. Jalen Hurts scored on a one-yard run in the first quarter and hit A.J. Brown for a TD in the second; Philadelphia led 24–0 at halftime. A 46-yard TD to DeVonta Smith in the third made it 34–0. Kansas City scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns after the outcome was settled. Hurts went 17-of-22 for 221 yards and two passing TDs plus 72 rushing yards and a rushing score for MVP — the most rushing yards by a quarterback in Super Bowl history.
Why it still matters
A half-century quest for a three-peat died in one night — and the method mattered more. Philadelphia shut down the league's best improviser without heavy blitzing, showing front-seven pressure still controls modern offence. A roster built around Saquon Barkley's 2,005 regular-season rushing yards offered a counterexample to pass-heavy league trends.