Patrick Mahomes threw for three touchdowns and 257 yards in Super Bowl LIX, but his statline didn’t reflect his overall performance in the Kansas City Chiefs’ 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“We didn’t start how we wanted to. The turnovers hurt. I take all the blame for that,” Mahomes said afterward.
The Chiefs star quarterback was rattled early and often on Sunday, committing three turnovers (two interceptions, one lost fumble) and getting sacked six times as Kansas City trailed 34-0 before its first score in the third quarter.
Mahomes’ first turnover led directly to an Eagles touchdown. In the second quarter, Eagles defensive back Cooper DeJean had the ball thrown right to him as another Philadelphia defender blanketed Mahomes’ intended target, DeAndre Hopkins. DeJean quickly found open space, getting to the sideline and running into the end zone to give the Eagles a 17-0 lead.
“The kid made a great play on it,” Mahomes said. “He sat underneath [Xavier] Worthy and I tried to reset back and throw it across the field to D-Hop and put it in a tight window, and he made a great read on it and then returned it for a touchdown.”
A little later in the second quarter, Mahomes gave the ball to the Eagles again. Left tackle Joe Thuney was pushed into Mahomes as he began his throw to Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, causing the pass to fall well short of his intended target and landing in the arms of Eagles linebacker Zack Baun.
“I was trying to throw it to Hollywood, got bumped a little bit,” Mahomes said of his second pick. “I’ve got to find a way to make the throw. It went right behind Hollywood and straight to the linebacker.”
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Baun didn’t return that interception for a touchdown, but the turnover gave the Eagles the ball at the Chiefs 14-yard line. Two plays later, Jalen Hurts threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown that allowed the Eagles to take a 24-0 lead going into halftime.
“That’s 14 points that I kind of gave them,” Mahomes said. “It’s hard to come back from that in a Super Bowl. I didn’t play to my standard and I’ve got to be better next time.”
Mahomes was able to lead the Chiefs into the end zone a few times in the second half, but it was far too little, too late. Their first score came with 34 seconds left in the third quarter, cutting the Eagles’ lead to 34-6. The Eagles eventually went up 40-6 after Mahomes turned it over a third time — on a strip-sack — and they turned that into a field goal.
With the game out of hand, Mahomes essentially threw two garbage-time touchdowns late in the fourth quarter.
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None of those touchdown passes were to Travis Kelce. The all-time great tight end, whom Mahomes has formed a legendary partnership with to lead the Chiefs to three titles, had a quiet day in Super Bowl LIX, recording just four receptions on six targets for 39 yards.
As the Chiefs attempted to three-peat on Sunday, rumors emerged ahead of the game that it could’ve been the last for the 35-year-old Kelce. The tight end didn’t address any retirement questions in the few that he took from his locker on Sunday. However, Kelce did not blame or any one player.
“Couldn’t get it going offensively,” Kelce said. “I mean, they just got after us on all three phases.”
For his part, Mahomes thinks that Kelce is still good enough to play at the game’s highest level.
“He knows he has a lot of football left in him,” Mahomes said. “You can see it. He always makes plays in the biggest moments, but it’s if he wants to put in that grind. It’s a grind out there to play 20 games, or whatever it is, and get to a Super Bowl. He’s done enough to be a gold-jacket guy, a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
“I know he still has love for the game, and he’ll get to spend some time with his family and make that decision on his own, but he knows he’ll come back here with open arms.”
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