THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
"It was a holding [penalty]. I tugged his jersey. I was hoping they would let it slide," was the honest assessment by Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry, as a crucial yellow flag in the dying seconds of the game put a serious dent in his team's quest for the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl 57, held in Arizona, will go down as one of the best ever title games. Although we seem to be saying that every other year now, there weren't many calls that could be questioned by a crew that largely let the game flow. The Bradberry penalty, though, would allow the Kansas City Chiefs to run down the clock, with the game tied at 35, to position one of the most reliable kickers in the league to secure the winning points and Harrison Butker duly kicked the 27 yard field goal to win the game. There were eight seconds left for the Eagles, which saw one downfield pass dropped incomplete, and Butker's kick put the seal on a great second half from the Chiefs. "That's what you dream of as a kicker," an elated Butker said post game, "It's an amazing feeling."
This was a game of two number one seeds, that on paper - and in reams and reams of stats - could barely be separated, and that is exactly how it played out. The biggest lead of the day was the 10 points that Philly held at half time. Their quarterback, Jalen Hurts, playing in his first Super Bowl, was having a near perfect game, eventually accounting for three rushing touchdowns and throwing for one more. It was one of the best performances by a losing play caller in the big game, and Hurts cannot be blamed for the way the game played out in the second half. Yes, the Chiefs dialed up a new plan in the second half, but it didn't really stymie the Eagles to the point they couldn't score. Instead it was the outstanding play of league MVP Patrick Mahomes (pictured below) that took the shine away from Hurts. "Obviously, I try to control the things I can. I touch the ball on every play," said Hurts in the press conference afterward, "We'll sit back and reflect on it and learn from it."
The Eagles were only the second team to lose the Super Bowl after holding a 10 point half time lead. The previous time was when the Atlanta Falcons were beaten by Tom Brady as he led his New England Patriots back to win in overtime.
It's far too early to draw comparisons with Brady, but Mahomes has a legitimate claim to be heading in that direction. He is now undoubtedly the quarterback of his generation. His team has a canny knack of winning lots of games, going to lots of AFC Championship games, and from there, many Super Bowls. All the while they are doing it by being likable, something that the Patriots couldn't quite do outside of their fanbase. Mahomes plays for fun and plays for his team. Through most of the playoffs he has been playing hurt, a high ankle sprain during the divisional round game against Jacksonville caused him to miss a few plays but he came back and won that game, and then saw off rivals Cincinnati when it was questionable if he would play.
When he was tackled, very fairly, and went down late in the first half of the Super Bowl, the game was brewing up into a tight contest that was already looking like it would go down to the wire. He didn't miss a play due to the fortunate timing of the extended half time that the Super Bowl brings with its hyped up half time show.
Straight from the locker room Mahomes took his team down the field and laid a marker of intent with a touchdown drive. There was a momentum shift and the Eagles although not completely crumbling, did stutter a little. "There's nothing that's going to keep me off that football field. A lot of soreness going into halftime, was able to move it around and get taped up a little bit and go play that second half. It didn't feel good, but I was going to leave it all out there. I'm glad it was enough for the win," said Mahomes. Named the game MVP to add to his league one, he will now go and rest properly.
That's something that his head coach, Andy Reid will do too, but only temporarily: "I look in the mirror and I'm old. My heart, though, is young. I still enjoy doing what I'm doing. I'm good with what I'm doing right now. Listen, if they'll have me, I'll stick around," he said. Coach Reid has cemented his place as one of the coaching greats. He was already there, but after this win he's only behind Bill Belichick for the most playoff wins in history.
Last word though goes to Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, who took his team to within 8 seconds of a Super Bowl win in just his second season. He can be proud of what he and his team have done this year. His take on the holding call at the end was measured. "It's never about one play. I'm not here to debate whether it was the right call or the wrong call. I haven't seen all the clips, but that's not what wins or loses the game."
