Jalen Hurts leads the second-half rally as the Eagles beat the Chiefs in the Super Bowl rematch
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jalen Hurts scored two touchdowns, including a fourth-quarter tush, and the Philadelphia Eagles rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 21-17 in a super Bowl rematch on Monday night.
The Eagles (9-1) insisted all week that they weren’t seeking revenge for their 38-35 loss in February, but Nick Sirianni’s squad still demanded some of it. They shut out Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs (7-3) in the second half while also defeating former coach Andy Reid for the first time in five games since he was fired by Philadelphia and landed in Kansas City.
Eagles center Jason Kelce also got the best of little brother Travis Kelce for the first time. Chiefs tight end could have used some luck from pop star and lover Taylor Swift, who had to miss the game – he fumbled the ball away in the red zone in the fourth quarter as Kansas City tried to extend the lead to 17-14.
With less than two minutes left, the Chiefs had a chance, converted on fourth down and then got help from a roughing the passer penalty. But a perfectly placed ball from Mahomes went right through the hands of Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a would-be 51-yard touchdown, and the Eagles stopped Kansas City on fourth down and put the game away.
Hurts only threw for 150 yards on one pick, but he made the plays that Mahomes couldn’t in the second half. He also got help from D’Andre Swift, who ran for 76 yards and a score, and DeVonta Smith, who caught six balls for 99 yards.
It was only the ninth time that two teams playing in the Super Bowl met in the regular season the following year, and the champion had won the previous four meetings. The last loss was Dallas against Buffalo in the 1993 season.
Mahomes was held to 177 yards in the end zone with two touchdowns and one interception. Isiah Pacheco added 89 yards for the Chiefs, who couldn’t overcome their two red zone turnovers and a multitude of penalties.
Unlike the Super Bowl, when the Eagles blew a 10-point halftime lead, the Chiefs took a 17-7 lead at halftime on Monday night.
After Hurts and Mahomes traded touchdown throws in the first quarter, the score was 7-all, and it was still tied when Mahomes hit Kelce on third down for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:45 left. And when the Eagles got the ball back, sacks from Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis ensured they immediately gave it back with 44 seconds left.
Enough time for Mahomes to get the Chiefs within range for Harrison Butker to make a 43-yard field goal.
But for all the praise the Chiefs get for their prolific offense, they have been miserable in the second half of this season, scoring a league-low 53 points entering Monday night. And after two quick punts to start the half, Philadelphia finally took advantage of the good field position and marched downfield before Hurts finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run.
The Chiefs kept beating themselves – and the Eagles kept taking advantage.
In addition to penalties that wiped out their first two drives of the second half, Kelce fumbled the ball away at the Philadelphia 8 early in the fourth quarter. And when the Chiefs got the ball back and had to punt a few minutes later, Justin Watson failed to land the ball at the Philadelphia 1, resulting in a touchback that gave Hurts and Co. some breathing room.
They went 80 yards the other way and Hurts’ sneak gave Philadelphia a 21-17 lead with 6:20 left.
