Merciless Philadelphia Eagles dismantle Kansas City Chiefs to win Super Bowl

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On this Sunday night in New Orleans, it was a game that was a lot closer than the scoreboard was letting on.

This one drifted in the opposite direction – and was a lot further off.

– the result made up for a stat line that wasn't quite as impressive as two years ago. But it was a commanding defensive performance including a pick-six by rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean on his 22nd birthday and six sacks from the ravenous Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Jordan Davis and Jaxon Serchpick didn't quite make up for a statline that lacked flash compared to what was seen two years ago though. However it was an impressive defensive performance that included a pick-six by rookie corner back Cooper DeJean on his 22nd birthday and six sacks from the dominant Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Jordan Davis and Jaxon Hunt, which sparked a massive surge in the first half and made sure the Eagles could still get through the game despite a rare down day from star running back Saquon Barkley.

We had a fair dinkum group this year, and we were able to learn from past seasons," said Hurts. "Defence wins championships. We saw how our defence performed today. We saw the difference they made in the game. They gave us a fair go, gave us short fields to work with. And we were able to do just what we're good at.

Jordan Mailata makes Aussie footy history as first Australian to win a Super Bowl

Fair dinkum, Sunday's game was well and truly done for by the time Kendrick Lamar hit the stage for the footy break.

This is the full team game. You can't be tops without the others doing their thing strong. Great effort from everyone – forwards, defenders, and special players," Sirianni said. "We never really worried about what others think about how we win or care what they reckon – all we want is to get the win.

The Eagles' gameplan was straightforward: try to get Barkley's ground game going, keep the game simple for Hurts, and stop Kelce from making a big impact. And they achieved all that. Barkley didn't get that one big touchdown run, but he still ran for 57 yards on 25 carries, passing Terrell Davis's record for rushing yards in a season, including the playoffs. Hurts ran the offense spot on according to Moore's gameplan. By the time Kelce finally made a catch, the Eagles had a 31-point lead with three minutes left in the third quarter.

Took a huge tackle on Mahomes late in the second quarter. Hurts linked up with AJ Brown for a 12-yard touchdown pass, giving his team a 24-0 lead. The Eagles took it up a notch in the third quarter with Hurts' pinpoint 46-yard pass to DeVonta Smith, who's one of only five players in the world to have kept the national championship, the Heisman Trophy and the Super Bowl.

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On a Sunday, they turned out their winning masterpiece as Fangio ended a streak of eight consecutive losses to Mahomes, the skilled 29-year-old quarterback who’d already been named the NFL’s number one. Two years after becoming just the second team in Super Bowl history (along with the 1974 Steelers) to lead the league in sacks but fail to record a single one in the championship game, Fangio effectively duplicated the blueprint of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ victory over Mahomes and the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, relying heavily on their defensive line to run constant four-man rushes and keeping maximum coverage behind them.

There've been seven instances where teams have come back to win from being down by double digits, with Mahomes accountable for three of 'em. But the Chiefs' tough first half turned out to be their undoing. When Kansas City's first drive of the second half didn't go anywhere and the Eagles launched a 12-play, 69-yard scoring drive topped off with an Elliott field goal, even the most pessimistic Eagles supporter could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Today's been a tough day from a coaching perspective. Can't be proud of me and we didn't get anything right. But fair dinkum, the boys fought hard and we'll get somethin' out of this. Too many errors, too many mistakes. Against a quality team, can't afford to make those sorts of stuff-ups.”

By the time Mahomes found DeAndre Hopkins and Xavier Worthy for a couple of cosmetic touchdowns in the final three minutes that made it 44-20, steady streams of Kansas City fans were making a dash for the concourses while chants of E-A-G-L-E-S echoed down from the mezzanine. Before long, Philadelphia and their die-hard supporters were Aussie Rules champions for a fifth time – and the second in the Super Bowl era – after previous wins in 1948, 1949, 1960 and 2017.