NEW ORLEANS (AP) — With less than five minutes in the first half, it wasn’t looking good for the defending Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, after the Philadelphia Eagles soared to an early 17-0 lead.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl, vying for a historic three-peat, after beating the Buffalo Bills 32-29 in a thrilling AFC championship game. They’re facing Philadelphia and star running back Saquon Barkley, who ran for three touchdowns as the Eagles beat the Washington Commanders 55-23 in the NFC title game.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce won’t even be on the field at the same time as Philadelphia’s offensive front during Sunday’s Super Bowl, but it’s personal for Kelce, whose brother, Jason, was the Eagles’ center for 13 years before retiring after last season.
It was the younger Kelce that gave the Eagles the first bad omen: he called tails during the coin flip, a move that, again, did not fail. The Chiefs won the coin toss and opted to defer, marking the 15th straight Super Bowl that the team who won the coin toss deferred.
Just like the officials were a big storyline headed into the Super Bowl thanks in part to social media conspiracy theories about favoritism toward the Chiefs, they were a big part of the first quarter of the game with both teams ending up on the wrong side of a close call.
The first questionable call came on the opening drive of the game when the Philadelphia Eagles appeared to convert a fourth-and-2 from midfield with a 32-yard pass from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown.
But the official immediately threw a flag because Brown shoved cornerback Trent McDuffie’s facemask. While there was some contact, Fox officiating analyst Mike Pereira said it shouldn’t have led to a flag.
Those kinds of close calls that have tended to go in Kansas City’s favor in recent playoff games have fueled the conspiracy theorists and have been a major topic all week. Commissioner Roger Goodell called the allegations “ridiculous” during a news conference Monday and the head of the officiating union called it “insulting.”
On Philadelphia’s next possession, the close call went the Eagles’ way. Hurts threw an incomplete pass to Dallas Goedert on third-and-5 from the Kansas City 42. But the officials once again threw a flag because McDuffie made contact with Goedert’s facemask and Pereira didn’t like that call either.
Three plays later, Hurts scored on a 1-yard run for the first score of the game.
When the second quarter started, Chiefs safety Bryan Cook intercepted a pass from Hurts inside the Chiefs’ 5, giving Kansas City the ball back early.
It was short-lived, however, giving way to three drives and three punts for Mahomes and the Chiefs. The Eagles then turned around and put up a 48-yard field goal from kicker Jake Elliott to put Philadelphia up 10-0 with 8:38 left in the second quarter.
A short time later, the Eagles would score again after Cooper DeJean returned a 38-year interception off of Mahomes for a touchdown. He became the first player to score a Super Bowl TD on his birthday, taking an achievement many thought would go to Eagles running back Barkley — he’s turning 28 on Sunday.
With less than five minutes left in the first half, Philadelphia was leading 17-0.
Before halftime, Hurts connected with Brown for a 12-yard touchdown pass, putting the Eagles up 24-0.
This Super Bowl is a rematch of two years ago, when the Chiefs edged the Eagles 38-35 in Glendale, Arizona. Last year, Kansas City beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime in Las Vegas. No team has ever won three straight Super Bowls.
If you’re already tired of the game, have no fear. Kendrick Lamar will be the headliner for the halftime show.
The rap megastar, who has won 17 Grammys, said he’s looking forward to bringing hip-hop to the NFL’s championship game, where he performed as a guest artist with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Eminem in 2022.
Lamar will be joined on stage by Grammy winner SZA — his former Top Dawg Entertainment labelmate. The singer appeared on Lamar’s recent album “GNX” and was featured on a couple of songs including “Gloria” and “Luther,” which also features sampled vocals from Luther Vandross and Cheryl Lynn.
The duo’s previous hits include the Oscar-nominated “All the Stars” and “Doves in the Wind.” Jay-Z’s Roc Nation company and Emmy-winning producer Jesse Collins will serve as co-executive producers of the halftime show.
Taylor Swift will be at the Super Bowl rooting for her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and the Chiefs, but she’s far from the only star with a rooting interest.
The Chiefs’ famous fans include Paul Rudd, Rob Riggle, Heidi Gardner, Jason Sudeikis, Henry Cavill, Henry Winkler and David Koechner. Musicians Melissa Etheridge and Tech N9ne have each created songs for their team.
Meanwhile, the Eagles boast a starry roster of superfans such as Bradley Cooper, Will Smith, Kevin Hart, Miles Teller, Pink, Questlove and Meek Mill.
Donald Trump is making history as the first president to attend the Super Bowl while in office.
Trump has said that he thinks Kansas City will win, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes the difference-maker. Trump says in a pregame interview with Fox News Channel’s Brett Baier that “I guess you have to say that when a quarterback wins as much as he’s won, I have to go with Kansas City.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.
