Neil Reynolds
American Football Expert & Columnist
Neil Reynolds: Patrick Mahomes' Super Bowl win enhances his legend as he and Andy Reid mastermind epic Kansas City Chiefs victory
Sky Sports' Neil Reynolds has the final word on the Kansas City Chiefs' thrilling 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, picking out his five major takeaways from one of the greatest ever Super Bowls in NFL history...
Last Updated: 14/02/23 5:05pm
What a game! The Kansas City Chiefs ran out 38-35 winners over the Philadelphia Eagles in a Super Bowl for the ages on Sunday.
It was a privilege to cover the contest for Sky Sports as Patrick Mahomes, of the Chiefs, and Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts put on a show worthy of such a grand stage.
Here are my five major takeaways from one of the greatest Super Bowls we have ever seen...
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1) The Legend of Mahomes
When Patrick Mahomes re-injured his ankle late in the first half, I felt like the game might be over. He seemed so distraught and disappointed to be back to square one on the injury front and I feared the Eagles were about to run away with the game.
The Eagles did stretch their half-time lead to 24-14 with Mahomes gingerly walking up and down the sideline. And when the reigning league MVP limped into the tunnel, I worried what had been a very entertaining first half was going to dissolve into a romp after the break.
I could not have been more wrong. Mahomes was clearly in a great deal of pain but he was masterful in leading the Chiefs to points on all four of their second-half drives - three touchdowns and the game-winning field goal from Harrison Butker.
Mahomes was as gutsy as he was brilliant, bravely scrambling for 26 yards on the Super Bowl-winning drive and taking another hit on his injured ankle in the process. All week long I heard that Mahomes was a magician, a wizard, a legendary and one-of-a-kind player. He was all those things and more in the second half of the Super Bowl.
It was a privilege to watch Mahomes at work in the second half. Years from now people will be saying: "Do you remember that Super Bowl where Mahomes beat the Eagles on one leg?"
In a Super Bowl for the ages, Mahomes delivered a truly legendary performance.
2) Hurts so good
There is not much creativity when it comes to the Super Bowl MVP award. Of the 58 winners we have now seen, Mahomes became the 32nd quarterback to win the coveted prize. Only 10 defensive players have ever been named Super Bowl MVP and the award has only been shared once. It tends to always go to the winning team and mostly to the quarterback.
I would have no issue with that award being shared on Sunday night, or going to a player on a losing team, because Eagles QB Jalen Hurts was nothing short of sensational for the Eagles. He just didn't get that one final shot with the ball in his hands due to the hotly-disputed defensive holding penalty against James Bradberry that allowed the Chiefs to milk the clock before kicking the game-winning field goal.
Hurts did it all. He threw for 304 yards and one touchdown and set Super Bowl records by rushing for 70 yards and scoring three touchdowns on the ground, also adding the two-point conversion that made it 35-35 in the fourth quarter.
Hurts has been special all season long and we have never seen a quarterback like him on the ground. He ended the year with an even 200 carries (a record for a QB) and he scored 18 rushing TDs (another all-time high).
The Eagles are in very safe hands with Hurts at the helm, but he is now going to cost them much more than the $1.64m (less than one per cent of the salary cap) they paid him this year. Hurts is eligible for a new deal and is good enough to break the bank.
3) Destroying the narrative
Super Bowl weeks feature a lot of talking and selling of storylines. And one of the big ones quite rightly doing the rounds in Arizona leading up to Super Bowl LVII was that Philadelphia's vaunted and historic pass rush was going to make life very difficult indeed for Mahomes.
The Eagles recorded 70 sacks during the regular season and another eight in the playoffs. They were the first team to have four players record more than 10 sacks in a single campaign and they were just five quarterback takedowns away from being the most prolific pass-rushing unit in the entire history of the NFL.
On Sunday night,, however, those very same Eagles had their wings clipped as they failed to record a single sack of Mahomes. The Chiefs rebuilt their offensive line after their Super Bowl loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers two years ago and that newly-formed group held up so well.
They were helped by head coach Andy Reid and Mahomes, of course, because the quarterback frustrated the Eagles time and again with the quick passes that have been a staple of the league's No 1 attack all season long.
Mahomes went 13 of 13 for 72 yards and two touchdowns on quick passes and the league's most dominant defensive front was left totally neutered.
4) Unlikely heroes emerge
Heading into the big game we talked about all the major and obvious candidates who would decide this game… Mahomes, Hurts, Travis Kelce, AJ Brown, as well as a host of defensive stars on each team.
I'm not sure how long we would have been talking in our pre-game show before we got to Chiefs receivers Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore.
Toney turned this game on its head. He scored on a five-yard pass from Mahomes with 12 minutes and four seconds remaining and, after an Eagles three and out that took just one minute and 53 off the clock, he then ripped off the longest punt return in Super Bowl history.
The 65-yard return set up rookie Moore's four-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes on what was the exact same play just mirrored to the other side of the formation. What a time to score your first NFL touchdown!
5) A master at work
Mahomes and Hurts were not the only masters of their craft on display in Super Bowl LVII. Reid was simply brilliant in the game he called for the Chiefs. He got the ball out of Mahomes' hands quickly all night long and used motions and shifts the keep the Eagles defenders guessing.
The reverse motion on a slippery field caught the Eagles napping on both touchdowns scored by Toney and Moore. Reid is as good as it comes at play-calling in the NFL and it showed on Sunday night.
Reid should now be viewed in legendary, Hall of Fame terms. In truth, we should have viewed him that way for some time now. He has 22 playoff wins - second only to the great Bill Belichick - and he and Mahomes have teamed up for two Super Bowl successes in the past four years.
He became the fourth-oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl at the age of 64, but why stop now? He and Mahomes worked through the arrival of 23 new players to win another NFL title this season.
As Mahomes said on the NFL Network after the game: "I like our chances next year, too." And why not? The Chiefs are in a glorious run and their head coach-quarterback partnership is at the focal point of their success.
