Mumbai: Security was the biggest concern ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl, the 59th edition of the National Football League’s championship match. It took place at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, 41 days after a truck attack on Bourbon Street saw 15 people die, the location barely a mile away from the stadium.
And then there was the presence of US President Donald Trump, who became the country’s first sitting leader to attend the annual spectacle.
Amidst the heavy security arrangements, Philadelphia Eagles emerged triumphant with a comprehensive 40-22 win, dismantling the resistance of two-time defending champions Kansas City Chiefs. They led 24-0 at halftime.
Eagles became Super Bowl champions for the second time in franchise history, after their win in 2018. The victory denied the Chiefs’ hopes of becoming the first NFL team to win three consecutive Super Bowl titles.
It is the sporting event of the season in the United States which celebrates American football with a number of celebrity performances at halftime. And this year’s event was no different.
With Trump watching from the stands, Hollywood star Samuel L Jackson played emcee while US rapper Kendrick Lamar was the highlight of the halftime show, featuring with singer SZA. Tennis legend Serena Williams also took the stage as she danced to Lamar’s performance.
Before the halftime spectacle however, the Eagles had put in a dominant display in defence that shut down the biggest threat available on the Chiefs’ roster.
Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs quarterback, had been an instrumental player in the team’s search for an unprecedented “three-peat”. There had been seven past instances when a team facing double-digit deficits had come back and win. Mahomes was involved in three of those matches. On Sunday though, the Eagles shut down the 29-year-old, and how.
Mahomes was tackled, or sacked, three times and his passes were intercepted twice in the first half alone, forcing him to register his worst half performance as a professional player. He had been tackled six times by the end of the match, the most he has been in a game.
Along with Mahomes, Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce, whose pop icon girlfriend Taylor Swift was watching from the stands, had been left without a supply of the ball. Kelce managed to get his first catch of the night only when the Eagles led by 31-0.
“We didn’t pressure much,” Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was quoted by AP as saying. “He’s so good against pressure that I was hoping we could play the game without having to pressure much — and that happened.”
With two of the most important players taken away by the Eagles’ robust defensive line, Eagles took the initiative in attack as well. They opened the scoring through MVP Jalen Hurts.
A few minutes later Cooper DeJean, on his 22nd birthday, scored another touchdown. Towards the end of the first half, Hurts was at it again, this time passing to AJ Brown who scored a third touchdown, taking the score to 24-0 at the interval.
Mahomes eventually manage to get in a solid pass for a Xavier Worthy touchdown, the score becoming 34-6. Jake Elliot added six more points for the Eagles with two field goals before Mahomes managed to set up DeAndre Hopkins for another touchdown.
The late touchdowns by the Chiefs eventually proved to be academic in front of a solid first half performance by the Eagles.
“This is the ultimate team game. You can’t be great without the greatness of others. Great performance by everybody – offense, defense, special teams,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was quoted as saying by The Guardian. “We didn’t really ever care what anyone thought about how we won, or their opinions. All we want to do is win.”
The Eagles and Chiefs had met in the Super Bowl final two years ago. Then, the Chiefs won 38-35. The last team to score at least 40 points in a Super Bowl match too was the Eagles, when they beat New England Patriots 41-33 in 2018.
A day that started with tributes to those who lost their lives in the attack on January 1 ended with another successful chapter in the celebration of American football.
