For the second time in his young career, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the Super Bowl MVP. Mahomes earned the honor Sunday after leading the Chiefs to a dramatic, last-second victory over the Philadelphia Eagles to win the game 38-35.
Mahomes didn’t post eye-popping numbers in the win, but he made the most of every opportunity against the Eagles. Mahomes finished the game 21 for 27 for 182 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also added 44 rushing yards, despite a balky ankle.
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Mahomes played well in the first half, but his numbers were limited early due to the Eagles dominating time of possession. At halftime, the Eagles had the ball for nearly 22 minutes. The Chiefs got the ball just eight minutes.
Just before halftime, disaster struck for Mahomes and the Chiefs. While reeling, Mahomes hit his injured ankle. He looked in great pain as he limped to the sideline, where trainers looked at the injury. Mahomes suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the divisional round and was clearly affected by the injury at times during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl run.
Patrick Mahomes shook off an ankle injury to win Super Bowl MVP
Mahomes, however, came out of the tunnel at halftime looking stronger than anyone expected. He led a 10-play drive to open the third quarter, which ended with an Isiah Pacheco rushing score.
On the next drive, Mahomes led the Chiefs on nine plays, hitting Kadarius Toney for a 5-yard score for Mahomes’ second touchdown pass of the night. After a record-setting punt return by Toney, Mahomes threw another short touchdown on the Chiefs’ next offensive drive. The score put the Chiefs up by a touchdown with over nine minutes remaining.
The Eagles, however, refused to go out quietly. Hurts led an eight-play touchdown drive to tie things up with five minutes left.
Mahomes pulled off arguably his most impressive drive of the night. With the game on the line, he led a 12-play drive that took just over five minutes on the clock. It included Mahomes’ 26-yard scramble. A few plays later, he took a knee at the 9-yard line with 11 seconds left to set up Harrison Butker with a potential game-winning field goal.
Butker made the kick, giving the Chiefs a 38-35 lead with just eight seconds left. The Eagles couldn’t pull off a miraculous final play, and Mahomes walked away a Super Bowl winner — and Super Bowl MVP — for the second time in his incredible career.
