Patrick Mahomes was magical when the Kansas City Chiefs desperately needed him to pull off another Super Bowl comeback. Playing on an injured ankle, Mahomes threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and scrambled 26 yards on the go-ahead drive before Harrison Butker kicked a 27-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to give the Chiefs a 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. The Chiefs won their second NFL title in four years and two-time NFL MVP Mahomes earned his second Super Bowl MVP award. Mahomes and Jalen Hurts excelled in the first Super Bowl matchup featuring two Black starting QBs. But Mahomes turned it up in the second half after reaggravating a sprained right ankle.
Patrick Mahomes has a Super Bowl MVP trophy to go with his regular season MVP, and the Kansas City Chiefs are once again hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy. Mahomes was named the game’s MVP in a postgame ceremony after a gutsy performance that included 182 yards passing and three touchdowns. He played the entire game despite a right ankle injury that obviously limited how well he could move. “There was nothing that was going to keep me off the football field,” Mahomes said as Chiefs fans celebrated at State Farm Stadium.
Patrick Mahomes and his ailing right ankle are headed for a Super Bowl victory parade. After aggravating the sprained ankle he suffered three weeks ago, the All-Pro quarterback led the Kansas City Chiefs to a thrilling 38-35 come-from-behind victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday to hoist his second Lombardi Trophy and earn Super Bowl MVP honors. The league’s MVP finished with 182 yards passing and three touchdowns. He also had 44 yards rushing, including a 26-yard sprint with just over 2 minutes left in a 35-all game as Kansas City was driving for the winning score. Mahomes became the sixth player to win multiple Super Bowl MVPs.
Patrick Mahomes rallied the Kansas City Chiefs to the Super Bowl victory and led a comeback for the sportsbooks. The 38-35 win over Philadelphia meant the books were winners on the betting line. That line generally favored the Eagles by 1 1/2 points and drew plenty of wagering on the NFC champions. The victory on the point spread by the sportsbooks offset a loss on the total, which was 51 1/2 points at many places and hit hard by bets on the over.
Nick Sirianni’s fourth-down aggressiveness paid off in a big way for the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. Sirianni had his offense go for it twice on fourth down on a single drive late in the first half and another in the third quarter, helping them take a 27-21 lead over the Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles have now converted a league-high 27 fourth-down tries in the regular season and playoffs. Sirianni ranked No. 1 in the regular season in the Football Outsiders’ Critical Call Index.
A questionable late penalty on Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry with less than two minutes remaining meant that a scintillating Super Bowl 57 had a bit of an underwhelming finish. The Chiefs — who won 38-35 — were driving and faced third-and-8 at the Eagles 15-yard line with 1:54 remaining when Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw incomplete to JuJu Smith-Schuster. But officials flagged Bradberry for defensive holding, which negated the incompletion and gave the Chiefs a first down. Replays showed that Bradberry made light contact with Smith-Schuster, but it didn’t appear to affect the play. Kansas City was able to essentially run out the clock from that point forward and kick a late field goal for the win.
The field at State Farm Stadium turned into a Super Bowl slip and slide. Players from both teams had a hard time keeping their footing, leading several to change their cleats. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes slipped while trying to make a cut, but was able to gain a few more yards. Kansas City receiver Skyy Moore lost his footing on a jet sweep and running back Isiah Pacheco even slipped on his celebration after scoring a touchdown. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was among the players who changed cleats to get better traction.
Quarterback Derek Carr turned down a trade offer from the Las Vegas Raiders to the New Orleans Saints, a person with knowledge of the decision said Sunday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to comment publicly. That person said Carr wouldn’t accept a pay cut to help finalize the deal, and the Saints were the only team interested in making a trade with the Raiders. Carr has a no-trade clause in his contract. Given those circumstances and Wednesday’s deadline for the Raiders to trade or release Carr, it appears Las Vegas will cut the QB.
NBA
Derrick White scored 23 points to help a shorthanded Boston team hold off Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies 119-109. Sam Hauser added 20 points, Al Horford had 16 points and Payton Pritchard 12 for Boston, which won its fourth straight. Celtics star Jayson Tatum didn’t have his sharpest game, finishing with 16 points but making 3 of 16 shots and missing 7 of 8 on 3-point attempts. Morant led the Grizzlies with 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Desmond Bane scored 18 and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 15 points and seven rebounds.
Fred VanVleet scored 35 points, topping 30 for a career-best ninth time this season, and Pascal Siakam added 28 points as the Toronto Raptors beat the Detroit Pistons 119-118 for their fourth win in five games. Scottie Barnes scored 20 points and Precious Achiuwa had 11 points and 11 rebounds as Toronto won its second straight over Detroit after losing the previous six meetings. Toronto is 20-7 all-time when VanVleet scores 30 or more. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 33 points, Alec Burks had 21 and Hamidou Diallo and Jaden Ivey each had 18 for the Pistons.
The Golden State Warriors have decided to go through with completion of a trade to acquire Gary Payton II from Portland despite concerns that arose surrounding the guard’s health following offseason surgery for a core muscle injury that sidelined him until last month. A person with direct knowledge of the situation said the Warriors spoke to the NBA about how the Trail Blazers handled the deal and information about the medical situation for Payton, whose physical Friday brought up issues that put the trade in jeopardy.
NHL
Jaden Schwartz scored twice, Jordan Eberle had a goal and an assist and the Seattle Kraken sapped some of Philadelphia's excitement about the Super Bowl with a 4-3 victory over the Flyers. Eeli Tolvanen also scored for the Kraken, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Philipp Grubauer made 18 saves. James van Riemsdyk, Owen Tippett and Patrick Brown scored for the Flyers. Felix Sandstrom made 15 saves.
Jordan Harris had his first career two-goal game and the Montreal Canadiens earned wins on back-to-back afternoons with a 6-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Alex Belzile, Josh Anderson, Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Christian Dvorak added goals for Montreal and Jake Allen made 30 saves. Leon Draisaitl and Evander Kane scored for Edmonton. Connor McDavid ended a 15-game point streak. Stuart Skinner made 24 saves for the Oilers. At 31, Belzile became the oldest Canadien to score his first NHL goal since Hockey Hall of Famer Herb Gardiner in 1926 and the seventh-oldest player in league history.
The Vegas Golden Knights scored five times in the third period Sunday to break open a one-goal game and beat the Anaheim Ducks 7-2, extending their winning streak to three games. Michael Amadio, William Carrier, Jack Eichel, Phil Kessel and Shea Theodore each had a goal and an assist. Reilly Smith and William Karlsson each had two assists. Isac Lundestrom had a goal and an assist for the Ducks. The Knights have outscored their past three opponents by a combined 17-4 to take a three-point lead in the Pacific Division.
NEW MEXICO STATE CANCELS SEASON
New Mexico State has called off the rest of its men’s basketball season after reviewing a police report that cited three players for false imprisonment, harassment and criminal sexual contact against a teammate. In a statement, chancellor Dan Arvizu said the action was needed after receiving additional details of reports related to hazing allegations against players. KTSM-TV in El Paso, Texas, obtained what it said was a redacted police report with none of the players named. The station said the report detailed the victim telling investigators that on Feb. 6, three members of the team held down the victim, removed his clothing exposing his buttocks and began to hit him in the buttocks, The victim also said the players touched his scrotum.
