By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The 2022 NFL season has concluded. Kansas City beat Philadelphia 38 – 35 in Super Bowl LVII. It was the third-most-watched television show in history, with an estimated 113 million people watching, according to preliminary numbers released Monday.

The 2015 game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks on NBC holds the record at 114,442,000 viewers (not including streaming), followed by Super Bowl LI in 2017 on Fox between Atlanta and New England (113,668,000).

Rihanna’s halftime show averaged 118.7 million viewers, making it the second-most-watched show in Super Bowl history. Katy Perry’s 2015 performance holds the top mark at 121 million.

The Eagles scored a touchdown on their opening possession. The Chiefs responded on their first possession with a touchdown as well. Travis Kelce caught an 18-yard score from Patrick Mahomes.

Kansas City missed a 42-yard field goal on their second possession. Philly made them pay on the next drive. Jalen Hurts threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown.

The momentum shifted on the next drive when Hurts fumbled, and Nick Bolton recovered the ball and scored a 36-yard TD. Bolton also lead the team with 9 tackles.

Philadelphia scored a touchdown and field goal on the next two possessions of the first half. They had a 24 – 14 lead going into halftime. Mahomes was tackled toward the end of the first half and he tweaked his high ankle sprain.

KC outcoached the Eagles after halftime and the second half was completely different. They scored three touchdowns and a field goal.

Mahomes was 21/27 for 182 yards, 3 scores, 0 interceptions and he was not sacked. He also ran 6 times for 44 yards. He was named the Super Bowl MVP.

The Eagles led the league for the most sacks with 70 in the regular season so it’s surprising they could not record one in the Super Bowl.

Kelce had 6 catches for 81 yards and a score. JuJu Smith-Schuster had 7 receptions for 53 yards. Isiah Pacheco had 15 carries, 76 yards and a touchdown.

Hurts was 27/38, 304 yards, 1 TD and no 0 interceptions. He also led the team in rushing with 15 carries, 70 yards and 3 touchdowns.

“I thought guys just embraced the moment,” Mahomes said about rallying from a 10-point halftime deficit. “In that first half, we were playing and doing some good stuff, but I felt like the guys were getting consumed by everything around us.”

Coach Andy Reid, who couldn’t win the big game in Philadelphia, beat his former team to earn his second ring with Mahomes and the Chiefs.

“We wanted to get this so bad for him,” Tracis Kelce said. “His legacy in Philly lives on forever. … There’s a lot of pride in knowing that he’s had success in two different organizations, but this was the better one.”

The Chiefs won their second Super Bowl following the 2019 season, 50 years after the first one. Mahomes led them back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter against San Francisco in that one. It took just three years to get another Lombardi.

Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL and he’s now adding to his resume as an all-time great. The Chiefs played the third most rookies in 2022. Only Chicago and Houston played more rookies and they have the top two picks in the NFL draft.

KC has reached at least the AFC Championship game in the five seasons that Mahomes started. That has to be the expectation going into the 2023 season.