Patrick Mahomes jumped through the red and yellow confetti after Glendale’s historic Super Bowl spectacle as if his ankle injury had never happened. The quarterback superstar from the Kansas City Chiefs hugged his head coach Andy Reid, waved to his family in the VIP lounge and yelled hoarsely into the camera: “We’re going to celebrate hard, baby!”
At the 57th gigantic sports and show party of the NFL, it was again the gifted playmaker who carried his team along after a ten-point deficit.
In the first Super Bowl duel between two black quarterbacks with the equally outstanding Jalen Hurts, he threw three touchdowns. The Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals Stadium with a late field goal 38-35.
“I’ve always said it: You’re not going to beat those Chiefs!” Mahomes said, jabbing his finger in the air. “I want to thank everyone, on and off the team.” Reid gushed he could kiss his “MVP” with joy: “But I don’t.”
Mahomes strolled into State Farm Stadium in a gray designer suit, he wasn’t wearing socks – so he didn’t have to hide his injured ankle. It was to be his evening.
Possibly the most talented quarterback of all NFL history, Hurts took on Hurts, the less-experienced but still accurate and clearly more powerful Eagles promoted sophomore.
Mahomes and Hurts slugfest
The duel started strong, Hurts carried the football to a touchdown on his first drive. Mahomes hit back with a pass to Travis Kelce, whose brother Jason plays with the Eagles. Also the brother duel: historical.
It was the night of the big moments. Hurts’ insane throw at AJ Brown put the Eagles back ahead, and after a fumble to equalize, Hurts followed up with a third touchdown before R&B superstar Rihanna’s sensational half-time show.
A fourth followed in the closing stages. His head coach Nick Sirianni cheered – during the national anthem before kick-off, big tears ran down the trainer’s bearded face.
Outnumbered at the stadium, Chiefs fans drew new hope with rookie Isiah Pacheco’s touchdown run.
Mahomes seemed unaffected by a hit to his already injured ankle, helped by Reid’s excellent playcalling. Hurts, however, equalized an eight-point deficit with another touchdown plus a two-point run. Then Harrison hit Butker to the knockout
Rihanna surprises baby
The worldwide spectacle that takes place at the Super Bowl could also be seen again at halftime.
While German football fans beat their heads up all night, tens of millions of viewers in the United States celebrated Rihanna’s big 13-minute comeback, who began her first public appearance in four years on a floating platform. Star guest was a baby in the womb, as her management immediately confirmed.
More superlatives: According to the National Chicken Council, 1.45 billion chicken wings should be consumed around the game. Added to this were an estimated 14,500 tons of crisps and 1230 million liters of beer. 30 seconds of advertising, for example for Cognac with Serena Williams, cost seven million dollars.
The Super Bowl was a turning point for football fans in Germany. The TV rights are changing from Pro7 to RTL for the coming season. The games will also be shown at the payment provider DAZN.