Ingram’s February 2023

Chiefs edge Philadelphia for Super Bowl crown, draw massive crowds for Downtown celebration. WE DID IT

again

I t wasn’t just coming back from 10 points down at halftime. It wasn’t just coming back behind a quarterback playing with one good leg. It wasn’t just racking up 38 points against one of the best defenses in the NFL this season. All of them added up to a Super Bowl classic, one that came down to the final seconds before Harrison Butker’s 27-yard field goal secured victory: Kansas City Chiefs 38, Philadelphia Eagles 35. That set the stage for the Feb. 15 victory parade through Downtown Kansas City, culminating at Union Station with team officials, players and coaches providing comments for a raucous crowd estimated well more than half a million. Sports economists are generally in agreement that large-scale achievement on the field of play do little to elevate a community’s economic prospects. To the extent that they do, it may have more to do with fans feeling better about their lives and circumstances, and thus willing to spend more freely—up to a point, and within a certain time frame. But there’s little doubt that a television audience estimated at 113 million—more than one American in three, among all age groups—tuned in for this year's Super Bowl. It’s tough to imagine Patrick Mahomes path to greater name awareness, for Kansas City itself and the Chiefs as a brand, the game has, at least temporarily, raised the nation’s consciousness about this place. Back to the game itself. A great deal of media hoo-ha was expended about a holding call against the Eagles in final minutes, one that allowed the Chiefs to essentially run out the clock before Butker’s kick. And much was made of the high-scoring nature of this game, the third-most points in Super Bowl history. Too often overlooked in the post-game coverage was the role of the Chiefs’ defense. Eagle quarterback Jalen Hurts had his way throughout the first half in building that 24-14 lead, but holding the birds’ powerful offense to 11 second half points was impressive. And the reality is, without Nick

Bolton’s 36-yard scoop-and-score off of Hurts’ unforced fumble, the Chiefs probably wouldn’t have won this game. In that sense, defense does indeed win championships. The offensive line, as well, is due its tribute. The Eagles came into the game with more quarterback sacks this season than any team in the league. They got to Mahomes … not once. Not for a sack, anyway. The one time they wrapped him up, he flicked the ball to Kelce for a first down. The O-line also paved the way for 158 badly needed rushing yards. As much as Philadelphia kept Mahomes on the bench with time of possession in the first half, the Five Linemen of the Apocalypse flipped that script in the second half to keep Hurts on the Eagles’ sideline. Woven throughout the game were some other intriguing outcomes and data points: n Mahomes, in just his third Super Bowl, has tied the legendary Tom Brady with comebacks of at least 10 points in the title game: They both found themselves in that tight spot three times, winning twice. n By the way: 45 other quarterbacks in Super Bowl history have also been down by 10 points during their games. Their record? 0-45. n This victory allowed head coach Andy Reid, who finally broke the Super Bowl championship hex in 2020, to pass Dallas great Tom Landry in post-season wins, with 22. With 10 more, Reid could pass New England’s Bill Belichick. n Travis Kelce’s over-the-shoulder catch for the Chiefs first touchdown moved him to No. 1 all-time among tight ends for postseason TDs, passing New England’s Rob Gronkowski. Kelce is six away from tying Jerry Rice for No. 1 all time leader. n Mahomes threw touchdowns to a pair of new faces in 2022—Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore—and another newcomer, running back Isaiah Pacheco, notched his first post-season score. n Toney’s 65-yard punt return to set up the Chiefs’ first lead was the longest in Super Bowl history.

14

I ngr am ’ s

February 2023

Ingrams.com