NEW ORLEANS — Long one of the NFL’s sharpest defensive minds, Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio cracked Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIX.
His Eagles players did, too, in a 40-22 blowout of the closest thing the NFL has to a dynasty since the Patriots broke up. Fangio’s defensive line battered the Chiefs’ superstar quarterback with only four pass rushers, allowing his defensive backs to play, at times, seven-on-four. By midway through the second quarter, it was an unfair fight. The Chiefs were chasing the NFL’s first-ever Super Bowl three-peat — and even negotiated with Pat Riley to use the phrase — but couldn’t manage three points by halftime.
The Chiefs’ hopes were buried midway through the second quarter. Trailing 10-0, Mahomes was sacked on first down by Josh Sweat; sacked on second down by Sweat and teammate Jalyx Hunt; and threw a third-and-16 interception that Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean returned 38 yards for a touchdown.
Mahomes had rolled right and tried to rifle a pass to DeAndre Hopkins, who was well-covered and tumbled to the ground. He didn’t see DeJean, the slot cornerback, playing zone defense underneath. He picked off the pass at the numbers to Mahomes’ right, took off across the field and ran up the opposite sideline. DeJean wasn’t touched until the 3 and stomped across the goal line.
It was the first career interception for the Iowa rookie. He became the first player since 1948 to score a Super Bowl touchdown on his birthday. DeJean, who wore his high school letterman’s jacket into the dome, turned 22 on Sunday.
The Chiefs might have been in familiar territory — they’d trailed by 10 or more in every Super Bowl they went to under coach Andy Reid — but this felt different. The Chiefs were dead. All that was missing was a second line parade, complete with a brass band, to march straight between the hashes at Caesars Superdome.
The Chiefs trailed 24-0 at halftime, having thrown two interceptions and managed just one first down. They didn’t cross midfield until the middle of the third quarter. They didn’t score until they were down 34-0.
Mahomes’ final stat line — he went 21-for-32 with three touchdowns, two interceptions, 257 yards and a 95.4 passer rating — was the result of garbage time touchdowns in the second half. He threw a 50-yard touchdown to Xavier Worthy with 1:48 to play after the Eagles had played the previous possession with their backups on offense.