Super Bowl 2023 highlights: Chiefs edge Eagles in epic clash

Super Bowl LVII was an epic battle of two heavyweights.

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs rallied for a 38-35 comeback victory over Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles, capturing the franchise's third Lombardi Trophy in the process.

This script went through countless twists and turns, and we had you covered with all the action on FOX.

Here are the highlights from Mahomes' second title in the last four seasons:

Kansas City Chiefs 38, Philadelphia Eagles 35

FOURTH QUARTER

Star power

JuJu Smith-Schuster was the star of K.C.'s first drive of the fourth quarter, accounting for 38 yards during the 75-yard march.

Follow the leader!

The possession ended with Mahomes connecting with a wide-open Kadarius Toney for a walk-in touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Just like that, the Chiefs took their first lead of the game at 28-27.

Second-half surge

Philly went three-and-out on its following drive. That gave the ball right back to K.C., and Toney took the punt 65 yards to the Eagles' 5-yard line — good for the longest punt return in Super Bowl history.

Then, Mahomes found rookie Skyy Moore in the end zone for a 4-yard score to extend the Chiefs' lead to 35-27.

Seeing green

A massive 45-yard gain to a wide-open DeVonta Smith put the Eagles deep in the red zone late in the frame.

Tie game!

Then, Hurts cashed in for his third rushing touchdown of the game — the first QB to accomplish such a feat in a Super Bowl — to make it 35-33. After a successful two-point conversation, things were knotted up again, this time at 35.

Mahomes' memorable moment

In a play that will go down in Super Bowl lore, Mahomes, on a bum ankle, scrambled up the middle for 26 yards to get into the red zone on K.C.'s next drive.

Sealing the deal

A game-altering penalty came when Eagles cornerback James Bradberry drew a defensive holding penalty on third down with less than two minutes remaining. That gave the Chiefs a fresh set of downs, and Jerick McKinnon took the ball to the 2-yard line on the next play, sliding down intentionally short of the end zone.

Then, the Chiefs ran down the clock to the 11-second mark before kicking the game-winning field goal with eight seconds to spare, claiming Super Bowl LVII, 38-35.

THIRD QUARTER

Making a statement

The Chiefs got the ball first in the second half and wasted no time closing the gap, making it 24-21.

Isiah Pacheco powered through the Eagles defense for a 1-yard score on K.C.'s first drive of the third quarter.

Earlier on that drive, Mahomes, who returned to action despite tweaking his ankle again in the first half, became the 10th quarterback all-time to throw for over 4,000 passing yards in the postseason.

Seeing red

On the Eagles' next drive, Hurts connected with Dallas Goedert for a 17-yard pickup along the sideline. Kansas City challenged the ruling of a catch, but the play was upheld, and the Chiefs lost their first timeout of the second half.

Philly settled for a field goal to close out that drive, taking a six-point lead late headed into the fourth quarter, 27-21.

HALFTIME

Global superstar and nine-time Grammy Award winner Rihanna performed a medley of her most iconic songs in a dazzling, gravity-defying Super Bowl halftime show that lit up every corner of State Farm Arena.

SECOND QUARTER

Philly took a 14-7 lead right out of the gate in the second quarter, courtesy of A.J. Brown's jaw-dropping 45-yard touchdown grab — the second-longest touchdown catch in the last 10 Super Bowls. It was also Hurts' second-most improbable touchdown pass of his career and his second-longest completion by air distance (58.4 yards).

Eyes on the prize

The Eagles forced the Chiefs to go three-and-out on the following drive, and Hurts & Co. went to work putting together what started out as a promising fourth drive.

Chaos!

There was a miscue on Philly's ensuing possession, however, as Hurts lost the ball near midfield. Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton scooped it up and returned it 36 yards to the house for the game-tying score early in the second quarter.

Ground game strong

The Eagles bounced back on their next possession, putting in work on the ground.

Exhibit A: Boston Scott's video game moves …

Exhibit B: Hurts' 28-yard gain on fourth down that put the Eagles in the red zone once again.

QB1, RB1!

Hurts punched in his second rushing touchdown of the game on that drive, as Philly took a 21-14 lead late in the frame.

Misstep for Mahomes

The Chiefs punted the ball away with less than two minutes remaining ahead of halftime, and Mahomes was slow to get up after being tackled on that drive.

What could have been

Hurts appeared to connect with Smith at the one-minute mark for a huge gain, but the pass completion ruling was reversed. Philadelphia was unable to challenge the ruling, as it happened after the two-minute warning.

No quit

The Eagles extended their lead to 10 ahead of the half with a short field goal in the quarter's final seconds after Brown came up with a massive gain to get Philly downfield when it mattered most.

FIRST QUARTER

Coin toss

The Chiefs won the coin toss, opting to defer and receive the kickoff to begin the second half.

On the move!

On Philly's opening drive, Hurts and DeVonta Smith came up huge on third down, moving the chains early.

Heating up

With momentum on their side, the Eagles powered through the Chiefs' defense on the ground and through the air.

Eagles on the board

After an initial touchdown call from Kenneth Gainwell was reversed, the Eagles took the lead on a quick QB sneak from Hurts, capping off an 11-play, 75-yard drive in style.

Déjà vu

The Chiefs went 75 yards on their opening drive as well, but it only took six plays before hitting pay dirt! Just like that, K.C. knotted things up midway through the first quarter. 

With that score, Travis Kelce made NFL playoff history with the most touchdown catches by a tight end, and he and Mahomes also tied Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski for the most playoff touchdowns by a QB-pass-catcher duo (14).

Doink!

The Eagles went three-and-out on their next drive, but misfortune struck for the Chiefs as well on their following drive.

K.C. was this close to taking the lead, but Harrison Butker's 42-yard field goal was no good, and things remained tied.

PREGAME

Setting the stage

Super Bowl LVII took place at State Farm Stadium in Arizona, marking the fourth Super Bowl in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The stadium can hold 73,000 fans and features both a retractable roof and retractable natural grass playing surface.

Battle of the 1-seeds

Sunday marked the first time since 2017 that both the NFC and the AFC 1-seeds made it to the Super Bowl.

Mahomes, 27, took home NFL MVP honors Thursday for the second time in his career. If he wins the AP MVP and defeats the Eagles, Mahomes will be the fourth quarterback to win two AP MVPs along with two Super Bowl victories, joining Brady, Joe Montana and Peyton Manning.

On the other side, the Eagles — led by 24-year-old Hurts — were looking to become the first team to lead the league in rushing touchdowns and win the Super Bowl since 1998. Teams in that span since are 0-5.

Headed into Sunday, Philly was the first team in NFL history to have four players with 10 sacks each. Should the Eagles win, they will be the first team to lead the league in sacks and win the Super Bowl since 2015.

Emotions are high

Eight-time Grammy Award winner Chris Stapleton brought down the house with his performance of the national anthem.

Halftime for the history books

Rihanna, who performed at Super Bowl LVII's halftime show, sat down with FOX Sports' Michael Strahan ahead of Sunday to share what it means to perform on one of the biggest stages of her career.

"It's exciting, it's exhilarating, it's the Super Bowl," Rhianna said.

The Super Bowl halftime was 29 minutes long, more than twice as long as normal (13 minutes).

Arriving in style

Both teams arrived at State Farm Stadium in style ahead of Sunday's tilt, and the players' game-day outfits were clearly an indication of what was to come on the field — fireworks!

History made

Sunday's game marked the first time in NFL history that the Super Bowl featured two Black starting quarterbacks, as well as the first Super Bowl to feature two brothers playing against each other (Travis and Jason Kelce).

The Pro Bowl brothers sat down with FOX Sports' Greg Olsen ahead of Sunday's game to discuss growing up with one another and if playing each other in the Super Bowl had ever crossed their minds.

Chiefs Kingdom

Ahead of kickoff, FOX Sports' NFL insider Peter Schrager sat down with the Chiefs, which are slight underdogs against the powerhouse Eagles on Sunday, to discuss the adversity they battled throughout the season.

Health updates

A big storyline heading into Sunday was the health of multiple Chiefs and Eagles playmakers.

FOX's athlete injury and performance analyst Dr. Matt Provencher provided an update on Mahomes ahead of kickoff.

"Returning from this injury, there is a 25-30 percent decrease in production, mostly in the run game," Provencher said. "I would expect about 10-20 percent down in rushing yards."

On the other side, Provencher expected Hurts "to be in near top form" and largely unaffected by his prior shoulder injury.

"Whether he continues to be shy in the rush game is [to be determined], but overall I don’t expect him to be held back by this injury," Provencher said.

Fly, Eagles Fly!

Ahead of Sunday's game, Eagles stars — including Hurts, Kelce and Darius Slay  — discussed Philly's road to the Super Bowl ahead of game time. "We're not done yet," Hurts said. "Just one more win."

Read more:

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• Super Bowl 2023: Best commercials from Chiefs vs. Eagles on FOX
• The curse of winning the Super Bowl coin toss
• Super Bowl 2023: By the numbers
• Super Bowl lVII odds: Chiefs-Eagles big bet tracker; $1M wagers made
• Super Bowl keys to victory: What Chiefs-Eagles must do to win
• 2023 NFL coaching tracker: News, rumors, interviews

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