Shortly before 2pm in Florida, Donald Trump sank his final putt and climbed aboard Air Force One. Destination New Orleans.
The authorities closed airspace and then they cleared a route for his motorcade to speed through the streets towards the Superdome. All in time for the president to make history – and then to witness history.
That was the plan, anyway. Instead? Trump watched as the best team of this era was mauled and humbled and humiliated. No sitting president had ever attended a Super Bowl. No team had ever won three in a row. Only one of those records remains after the Philadelphia Eagles destroyed the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 on Sunday night.
Trump rushed here after an early round with Tiger Woods. Then he sauntered on to the field before sitting down to watch another serial champion. ‘There’s a certain quarterback that seems to be a pretty good winner,’ the president said earlier this week.
He wasn’t talking about Jalen Hurts, who had been lost in all the noise surrounding Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar. On Sunday night, however, he orchestrated one of the most destructive Super Bowl performances of recent times.
No matter that Andy Reid’s team muzzled Saquon Barkley, the running back who has enjoyed a record-breaking first season in Philadelphia. Hurts was controlled and calculated and clinical.
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The Philadelphia Eagles enjoyed a stunning Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs
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Quarterback Jalen Hurts inspired his team to a seismic victory at the Superdome on Sunday
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Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were humiliated in New Orleans in their bid for a three-peat
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Travis Kelce endured a disastrous afternoon – in what could be his final ever NFL game
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President Donald Trump was among the crowd at the Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday
He threw for more than 220 yards and two touchdowns, including one 46-yard bomb for DeVonta Smith. He was the Eagles’ most destructive runner, too. Hurts, who has been doubted and dismissed all week, rushed for more than 70 yards – and the Eagles other score.
It helps, of course, to have a defensive line that can suffocate the best quarterback of his time. This Eagles win and this Eagles season has been built on a ferocious defense.
Mahomes was sacked six times and he threw two interceptions. The first was returned for a 38-yard touchdown by Cooper DeJean – on his 22nd birthday. The second led to an Eagles touchdown two plays later.
For only the third time in Mahomes’ career, his team failed to register a single point in the first half. It took until the final embers of the third quarter for Kansas City to get on the board.
That proved only a brief pause in the Eagles party. This felt like a Philadelphia home game – they booed Swift and they taunted their rivals. Nick Sirianni was doused in ice with more than two minutes remaining.
No one, not even Tom Brady, could win three in a row. Now Mahomes must start again on that quest – chastened, battered and badly beaten.
Maybe it wasn’t a wise idea for the Chiefs quarterback to arrive at the Superdome in Eagles green. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea for him and Kelce to head out for dinner on Friday night. If this really is goodbye for the tight end? What a dismal end. He was a spectator while his girlfriend watched from the stands.
Not that any Eagles fans gives a damn about that. They have revenge from two years ago and they have their hands on the Vince Lombardi Trophy for a second time. Pray for those who have to clear up the mess on Bourbon Street and back in Philadelphia when they’re done toasting this win.
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Taylor Swift watched as Kelce and the Chiefs suffered a humiliating defeat in New Orleans
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Hurts drew first blood for the Eagles, scoring courtesy of the game’s first ‘tush push’
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Birthday boy Cooper DeJean intercepted a pass from Patrick Mahomes before scoring
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Mahomes endured a nightmare first half as the Chiefs were swarmed by Philadelphia’s defense
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Linebacker Zack Baun made a diving interception to set up the Eagles’ third touchdown
A few hours before the Philadelphia bench emptied and tickertape began to settle on the turf, the Superdome paused to remember.
Less than six weeks before more than 100,000 supporters descended on New Orleans, this city was devastated by a deadly terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 14 people and changed the lives of millions more.
Reminders were everywhere. In the heartbreaking memorials on Bourbon Street, where Shamsud-Din Jabbar rammed his truck into revellers celebrating New Year’s Eve.
In the armed police and armoured cars that patrolled the French Quarter, in the ring of steel that surrounded the Superdome and the snipers that gathered on roofs nearby.
But all of the security and all of the lingering fear did not deter those who landed in New Orleans determined to enjoy themselves. Bourbon Street hosted one week-long party which drew some surprise guests: Bill Belichick and his 24-year-old partner Jordon Hudson.
On Friday night, Kelce and Mahomes sparked controversy by heading out for dinner with their partners. And then, on the eve of the game, bombshell news emerged that this could be the tight end’s last ever game.
Eventually, some football was played. So much key pieces remain from two years ago, when the Chiefs triumphed in Arizona. But so much has changed, too. There is no Jason Kelce on the Eagles and there were no swirling rumors about Travis retiring then. Perhaps more crucially? The Eagles now have Barkley, too.
It was no surprise when he was handed the ball on the very first play. Nor were the Eagles supporters shocked when the first contentious call of the game went the way of Kansas City.
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AJ Brown snuck in the corner to give Philadelphia a 24-0 lead after a stunning first half
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DeVonta Smith caught a 46-yard touchdown as the Eagles ran riot in New Orleans on Sunday
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Hurts scrambles through a hole in the Chiefs defensive line during the first half in New Orleans
Still, they were furious when AJ Brown was penalized for pass interference. That decision ratcheted up the noise and the fury. A few minutes later, however, ‘Fly Eagles, Fly’ sounded around the Superdome after Hurts drew first blood.
Barkley struggled to make many early dents in the Chiefs defense but his quarterback completed all of his first four passes and then converted his first tush push. With six minutes left of the first quarter, the Chiefs had only enjoyed four plays and 12 yards. The next time Patrick Mahomes had his hands on the ball? The Eagles defense forced another punt.
By the midway point of the second quarter, Kelce had dropped both of his catches and the Chiefs had controlled the ball for less than five minutes. By the end of Kansas City’s next drive? The back-to-back champions were unravelling.
Jake Elliott’s field goal made it a two-score game and then mayhem ensued. Mahomes was sacked for a loss of four yards. Then he was sacked for a loss of two yards. And then his pass to DeAndre Hopkins was intercepted by DeJean.
The cornerback ran it back from the 38-yard line for his first career touchdown – and the roof almost came off this place. At 17-0, the Chiefs were staring down the barrel and struggling to stem the bleeding: Mahomes was sacked again before Matt Araiza was forced to punt once more.
The Chiefs had been here before, of course. They were down – and all over the place – against the 49ers 12 months ago and so often this season Reid’s side had dug themselves out of deep holes. But here they were being swarmed by the NFL’s best defense. And here, there was simply no let up.
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Travis Kelce dropped both of his first two catches as the Chiefs struggled during the first half
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The Eagles’ star running back Saquon Barkley is tackled by Bryan Cook at Caesars Superdome
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Jalen Carter pressures Mahomes as the Chiefs quarterback attempts to make a pass
The Chiefs’ first five drives of the game brought a cumulative total of just 15 yards. Their sixth lasted one play and saw Mahomes throw another costly interception. This time his pass was snagged by a diving Zack Baun.
Before long, Hurts found Brown and the Eagles led 24-0. The rest of the stat line made for equally grim leading: at halftime, the Eagles led 13-1 in first downs and 179-23 in total yards. Never before had a Mahomes team made so little ground in a first half.
For Kansas City, there was perhaps only one crumb of comfort. At Super Bowl LI, Brady’s Patriots trailed by 25 points before coming back to win 34-28.
The Chiefs never looked like staging their own resurrection. Two Xavier Worthy touchdowns and a Hopkins score reduced the deficit in the closing minutes. By then, though, Mahomes had been sacked twice more and Smith had put the Eagles soaring further out of reach.
