Welp.

The Philadelphia Eagles lost Super Bowl LVII to the Kansas City Chiefs. Final score: 38 to 35.

Outside of uncharacteristically fumbling in open space to allow a KC touchdown, Jalen Hurts played a pretty awesome game. He helped the Eagles get out to a 10-point lead at halftime. He went toe-to-toe with Patrick Mahomes to tie the game late in fourth quarter after Philly had fallen behind. Hurts broke records while going 27/38 (71.1% completion) for 304 yards (8.0 average), 1 TD, 0 INT, and a 103.4 rating as a passer and 15 carries and 70 yards (4.7 average) and three rushing touchdowns (plus a two-point conversion).

The biggest issue in this game was that Jonathan Gannon’s defense had no answers for the Chiefs’ offense. It was a tall task for him, of course. It’s not like he was reasonably expected to shut KC down. But generating zero sacks (a wildly slippery field definitely didn’t help!) and zero takeaways on a hobbled quarterback just wasn’t good enough.

It looked like the Eagles had gotten a 3rd-and-8 stop to force the Chiefs into a field goal late in the game. But James Bradberry was called for such a weak defensive holding call that essentially decided the game.

Incredibly anticlimactic end to what was a very special Eagles season.

An offseason of change awaits. There are bound to be a lot of moving parts when it comes to coaching staff turnover and free agent decisions. We’ll have plenty of time to sort through that all.

For now, one can only be disappointed that the Birds weren’t able to secure their second Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Read on for a recap and stay tuned for BGN’s postgame coverage, including the BGN Radio postgame show.

PREGAME

• Nick Sirianni was really feeling it prior to kickoff:

FIRST QUARTER

• The Eagles lost the coin toss and the Chiefs elected to defer. ‘Twas the Eagles’ ball first. The first play was a Miles Sanders run where he lost a yard and fumbled the ball out of bounds. Not exactly a great tone-setter. Jalen Hurts’ first pass was a short throw to DeVonta Smith to set up 3rd-and-5. On third down, Hurts had plenty of time to find an open Smith for a first down. Smith took a big hit on the play. Hurts took a shot down the left sideline to A.J. Brown and it was caught ... but out of bounds. FOX showed that Hurts had Dallas Goedert open on the play. Hurts took off running to pick up another first down. Another Hurts throw, a first down to Dallas Goedert with a contested catch on a ball throw a little high. Another Hurts throw to DeVonta, who broke through first contact and got to the 11-yard line. The Eagles got to 3rd-and-3 and Kenneth Gainwell took it in for the score! Or not. Gainwell was correctly ruled short on review to bring up 1st-and-goal from inches away instead. The Eagles went with — what else? — a QB sneak to get into the end zone and the offensive lien got great push for the score that actually counted. Very strong opening drive to go 75 yards on 11 plays for seven points. Birds just bullied the Chiefs up front. EAGLES 7, CHIEFS 0.

• The Chiefs’ offense didn’t take long to get into Eagles territory with a big Patrick Mahomes completion to Travis Kelce and then a Isiah Pacheco chunk run. And then the Chiefs capped off the drive with a Mahomes to Kelce touchdown with Marcus Epps, who stumbled (lot of Eagles defenders losing their footing early on such as when Josh Sweat randomly fell down on a pass rush), trailing in coverage. That Kelce guy is kinda good. EAGLES 7, CHIEFS 7.

• Zach Pascal got flagged for OPI to set the Eagles back to 1st-and-20. Dumb. Not ideal. The Eagles ran for a one-yard gain. Then Hurts to DeVonta Smith on a throw behind the line of scrimmage went brought up 3rd-and-14. What is On third down, Hurts had nothing cooking and had to throw the ball away. Not a great play-calling sequence after the penalty there.
• Ndamukong Suh got called for illegal hands to the face to give the Chiefs a free first down. Would be preferable to not see role players making big mistakes. The Chiefs got to 3rd-and-3 ... and Mahomes tried to flick a ball while pressured but had it knocked down by T.J. Edwards. Nice awareness by the linebacker. Andy Reid settled for a 42-yard field goal attempt ... and Harrison Butker MISSED IT! Single doink off the left upright. Wow. Nick Sirianni would’ve gone for it there.
• The Eagles took over at their own 32-yard line. Two Hurts runs brought up 3rd-and-4. On third down, Frank Clark jumped offside to give the Birds a free conversion. Generous! Hurts to A.J. Brown on a slant (automatic) for the WR’s first catch of the night went for a first down to bring up the end of the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

• Hurts aired it out deep and Trent McDuffie lost track of the ball in the air to allow a 45-yard touchdown to A.J. BROWN! WOW! Shoulder suddenly looking better! EAGLES 14, CHIEFS 7.

• The Chiefs got stopped for a loss and then a short completion brought up 3rd-and-8. On third down, Mahomes’ target for JuJu Smith-Schuster was incomplete! JuJu whined for a flag that didn’t come.
• The Eagles took over at their own 33-yard line. A Sanders run went for a loss. Then a screen to Goedert was just a tick away from being a big play but the Chiefs tackled the tight end before he could follow his blockers with a lot of room. On 3rd-and-8, Hurts spun left away from pressure and delivered a pass to Pascal just beyond the sticks! Great play by the Eagles’ QB. The Eagles got to 3rd-and-1 after Gainwell slipped on a second down run (WTF was up with this field?) and lined up for a sneak ... but Isaac Seumalo got called for a false start to bring up 3rd-and-6. Can’t make that mistake! Even worse mistake: Hurts merely dropped the ball while trying to run and the Chiefs recovered for a touchdown. Just awful. So unlike Hurts. EAGLES 14, CHIEFS 14.

• First play after the turnover, Hurts took off running for a first down. Then he took a deep shot to Brown but the ball was contested and bounced off the receiver’s hands for an incompletion. A dump off to Boston Scott led to the running back making eleventy billion defenders miss to set up a sneak for another conversion. Great job by BoSco. The Eagles got to 3rd-and-7. They went with a Gainwell run to bring up 4th-and-5. Sirianni went for it ... and Hurts took off running for a big gain! The Eagles got to 4th-and-2 ... and the Chiefs jumped offside to set up 1st-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Hurts took the shotgun snap and immediately took of running into space for the score! Great resiliency by Hurts after turning the ball over. EAGLES 21, CHIEFS 14.

• The Chiefs got set back to 2nd-and-15 with a false start. Mahomes got flushed out of the pocket and forced into an incompletion. On 3rd-and-15, Mahomes took off running and got tackled at his feet by T.J. Edwards. The Chiefs’ QB was visibly in pain after that play. Uh oh.
• The Eagles took over at their own 43-yard line after a nice 27-yard return from Covey! A shot to DeVonta down the right sideline was ruled complete ... but was automatically reviewed ... and overturned. Bullshit. Not conclusive. The Eagles snuck it on 3rd-and-1 and Chris Jones jumped over the line to stuff Hurts ... or not because Hurts still got pushed over the marker. Unstoppable. The Eagles got to the 19-yard line with a Hurts third down completion to Brown, who made his defender miss to pick up 22 yards. Pretty dangerous player. The Eagles ultimately had to settle for a 35-yard field goal made by Jake Elliott to take the two-possession lead. Eagles would’ve had a better chance to get seven points there if not for a bad call that robbed the Birds of having the ball at the 13-yard line with a little under a minute left. EAGLES 24, CHIEFS 14.

THIRD QUARTER

• The Chiefs began the third quarter with Mahomes in the game. KC went 75 yards in 10 plays for a touchdown. Too easy. EAGLES 24, CHIEFS 21.
• The refs ruled that Sanders caught a pass and fumbled for a Chiefs recovery for a touchdown ... but it was reviewed and overturned into an incompletion. A short completion to Brown set up 3rd-and-6. On third down, Hurts made a GREAT throw to Goedert with the ball just enough beyond a Chiefs defender. The Eagles got to 3rd-and-2 and Gainwell’s carry (a third down staple) went for another first down. Quez Watkins failed to haul in a deep completion to put the Eagles in the red zone. Quez has all too often failed to make the most of his limited opportunities. The Eagles got called for delay of game to bring up 3rd-and-14. On third down, Goedert made a nice grab along the right sideline for a catch. Andy Reid threw the challenge flag ... but the refs didn’t overturn it this time. Good job. No way to say it was 100% NOT a catch. The Eagles got to 3rd-and-1 and faked a sneak but pitched to Sanders instead ... but the RB couldn’t get beyond the marker. The Eagles actually snuck it on fourth down and picked up the first. Because of course they did. The Eagles got to 3rd-and-11. They took their first timeout of the second half with the play clock winding down. Not usual for the Eagles to be dealing with getting the snap off that like that. On 3rd-and-11, Hurts threw short of the sticks to Gainwell and the running back stopped instead of continuing his momentum to maybe get to 4th-and-short. Sirianni instead brought on Elliott for a 33-yard field goal on 4th-and-6. Going up six there, not good enough. EAGLES 27, CHIEFS 21.

• The Chiefs took four plays to get into Eagles territory to end the first quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

• The Chiefs moved into the red zone. They scored a touchdown on a play where they motion Kadarius Toney inside and Darius Slay followed him only for Toney to motion back out and be wide open for an easy touchdown. First Chiefs lead. EAGLES 27, CHIEFS 28.
• The Eagles went three-and-out after Hurts got blitzed into an incompletion on 3rd-and-2. Really bad. Sirianni probably should’ve went for it because it was impossible to trust Jonathan Gannon’s unit to get a stop.

• The Chiefs took over at the Eagles’ 5-yard line after the longest punt return in Super Bowl history via Kadarius Toney for 65 yards. Set up by a terrible punt from Arryn Siposs. Awful time for special teams to suddenly suck again. Mahomes hit a wide open Skyy Moore to extend their lead. EAGLES 27, CHIEFS 35.
• The Eagles ran six plays and then Hurts took a shot down to the field to a WIDE OPEN DeVonta, who was not able to stay inbounds. One play later, the Eagles snuck it with Hurts for the score. The Eagles went for two ... and Hurts followed his blocking and powered through contact for the successful try! TIE GAME! Never say die stuff from this team and this QB.

• C.J. Gardner-Johnson put a BIG hit on Pacheco to force the Chiefs into an injury timeout. But he was able to come back in and the Chiefs kept driving and got in. CJGJ put another big hit on Pacheco to prevent a long touchdown run. Mahomes took off running for a big gain up the middle with no one there and only went down after Kyzir White caught him from behind. The game reached with two-minute warning with the Chiefs at 2nd-and-8 from the 15-yard line. JuJu got tackled for no gain and Sirianni called his second timeout to bring up 3rd-and-8 with 1:54 on the clock. On third down, the Eagles seemingly got a stop ... but there was a defensive holding penalty on James Bradberry. Brutal. And CLEARLY an incredibly tacky call on replay. The Chiefs ran to the 2-yard line and took a knee to keep working the clock. The Chiefs ran the clock down to 0:11 before taking their final timeout. They made their 27-yard field goal. EAGLES 35, CHIEFS 38.

• The Eagles’ offense got the ball back with six seconds left and Hurts’ desperation heave was incomplete. Fin.

FINAL SCORE: EAGLES LOSE 38 to 35

INJURY NEWS

• Miles Sanders visited the locker room after Eagles’ first drive but returned to the sideline but not the game for the second drive. He was back on the field for the third drive.
• DeVonta Smith got banged up on a short reception late in the second quarter. He had to come up for a moment but came back in the next play.
• Fletcher Cox got banged up late in the second quarter but remained in the game.