The 2024-2025 NFL season ended with an absolute bang. A Super Bowl rematch between the two best teams in the league, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs, who were heavily favored going into the game, had beaten the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship to advance to the Super Bowl. Whereas the Eagles had beaten the Washington Commanders.
Going into the game, there was a lot of controversy. Over the past year, many fans grew to believe that the referees were playing a role much bigger than they should have been, particularly in favor of the Chiefs. Many have speculated that this could be because of their association with the well-known artist Taylor Swift, who is dating a player on the chiefs. Obviously, with her fandom, this has generated a ton of revenue for the league. And if the Chiefs keep winning, their games will continue to be televised and the NFL will make more money. Thus, many believed that in the Super Bowl, the Eagles would be fighting two battles. However, the chiefs themselves heading into the game were looking stellar, especially defensively.
Despite this, with the eagles offense playing well, and with their star-studded defense, there was no doubt Philadelphia could win.
Ben Costales ‘26 says, “Going into the game, I for sure thought the Chiefs would win. I mean, they’ve won the past two and really just don’t lose often. When they lost, I was pretty surprised but also happy with the outcome”
At 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, February 9th, 2025, the Super Bowl kicked off in New Orleans. Immediately it was evident which team came out with more fire, and by the end of the first quarter it was already 10-0 Eagles. Then in the early stages of the second quarter, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes got intercepted by Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean, who ran it all the back for a pick-six giving the Eagles a lead of 17 points. With pressure now mounting on Kansas City, they were bound to make another error. And with just under 2 minutes left in the first half, Mahomes threw another interception. Soon after, Philadelphia would score again putting the halftime score at 24-0.
The games halftime show was performed by Kendrick Lamar, and SZA in a secondary role. He performed many of his hits, most notably “DNA”, “Humble”, “All the Stars” (performed with SZA), and finally “Not Like Us.” While there are many mixed opinions on the show, with some saying they loved the music and the choreography, others say it was mediocre and that ones in more recent years were better. One reason many actually loved the show was because of the so-called hidden meaning behind it, which includes Lamar’s beef with popular artist Drake.
Nate Hachey ‘26 says, “I actually really enjoyed the show. I think the hidden meanings throughout the show really made it more interesting as well as of course the music itself”
Soon enough, the third quarter was underway. Once again, the Eagles jumped out quickly, and with just a few minutes left in the quarter they were winning 34-0. With morale low for Kansas City, they needed to score quickly if they wanted to have any chance at winning. And they did. With just about 30 seconds left in the third quarter, Mahomes threw a touchdown to wideout Xavier Worthy, and thus the score was 34-6 to start the fourth quarter. However, despite their efforts, the Chiefs were unable to overcome the large lead, turning the ball over and purely just not being able to score enough points in such a short time. While it will say 40-22 Philadelphia on the stat sheet, it was more of a blowout than the stat sheet says with 3 minutes left in the game Philadelphia was winning by 36.
Two long years after their loss in the Super Bowl, the Philadelphia Eagles got revenge proving themselves to be the best team in football. Quarterback Jalen Hurts of the Eagles won the Super Bowl MVP, and almost all of the Eagles roster got their first ring. Notably, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley got his first after having a historic season, also winning offensive player of the year. While the game itself was not as close as many hoped, it was still extremely exciting with all of the storylines swirling. And with that, the 2024-2025 NFL season comes to a close.
