On Sunday Feb. 12, Superbowl 57 began at State Farm Stadium. The game was quite intense, with the Eagles mainly taking the lead, but the Chiefs coming back. Here are things you need to know, along with my perspective. Now onto Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs. 

Pregame:

Before the game began, Damar Hamlin, Buffalo Bills safety, walked on the field along with his Cincinnati medical staff. It was emotional for fans to see him enter the field after his traumatic collapse in Week 17. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott won the Walter Peyton Man of the Year award. It was given to him by Andrew Whitworth.

Sheryl Lee Ralph performed before the kickoff with “Lift Every Voice and Sing” followed by “America the Beautiful” performed by Babyface. After these performances, Chris Stapleton played guitar and sang the National Anthem. His performance brought tears to the eyes of Eagles coach Nick Sirriani. 

Quarter One:

The first point gain was by the Eagles, with a touchdown made by Kenneth Gainwell around the ten-minute mark. After a bit of deliberation, the referees ruled a first-and-goal due to the fact that he was down before the endzone. This then resulted in a quick touchdown by quarterback Jalen Hurts. The Chiefs quickly bounced back with a touchdown by tight end Travis Kelce. The first quarter ended with Kansas City going for a 42-yard field goal but ultimately missed it. Performance in this quarter by the Eagles began quite strong with having the ball first, and it surprised me when the Chiefs missed that vital field goal point lead. 

Quarter Two:

AJ Brown scored a touchdown for the Eagles from a 45-yard long left pass by Jalen Hurts to start the quarter. The Kansas City Chiefs then picked up a fumble from Hurts into the endzone for a touchdown. Philadelphia quickly bounced back after this though, with Hurts’ gain of 4 yards for a touchdown. With around one minute left, quarterback Patrick Mahomes gets sacked, which causes a fourth down. It was exciting to see this because it really shows the emotion of all the teams. This immediately is followed by Mahomes’ high-ankle sprain beginning to act up. The first half ends with a 35-yard field goal for the Eagles. 

Halftime Show:

The Super Bowl 57 Halftime show was performed by Rihanna. Many fans were excited to watch her since this was one of the first times she has performed since 2016. She sang a medley to many of her songs. Rihanna also hinted at the pregnancy of her second child during her performance, wearing an outfit visibly showing her new baby bump. Rhianna Representative Amanda Silverman then afterward confirmed the rumors to be true. 

After the half-time show is where Fanduel betters checked in on this game. Fanduel promised whoever placed a $5 bet on the football game would share $10 million in Fanduel winnings as long as Gronk made a 25-yard field goal. They hyped up the promotion with many commercials, including one where Gronk is called about the offer to kick and Gronks’ training montage. The montage commercial made many fans believe he had practiced and wasn’t going to miss it. Well, to my surprise, and many others, Gronk kicked the 25-yards, but missed it. Many fans believed it to all be staged but according to Gronk “all of a sudden, I swear, a wind gusts just came up to there. Mother Nature was like no, no, no, no, no Gronk. You’re not scoring again in the Super Bowl.”

Quarter Three:

Kansas City had started with the ball this half, which did benefit them in the end. Running back Isaiah Pacheco scored the first touchdown of the second half for the Chiefs by rushing the ball into the endzone. Quickly after a Philadelphia fumble happened, but it was swiftly revoked and stated as an incomplete pass. The Eagles had shifted closer to the endzone, and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid challenged a catch from tight end Dallas Goedert. The call was repeatedly looked at, but it was eventually called a complete pass after he was shown to be maintaining control. The different angles they kept showing had me wanting them to call a complete, so I’m glad it was called. The challenge did take a lot of time though. The quarter ended with the Eagles kicking a 33-yard field goal.

Quarter Four:

When Kansas City had the ball when this quarter began, they got a quick touchdown at around the 12-minute mark by passing to wide receiver Kadarius Toney. Philadelphia kept getting stopped by the Chiefs which gave an opportunity for Kansas City. They continued the trend and scored another touchdown with a short right pass from Mahomes to wide receiver Skyy Moore. Around four minutes later a touchdown for the Eagles, with Jalen Hurts rushing 1 yard into the endzone. The team then had a successful 2-point conversion. This left both of these teams tied with around five minutes left in the game.

Even though I may not be the biggest fan of either of these teams, it was very nerve-wracking to see both of the teams tied. The Chiefs neared the end zone and did almost everything they really could to slow time. They wanted to make sure they could get some points, and make sure the Eagles couldn’t get any after. Kansas City’s attempt to control the time worked, as their 27-yard field goal was successful, followed by only eight seconds for the Eagles team. The game ended 38-35 with the Kansas City Chiefs adding another Superbowl for the team record. 

Conclusion:

This year of gameplay was really exciting and eventful to watch. All these teams worked hard throughout the season, and I am excited to see what happens for the 2023-2024 season. Don’t forget about the NFL draft dates, which are Thu, April 27 through Sat, April 29 with the Chicago Bears having the number one pick in the League. Keep looking out for all the football news.