by Mick the Ram

The Kansas City Chiefs were denied a third successive victory after being crushed 40-22 by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 59th Super Bowl.

The Chiefs were appearing for the fifth time in six years and went into the clash as solid favourites.

For the Eagles it became their second Super Bowl win, having claimed their first in 2018 and achieved their success despite their star running back Saquon Barkley being kept relatively quiet during the action.

It was quarterback Jalen Hurts who stepped up to the plate with a wonderful passing game, throwing a superb 46-yard touchdown pass to seal a humbling defeat for the Chiefs.

Victory was revenge for the Eagles’ 38-35 Super Bowl defeat to the same opposition two years ago, when Hurts again put in a superb performance, but on that occasion ended up on the losing side.

The half-time show – which has now become almost as big a draw as the game itself – saw award-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar put on a 13-minute set that bristled throughout.

Donald Trump became the first sitting US president to attend a Super Bowl finale and appeared to enjoy the game.

Taylor Swift who was part of the big story at last year’s event, didn’t have such a great night at the Superdome in New Orleans, as not only did her boyfriend Travis Kelce finish on the losing side, but she was resoundingly booed by the rowdy Philadelphia fans.

Strong security presence

There were 65,719 fans in attendance for Super Bowl 59, and security was increased all across New Orleans with the event taking place just six weeks since the tragic events of 1 January when a US Army veteran drove a high-speed truck into a crowd of people, killing 14 and wounding dozens more.

For the game itself The Eagles demonstrated their recurring ability to find their best form when it matters most. The Chiefs were desperate to create history with a third consecutive win but sadly for them, they never got started in the stifling Louisiana heat.

Totally dominated

The Philadelphia side utterly dominated proceedings, in particular their defence, which showed why it has been the NFL’s best all through the season.

Particularly disappointing was the Kansas star quarterback Patrick Mahomes who was strangely out of sorts, even throwing two interceptions as his Chiefs side were comprehensively outplayed.

At one point there was a genuine chance that the Kansas outfit would fail to register a single point, but they manage to put some respectability on the scoreline late on.

Trump mainly cheered at the stadium

President Trump’s attendance could have been awkward as he has a complicated relationship with the NFL, after getting embroiled in a row during his first term in office, when he was critical of players taking a knee during the national anthem as part of a protest against racism.

Coincidentally, his appearance in New Orleans coincided with the NFL’s decision to remove the words “End Racism” from the end zone messaging, instead replacing them with “Choose Love” for Super Bowl 2025.

The US commander-in-chief arrived about an hour before kick-off and walked round the field flanked by his daughter Ivanka and a large entourage and in the main he received mostly cheers from the crowd whenever his image appeared on the big screen in the stadium.

Difficult night for Taylor Swift

Sadly for Taylor Swift the response to her image was less welcoming. Last year she was part of a gripping subplot after jetting in at the last minute from the Tokyo leg of her record-breaking Eras tour to witness her boyfriend haul in nine catches for 93 yards in their victory.

She had of course been hugely supportive of Mr Trump’s presidential rival Kamala Harris during the 2024 election campaigns and the Eagles fans quickly rounded on her.

Serena Williams, who appeared in the half-time show, wrote on social media of her love for the singer and saying: “Don’t listen to those boos!”

Self censored but still a hit with the crowd

The tennis legend had made a surprise cameo appearance in the half-time show, in which Kendrick Lamar – fresh from scooping five Grammys last week in Los Angeles – was on top form.

The title song on his award-winning Record of the Year “Not Like Us” in which he accuses his nemesis Drake of cultural appropriation and paedophilia, was what the crowd had waited for and he did not disappoint, although he did self-censor the word “paedophile”.

A “call” to duty

After the game star-man Jalen Hurts said: “I’ve been able to use every experience and learn from it, the good and the bad, using it as fuel”.

He added that sometimes people need to wait their turn, but this was “his calling” and the “kid in me always kept working at this, and I stayed true to his vision.”