Chiefs edge Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII thriller

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 Sunday in Super Bowl LVII in a thrilling back-and-forth affair that came down to the final seconds. Points were plentiful in a game that got off to a frenetic pace Sunday and didn't let up, with strong offensive displays showing why the Eagles and the Chiefs got to this highly anticipated matchup. 

Harrison Butker's 27-yard field goal with eight seconds to play gave the Chiefs their third Super Bowl in franchise history, and their second in the Patrick Mahomes era. The Chiefs superstar quarterback, and the reigning two-time MVP, added to his trophy case by also earning his second Super Bowl MVP award.  

"It took everybody to win the games. We're Super Bowl champs, baby," Mahomes shouted on stage as red and yellow confetti littered the field.  

Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who couldn't win the big game in Philadelphia, beat his former team.  

"He's the MVP," Reid said about Mahomes. "That's all that needs to be said: MVP."

Chiefs fans were outnumbered in the stadium, but they did their part to silence the boisterous Philly fans with the tomahawk chop chant. After going into halftime down 24-14, the Chiefs came roaring back in the second half to take a 35-27 lead midway through the fourth quarter.  

Mahomes hit wide receiver Kadarius Toney on a five-yard touchdown pass at the start of the fourth quarter that gave the Chiefs a one-point lead. Then, a 65-yard punt return by Toney set up a four-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to Skyy Moore.

Mahomes finished the game with three touchdowns and 182 yards passing, adding another 44 yards on the ground. 

Despite falling short, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts put on a show of his own, with three rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown. With the Eagles down 35-27 midway through the fourth, Hurts scored on a two-yard rushing touchdown, then followed it up by running in the two-point conversion to tie up the score at 35. But it just wasn't enough. 

Chiefs fans held their breaths, when, with about 1:30 to go in the first half, Mahomes came up limping badly following a tackle on a third-down play. Mahomes, who has been dealing with a high-ankle sprain since the divisional round of the playoffs, appeared to be grimacing in pain as he came off the field. 

However, Mahomes answered all questions about his health status when he came out after halftime and immediately lead the Chiefs down the field on a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. 

Both teams scored touchdowns on their opening drives of the game. Jalen Hurts made up for a costly fumble early in the second quarter, which helped the Chiefs tie the game at 14-points apiece, with his second rushing touchdown of the evening a few minutes later that gave the Eagles a 21-14 lead. They added to it with a 35-yard field goal to go into halftime up 24-14. 

Meanwhile, with his 18-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce passed Rob Gronkowski for the second-most receiving touchdowns in playoff history, with 16. San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice holds the record with 22.  

"We wanted to get this so bad for him," Travis Kelce said of Reid. "His legacy in Philly lives on forever. The organization loves him." 

The Chiefs' All-Pro tight end and Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce became the first set of brothers to play against each other in the Super Bowl.

Their mom, Donna Kelce, wore a half-red, half-green jersey with No. 87 on the front for Travis and No. 62 on the back for Jason. She sat in a suite between NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who is continuing his remarkable recovery since suffering an on-field cardiac arrest during a game in Cincinnati over a month ago.   

Despite the barrage of points, a questionable late penalty on Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry with less than two minutes remaining meant that the scintillating Super Bowl had a bit of an underwhelming finish.

The Chiefs were driving and faced third-and-8 at the Eagles 15-yard line with 1:54 remaining when Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw incomplete to JuJu Smith-Schuster. But officials flagged Bradberry for defensive holding, which negated the incompletion and, more importantly, gave the Chiefs a first down.

Replays showed that Bradberry made light contact with Smith-Schuster, though it didn't appear to affect the play much. Still, the cornerback said he wasn't upset at officials for the call.

"It was a holding. I tugged his jersey," Bradberry said. "I was hoping they would let it slide."

Kansas City was able to essentially run out the clock from that point forward. 

The Chiefs won their second Super Bowl following the 2019 season, 50 years after the first one. It took just three years to get another Lombardi.  

History was also made Sunday by Mahomes and Hurts, marking the first time that a Super Bowl featured two starting Black quarterbacks.   

The Super Bowl Halftime Show was headlined by Grammy Award-winning pop star Rihanna. In a bright red ensemble with a matching red lip she performed hits "Where Have You Been," "We Found Love in a Hopeless Place" and "Rude Boy," among many others. 

Her performance had been highly anticipated because it has been nearly seven years since she last performed on stage. She has also not released an album since 2016's "Anti." 

Her performance wasn't the only thing that grabbed headlines, but her accompanying baby bump. Following the game, a rep for the singer confirmed to CBS News that the 34-year-old is pregnant with baby number two.

Rihanna welcomed her first child with her partner, rapper A$AP Rocky, in May.  

Grammy-winning country music star Chris Stapleton performed the pregame national anthem, and Grammy-winning R&B artist Babyface performed "America the Beautiful" before kickoff.