Adjustments matter, both in the chiropractor’s office and the locker room. The Chiefs made better use of the extended Super Bowl halftime than the Eagles, Rihanna and queso and guac lovers across the country combined.
Kansas City then turned Philly into cream cheese.
After hardly touching the football in the first half, Kansas City scored on all four of its second half possessions, the last one capped by Harrison Butker’s 27-yard field goal with eight seconds left to win Super Bowl LVII 38-35.
The Chiefs thus became only the second team to ever erase a double-digit halftime deficit to win the Super Bowl.
Patrick Goes to Disneyland. Mr. Mahomes, you remember Mr. Mouse, right?
Ultimately, it was adjustments that made the difference, starting with the bold one the Chiefs made in the offseason when they traded Tyreek Hill and “adjusted” their offense from a quick-strike Luftwaffe to a ball control monolith. Only the offensive results remained the same. The name is Reid, Andy Reid…
But other adjustments followed throughout the regular season and on into the postseason and, finally, into State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
The Chiefs’ special teams were awful through most of the year. That is, until two huge late punt returns put them into position to win both the AFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl.
The Kansas City secondary was suspect as late as November, until their rookies outgrew their rookie-ness.
The Chiefs’ running game was just “meh,” until a rookie 7th Rounder from Rutgers made it marvelous when it needed to be. Pacheco! Bingo!
The Chiefs’ postseason offense had to adjust to Mahomes’s loss of mobility following his high ankle sprain against the Jags. Or not. Mahomes was still able to floor it on that bad wheel for two unforgettable scrambles that beat the Bengals and Eagles.
Yes, Jalen Hurts rushed for three Super Bowl touchdowns and a two-point conversion, but Steve Spagnola’s defense defused that trademark quarterback draw in the second half. Adjustments matter.
Hurts got his. But the Eagles’ two workhorse running backs, Miles Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell, combined for 37 yards on 14 carries. Adjustments matter. The Chiefs wound up outrushing Philly 158-115. Like you saw that coming? Adjustments matter.
Big Red dialed it up in the Red Zone. Those two second-half wide open, walk-in TD passes to Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore were signed Picassos. Adjustments matter.
The Eagles’ pass rush came to the desert with 70 sacks, and four different dudes who had recorded at least ten this season. They didn’t get to Mahomes even one time. Adjustments matter.
There were times this season when JuJu looked like he was out of juice. And then there was the second half on Sunday.
And this was obvious, too. Experience matters. Super Bowl experience matters. That went for Kansas City coaches and players. Having been there and done that before was a difference maker for the Chiefs. Clearly.
The late defensive holding call that allowed the Chiefs to bleed the clock down to the last drop? It effectively ended what had been an electrifying game. But I’m not gonna be “that guy.” It was defensive holding. Replay confirmed it, and Eagles’ DB James Bradberry later admitted it. Put a sock in it, Eagle fans.
But I’ll tell you what did bug me, bigtime. The condition of the playing field. And the truth is that this happens every time the SB is played on grass. The NFL comes in and paints up the grass like a Kansas City Saloon Girl. Let’s make sure it looks great on TV. And let’s also make sure that the best football players on the planet can’t stand up. Yeah, that bugged me. Bigtime.
Here’s what else bugs me. The NFL season is over.