Super Bowl LVII

Super Bowl LVII was the 57th Super Bowl. It was the final game of the 2022 NFL season and the end of the 2022–23 NFL playoffs. It was played between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Philadelphia Eagles and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Kansas City Chiefs. The game was played on February 12, 2023, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38–35.

The game featured a thrilling comeback by the Chiefs, who trailed 24-14 at halftime. Patrick Mahomes, despite playing with an injured ankle, was named Super Bowl MVP, leading the Chiefs to victory with a game-winning field goal. Mahomes led the Chiefs' offense to a strong second half, with key plays and touchdown passes to Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore. The Chiefs secured the victory with a last-second field goal by Harrison Butker, set up by a crucial and controversial defensive holding penalty on the Eagles.

Philadelphia QB Jalen Hurts had a remarkable game for the Eagles, contributing with both his arm and legs, including a rushing touchdown and a two-point conversion. Despite losing in his first Super Bowl appearance, Hurts arguably put up a more impressive performance than his counterpart. Other than a fluke fumble on a basic running play that resulted in a defensive touchdown in the first half, Hurts' play seemed unaffected by nerves, overcoming an injured shoulder, as he became the first QB in Super Bowl history to rush for three touchdowns while also passing for another TD.

One of the Most Controversial Super Bowls in NFL History

The game was not without its share of controversy at the expense of the Eagles: during a key 3rd-and-8 play from the Chiefs’ 15-yard-line with 1:54 remaining in the game, Eagles CB James Bradberry was flagged for a questionable defensive holding call on Chiefs WR Juju Smith-Schuster that resulted in an automatic first down; a call many viewers deemed to be "ticky-tack" and one that should not have been called so near to the end of the game. That controversial call ultimately decided the game, as Kansas City ran down the clock prior to Harrison Butker’s game-winning field goal with eight seconds left, leaving many feeling as if the refs decided the outcome rather than the players.

Adding to the game's controversy, many players, particularly on the Eagles, complained about the slippery field conditions at State Farm Stadium, with multiple Eagles' players slipping and falling down on nearly every play. While both teams had to play on the same field, the poor field conditions favored the Chiefs by neutralizing the elite pass rushers on the Eagles’ defense, which had led the NFL with 70 sacks during the regular season but did not record a sack in the Super Bowl. After the game, the Eagles leading pass-rusher, Haason Reddick, said "it was the worst field that I've ever played on," calling it "very disappointing." After slipping and sliding all over the field, several Eagles players indicated after the game that they had changed their cleats before the game, at halftime, or even multiple times throughout, but that didn't seem to help much. George Toma, who has worked all 57 Super Bowls as either a groundskeeper or consultant and is known as "The Sodfather," blamed the poor field conditions on NFL field director Ed Mangan for overwatering the field and not sanding it enough, noting that the field had a "rotten smell" leading up to the game.

Records and Halftime Show

The game was a high-scoring affair, with the 73 combined points making it the third-highest scoring Super Bowl ever. Fox's broadcast of the game became the most-watched program in American television history at the time, with over 115 million viewers.

Rihanna performed in the Super Bowl LVII halftime show on February 12, 2023. Rihanna’s halftime show reached a total of 118.7 million viewers.

References

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