Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl LIVE updates: Eagles hold 21-14 lead late in first half

Kansas City is playing Philadelphia for the NFL championship in Super Bowl LVII.

The AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs are playing the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles for the 2022 NFL Championship in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Both teams finished their seasons with 14-3 records and the top playoff seed in their conference — and are widely seen as evenly-matched teams.

First quarter

The opening coin toss went the Chiefs’ way, landing on tails. They decided to defer their decision to the second half, giving Philadelphia the ball to begin the championship match. The kickoff landed in the end zone for a touchback.

The Chiefs’ defense came out aggressive, swarming to the ball on the first two plays to force third and five. However, Philadelphia moved the chains on a short throw to wide receiver DeVonta Smith — who felt safety Justin Reid’s presence with a big hit out of bounds. The Chiefs’ back end continued attacking, but the Eagles had answers — marching into the red zone with chunk pass completions.

A big run got Philadelphia to the two-yard line, but a tackle for loss by safety Juan Thornhill forced third and short; they did convert, with a run that nearly scored. After that, quarterback Jalen Hurts punched in a quarterback sneak to take the early 7-0 lead.

After a three-yard run to start, quarterback Patrick Mahomes used play action from under center to get tight end Travis Kelce open across the middle for 20 yards. After an eight-yard scramble by Mahomes, the Chiefs hurried to the line — then handed off to running back Isiah Pacheco for a breakaway 24-yard run.

From just inside the red zone, Mahomes went to Kelce on an out and up — and Philadelphia’s defender was left behind for an 18-yard touchdown. The game was tied at seven after a quick answering drive.

The Eagles backed themselves up to start their next drive, then linebacker Leo Chenal kept them behind the sticks with a great tackle on an ensuing run. They were forced into third and 14, where good coverage and a relentless pass rush forced a throw away and a punt.

A screen to tight end Noah Gray got the next drive going — although gaining only six yards. Then Eagles’ defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh drew a flag for illegal use of hands, setting up another big completion to Kelce off play action. From the Eagles’ 31-yard line, Kansas City got into third and three, where a tight-window throw on the roll out was knocked away.

It set up a field goal from 42 yards, but kicker Harrison Butker hit the left post and it fell no good.

Trying to hold Philadelphia’s answering drive, the Chiefs had two good tackles in the run game to set up third and four — but defensive end Frank Clark jumped offsides to negate the opportunity. Philadelphia moved the sticks one more time, crossing midfield as the first quarter ended.

Second quarter

Using play action to give themselves a big-play shot, Hurts went deep to wide receiver A.J. Brown in the end zone — who just simply tracked the ball better than cornerback Trent McDuffie and secured a touchdown. The Eagles had a 14-7 lead.

Looking to answer, the Chiefs started with a three-yard loss by Pacheco on a handoff. They couldn’t recover, with a third-down pass to wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster over the middle falling to the ground. It was a disheartening three and out.

The Chiefs’ defense started strong, with linebacker Willie Gay Jr. stuffing a run on first down— which was followed by an open-field tackle by cornerback Jaylen Watson. The blitz appeared to work on third down, but Hurts broke the contain of the rush — finding an open receiver past the sticks.

Kansas City forced a third down a few snaps later, which was backed up by a false start — but that wasn’t the worst part of it for Philadelphia. Hurts fumbled on the designed run, giving linebacker Nick Bolton a chance to scoop and score. He did just that, going 36 yards and tying the game at 14-14.

The Eagles picked up where they left off, moving the chains a few times with quick passes and Hurts’ rushing ability as they entered Chiefs’ territory. However, Kansas City forced a fourth down — but a designed run by Hurts made it not better; he gained 28 yards and got inside the red zone.

Philadelphia worked themselves into another fourth down, this time with two yards to go from the six-yard line — but defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi jumped into the neutral zone and gave the Eagles another chance. From there, Hurts punched it in and gave the Eagles a 21-14 lead.

The Chiefs used two plays to gain 10 yards, give themselves a fresh set of downs before the two-minute warning hit.

A false start call on left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. put the Chiefs in third and 15. A three-man rush forced Mahomes to move around and scramble, but he was tripped up and tackled for a stop. The Chiefs had to punt with 90 seconds to go in the half.

Injuries

Patrick Mahomes was tripped up on a scramble late in the first half, coming up gimpy on the ankle that he injured this postseason. Backup quarterback Chad Henne began to warmup immediately after.

Special Teams

Kicker Harrison Butker nailed his first attempt at the point-after kick in the first quarter. Later in that period, he had a 42-yard kick to hit — but pushed it left for a miss. In the second quarter, he nailed his second kick.

Punter Tommy Townsend booted his first punt 48 yards, returned eight yards in Eagles’ territory during the second quarter. His second attempt went 50, but was returned for 27 yards in a crucial spot late in the second quarter.

Punt returner Kadarius Toney gained 12 yards on his first punt return, midway through the first quarter.