NEW ORLEANS — When Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs went down 10 points in Super Bowl LIX, just about everyone joked that it was time to check off the bingo box.
In every one of Mahomes' Super Bowl appearances, he's fallen into a 10-0 hole. So the NFL world didn't take the first quarter seriously. And maybe the Chiefs didn't either.
But no matter. Onto the second quarter. Onto a Mahomes comeback, right?
After the Eagles scored a field goal and advanced their lead to 10, Mahomes stood between Travis Kelce and Xavier Worthy on the sideline. There was a poetic symbolism of the past, present and future. Kelce was the grizzled veteran with multiple titles. Worthy was the young gun who might just help them come back again. And Mahomes was at the center of it all.
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It was the moment the Chiefs had been waiting for Mahomes to turn it on.
Except, this time, he didn't.
He threw an interception to Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean on a play where Mahomes looked like he was pressing to make the type of play that would flip the game. And technically, it did. But only further in favor of the Eagles.
You know the score by now: The Eagles won 40-22.
By the time the confetti rained down, the Eagles had been celebrating on the sideline for quite some time. Mahomes didn't wait for it to come down. He hugged a few Eagles players: Zack Baun, Jalen Hurts, Jalyx Hunt, Darius Slay and Landon Dickerson. And then he was gone.
Before the game, a Chiefs coach told me that media members had been asking him if going to Super Bowls ever got old. And he bluntly told me: "It does." There was legit Super Bowl fatigue from this Chiefs team. It was completely clear in the first half, when things escalated quickly.
The harmless 10-0 hole wasn't so harmless after all. It turned into a 17-0 hole. And then — after another Mahomes interception — a 24-0 hole. That was Mahomes' deficit at halftime. He had just 33 passing yards at halftime, fifth-fewest ever in the first half of a Super Bowl.
In the first half, the Chiefs kept putting the ball in his hands, with 17 dropbacks and only three rushes.
Mahomes was looking for his Michael Jordan moment. But maybe that was the problem: too much looking. Waiting. And not enough urgency from his Chiefs.
This wasn't just a bad game, it might have been his very worst game.
After three quarters, he was logging a -0.62 EPA per dropback, the worst of any game in his career and the second-worst of any QB in a Super Bowl since at least 2000, as noted by The Ringer's Austin Gayle.
The Chiefs waited too long to get into this game. They lacked the requisite energy. And the dreams of a three-peat fell short.
The second half merely confirmed what we saw in the first half. Philly was the most talented roster in the NFL this year. There was no stopping the Eagles, particularly not in the trenches where edge Josh Sweat thoroughly dominated left tackle Joe Thuney (who is normally a guard but had to serve as a spot-starter with the Chiefs failing to find a competent option). Sweat's 2.5 sacks were one of many reasons why Mahomes simply never settled into the pocket.
It's not like Mahomes didn't want it. He was clearly giving his all. He lingered on the field on a fourth-and-9 to start the second half as if to signal to his coaches: Let's try it. With 18 minutes left in the game, he scrambled for a first down on second-and-4 — covering what felt like 40 yards and breaking multiple tackles in the process — but a holding penalty called it back. And the Chiefs turned the ball over on downs a few plays later.
So what's next for K.C.?
Because there's history that could indicate the Chiefs' dynasty has hit pause.
Kelce isn't who he once was. We saw that in this game, with the tight end catching four balls for 39 yards on six targets. And on the whole, his yardage totals and touchdowns this season were the lowest of his career. As Chiefs assistant head coach Dave Toub told me before the game, Kelce isn't "The Guy" anymore. And while this game might leave Kelce wanting more (and, in turn, mean that his retirement isn't imminent), the Chiefs will still need to figure out how to replace him — even if he's still there.
And then when he retires? Mahomes has never had to live NFL life without Kelce.
What about Andy Reid? He is 66. With Bill Belichick coaching (in college) at 72 and Pete Carroll getting a job this offseason at 73, it's totally possible Reid isn't going anywhere. But know this: Belichick won his final Super Bowl at 66.
Mahomes has never had to live NFL life without Reid.
If there's any stat that reminds us how fragile dynasties are, it's that the Patriots — with Belichick and Tom Brady — went 10 years between winning their first three Super Bowls and their next three. It's not a given that Kansas City will be back perennially.
"I never got close, but it's hard because of injuries and the odds of being the best team when you need it the most," former Patriots safety Devin McCourty texted me after the game. "You lose guys every year when you're the best. Them being here three years in a row is special though."
It's a real achievement.
But it won't feel like one — not with this scoreline.
Even in the Super Bowl, the Chiefs somehow seemed a long way away from winning the Super Bowl. It might feel like that for a while.
Prior to joining FOX Sports as an NFL reporter and columnist, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @henrycmckenna.
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