Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes took the postgame podium as the Super Bowl MVP in 2023 and 2024, but he found himself in a very different spot after Sunday's game.
The Eagles beat the Chiefs 40-22 to win Super Bowl LIX and Mahomes threw a pair of interceptions in the first half that helped the Eagles go into halftime with a 24-0 lead. Eagles rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean returned the first pick for a touchdown and linebacker Zack Baun's pick gave the Eagles the ball deep in Kansas City territory.
In his postgame press conference, Mahomes said his miscues dug too deep a hole for the Chiefs to climb out of in the final 30 minutes of play.
"Obviously the turnovers hurt, I take all the blame for that," Mahomes said. "Those early turnovers swing the momentum of the game and they capitalized on them. They scored on one and they got a touchdown immediately after, so that's 14 points I kinda gave them. It's hard to come back from that in a Super Bowl. Just didn't play up to my standard and I have to play better next time."
Mahomes said he was coming off of Xavier Worthy and trying to throw to DeAndre Hopkins on the first pick, but "the kid made a great play." He was trying to throw to Hollywood Brown on Baun's pick and "got bumped a little bit," but said he has to "find a way to make the throw."
The Eagles defense gave Mahomes fits all night and Mahomes said his offseason work will be devoted to finding ways to counteract defensive schemes that gave him trouble over the course of this season. Teams figure to watch what the Eagles did closely, so that will be a good place for him to start.
