Chiefs, Eagles to face off in Super Bowl
It'll be the Philadelphia Eagles taking on the Kansas City Chiefs in this year's Super Bowl. Patrick Mahomes scrambled for a first down on his badly sprained right ankle, then was shoved late out of bounds by Joseph Ossai, giving Harrison Butker a chance to kick a 45-yard field goal with 3 seconds left that gave the Chiefs a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC title game on Sunday. The Chiefs finally managed to beat the Bengals after three straight losses, including a three-point overtime defeat in last year's conference championship game.  Kansas City will play in their third Super Bowl in four years. Mahomes, who hurt his ankle against Jacksonville in the divisional round, threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns, even though he was missing three of his wide receivers to injuries by the fourth quarter. Marquez Valdes-Scantling led the way with 116 yards and a touchdown, while Travis Kelce – bad back and all – had seven for 78 yards and a score. Joe Burrow had 270 yards passing with a touchdown and two interceptions for Cincinnati. He was sacked five times. In the NFC Championship game, the Philadelphia Eagles steamrollered the injury-hit San Francisco 49ers 31-7. The Eagles sealed the franchise's fourth Super Bowl appearance – and second in five years – with an emphatic victory at Lincoln Financial Field. "I've dreamed about this, and all the guys on this team have dreamt about this their entire lives," Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said afterwards. "To be able to do this together with a bunch of men that love each other, that are connected to each other and would do anything for each other – it's pretty sweet." The 49ers' hopes of victory were upended after a disastrous first half that saw starting quarterback Brock Purdy, himself the team's third choice signal-caller, injured on the team's opening drive. Back-up Josh Johnson, the fourth choice Niners quarterback, also departed injured in the third quarter. "I was real proud of how they fought out there," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "Thought they got dealt a pretty tough hand today. I'm just hurting for those guys." The defeat was another bitter playoff disappointment for Shanahan, who saw his side beaten in the Super Bowl in the 2019-2020 campaign before losing in the NFC Championship game last season. "Losing feels awful," Shanahan said. "This one was a lot harder." All of Philadelphia's touchdowns came via their ground game, with running back Miles Sanders scoring twice, Boston Scott adding a third before quarterback Jalen Hurts burrowed over in the third quarter. (AP/AFP)_____________________________
Last updated: 2023-01-30 HKT 11:22 