NEW ORLEANS – The Philadelphia Eagles, a team that dominated the entire 2024 season, put on a near-perfect performance in the first half of Sunday's Super Bowl LIX, carried it through the third quarter, and blew the doors off the Kansas City Chiefs at the Caesar's Superdome, 40-22.

Philadelphia held a 34-0 lead until the Chiefs finally got on the board with 34 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Amazing, incredible, and a wall-to-wall blowout of the two-time Super Bowl Champions as the Eagles won their second Super Bowl in 8 seasons.

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!

Here are some observations from the game …

1. Quarterback Jalen Hurts was en fuego

Kansas City's defense concentrated its efforts on running back Saquon Barkley and made life difficult for No. 26, who nevertheless ran for 57 yards to establish a record for the most rushing yards in a single season in NFL history. On this Super Bowl night, Jalen Hurts led the offense to a 24-0 lead after two quarters, completing 11 of 15 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown pass to wide receiver A.J. Brown. Against a defense that went after Hurts with a blitz percentage of more than 30 percent, the star Eagles' quarterback was cool and hurt Kansas City down the field. In the first half alone, Hurts had three completions of 20-plus yards – wide receiver Jahan Dotson for 27 yards, Brown for 22 yards and tight end Dallas Goedert for 20 yards. The Eagles rolled to 179 yards in those first two quarters and had excellent balance. Hurts picked up 25 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and while he threw an interception, really confounded Kansas City and put the Chiefs on their heels.

Hurts saved his best throw for late in the third quarter, delivering a perfect strike to wide receiver DeVonta Smith running a straight "go" route for a 46-yard touchdown and a 34-0 lead.

2. What a defensive performance!

Wow. Just wow. The No. 1-ranked defense in the NFL held the Chiefs to – and this is not a typo – 3 rushing yards on 3 carries. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was just 6 of 14 for 33 passing yards, and the Eagles played such an aggressive, perfect "Crush Rush" that Mahomes could not escape with his legs. Philadelphia registered three quarterback sacks in the first half – 1 ½ by edge Josh Sweat, one by tackle Milton Williams and a half-sack from rookie edge Jalyx Hunt. Kansas City managed just 23 total net yards and, oh yeah, the Eagles took the football away twice – an interception that birthday boy Cooper DeJean returned 38 yards for a touchdown to put Philadelphia ahead 17-0, and then one later in the second quarter when linebacker Zack Baun dived for an interception from Mahomes to set up the offense at the Kansas City 14-yard line. Hurts made the Chiefs pay when he connected with Brown for a 12-yard touchdown that sent the Eagles-heavy crowd at the Caesar's Superdome go absolutely crazy.

And the Eagles continued on Kansas City's first possession of the second half, registering sacks from tackle Jordan Davis and Sweat, then tackling Mahomes on third and long, to get off the field. It was a stark contrast to the Super Bowl from two seasons earlier, when Kansas City began its climb from a 10-point halftime deficit to score a touchdown and put the Eagles' defense on its heels.

3. The Eagles kept hammering

There was no letup for the Eagles in the third quarter. After the defense forced a punt, the Eagles put together a scoring drive that featured two long Hurts runs of 14 and 16 yards, a completion to Barkley for 22 yards to get inside the 10-yard line and then Jake Elliott capped off the drive with a field goal to make it 27-0. Every point mattered.

4. Tight end Travis Kelce was a non-factor for Kansas City

The crowd booed Taylor Swift because, you know, she's dating Travis Kelce. She was a good sport about it, and then her boyfriend was shut down by a defense that located Kelce on every play and removed him from the equation. As the third period ended, Kelce was targeted just two times and had zero catches. The Chiefs are explosive-challenged offensively, the Eagles – linebacker Oren Burks, the safeties, the pass rush – were disciplined and overwhelmed Kansas City with great preparation and execution of coordinator Vick Fangio's defensive scheme.

5. The Eagles were just better in every way than the two-time Super Bowl champions

Better coaching. A far better roster. More physical. A team came out of the gates smoking and just kept pouring gasoline on the fire. That's what it was like for the Eagles in the incredible performance.

How about depth? Guard Mekhi Becton suffered a knee injury in the first half and Tyler Steen stepped right in and played well on the right side for a series before Becton returned. Burks was tremendous, part of a near-perfect defensive performance. The special teams won the hidden yardage game, up and down and all around. DeJean had a nice 13-yard punt return. Jake Elliott knocked through two field goals and all of his extra points. Braden Mann averaged 48 yards on his first two punts, both of them inside the 20-yard line.

And, finally, the Eagles used the two weeks between the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl wisely and put together great game plans. They were the better-prepared team, they were the hungrier team, they were the most talented team and they sure were the better team.

6. In the end, the Eagles now have two Lombardi Trophies and are set up for more

We can talk about the future at the appropriate time, but it certainly is bright. In the present, the Eagles have won Super Bowls LII and LIX. They have been to four Super Bowls since 2004, three since the 2017 season and two in the last three campaigns. Head coach Nick Sirianni is one of the best coaches in the NFL and the 2024 edition of the Eagles is one of the best in NFL history, winning 18 of 21 games and that is not up for dispute.

It really was an incredible season, capped by a blowout win in the Super Bowl and it just doesn't get any better than that.