Updated February 09, 2025 at 22:38 PM ET
Update: 10:15 p.m. ET: The Philadelphia Eagles avenged their 2023 loss, beating the The Kansas City Chiefs 40 to 22.
The Kansas City Chiefs came into the Super Bowl hoping to make history: Had the Chiefs won, they would have become the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in a row.
Instead, the Chiefs made the wrong kind of history.
The Kansas City offense's 0-point, 23-yard first half was one of the worst showings ever by a Super Bowl team. The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Chiefs from start to finish, winning with a final score of 40-22 (after the Chiefs scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter).
Photos from Halftime: Kendrick Lamar and SZA perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans
Here's just how uncompetitive the game was by the end: With nearly three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, even as the Chiefs tacked on a meaningless touchdown to cut the deficit to 26 points, Eagles players were already dumping Gatorade on head coach Nick Sirianni.
Sunday's game was a disaster on nearly all fronts for the Chiefs offense, which managed just a single first down in the first half. Expectations were sky-high for Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, instead he had perhaps the worst game of his decorated playoff career: He took six sacks, fumbled the ball and threw two costly interceptions, both of which resulted in Eagles touchdowns.
Super Bowl commercials: The good, the bad and the cringe
For the Eagles, quarterback Jalen Hurts was phenomenal. He threw for 221 yards, rushed for 72 and scored three total touchdowns, including a patented Eagles tush push in the first quarter and a third-quarter 46-yard dagger to wide receiver DeVonta Smith that pushed the lead to 34.
The only bright spot for Kansas City was its containment of superstar Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, who rushed for only 57 yards. But that brought Barkley's total rush yards to 2,504 yards for the season, including playoffs — the highest single-season total in NFL history. It's the second Super Bowl win for the Philadelphia Eagles, who won their first ring in 2018.
— NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan
More 2025 Super Bowl coverage from The NPR Network
Record-setting legal betting
A record $1.39 billion is expected to be spent on betting legally on Sunday's Super Bowl — up from $1.25 billion in 2024, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA). It also coincides with warnings from officials to beware of scammers looking to take advantage of the intense interest in the game. Here are two reasons why this year could set a new record.
With the surge in sports betting, the risk of gambling addiction rises too. Here's what can be done.
"Choose Love"
The NFL has announced it will remove the end zone message "End Racism" for this year's Super Bowl, replacing it with "Choose Love."
Code Switch's Gene Demby writes about how the change fits into broader discussion happening around DEI.
Omelets and cheesesteaks — for free
There's nothing quite like a tailgate, where fans serve food to strangers who share the same passion. We went to a Philadelphia Eagles tailgate to learn what drives this uniquely American tradition.
Despite last month's terrorist attack, Tourism in New Orleans remains strong
Today's New Orleans is built on — and would suffer greatly without — tourism. About 17 million people visited New Orleans in 2022, spending more than $9 billion. Much of that happened during Mardi Gras, which made the New Year's Day attack especially concerning since it happened right before the start of the tourism season. But so far, a little more than a month removed from the incident, the tourists are still coming.
Copyright 2025 NPR