The Eagles weren’t content to go into halftime of Super Bowl LVII with a seven-point lead.
And they almost ended up adding seven to the margin. Instead, they settled for three.
After a 50-yard Kansas City punt, and a 27-yard Philly return, following a drive that ended with quarterback Patrick Mahomes re-injuring his ankle, the Eagles started at their own 43. A nine-yard pass to running back Kenneth Gainwell gave the Eagles second and one. Jalen Hurts then dialed up a deep ball to receiver Devonta Smith.
What would have been a 35-yard gain down to the Chiefs’ 13 was overturned after a very long replay review, one that seemed far longer than necessary.
Hurts ran for two yards on third and one. Following an incompletion and a five-yard pass to Smith, Hurts found A.J. Brown for a 22-yard gain, putting the Eagles at the Kansas City 19.
With 15 seconds left and one timeout, Hurts threw a short pass to Gainwell, picking up two yards. The Eagles let the clock run down to four seconds before taking the final timeout, and kicker Jake Elliott converted the 35-yard field goal as the second quarter expired.
The Eagles lead by 10, 24-14. And it feels like it should be worse.
The Chiefs had the ball for only 8:06 of the first half. Philadelphia possessed the ball for 21:54.
Kansas City will get the ball to start the second half. Presumably, nothing will keep quarterback Patrick Mahomes from playing. The question is whether he’ll be able to play effectively on his aggravated ankle injury.