Extended Halftime Proved to be a Turning Point

Kansas City has extensive Super Bowl experience and used it on Sunday night

GLENDALE, Ariz. - When Rihanna took center stage at Super Bowl LVII the Eagles had a 24-14 lead over the Kansas City Chiefs and after the fetching superstar belted out a 12-song set, things unraveled for what had been the best team in football over the previous 19 games.

When it was over, the Chiefs had their second Super Bowl championship in four years and the Eagles were left lamenting missed opportunities.

The demarcation line was stark. 

Pre-Rihanna, Philadelphia outgained the Chiefs 270-128 and the defense kept Patrick Mahomes and company from converting a third down.

Post-Rihanna the same defense that looked like its resume of being No. 2 overall throughout the season, started leaking oil.

Kansas City scored on all four of its drives in the second half, touchdowns on the first three, and ending the final possession with a Harrison Butker game-winning field goal with eight seconds left that could have been another TD had Jerick McKinnon not had the foresight to stop short of the end zone in order to prevent any potential comeback by the explosive Eagles, who were enjoying a 374-yard all-purpose day from Jalen Hurts.

“Honestly the big difference in the first and second half was just energy," said KC receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. "We came out with that drive because we were so hungry that they scored, we came out and we drove and had a couple three and outs and that changed our whole mood. When we came into the second half, that 29 minutes was perfect.

"I didn't get to see the Rihanna performance, she was probably amazing, but that 29 minutes that we had literally brought us together. It was just the passion and energy and that we just have to be ourselves, we have to dedicate our whole body and whole life for 30 minutes and that’s what we did.”

The Eagles' collapse was uncharacteristic, to say the least. 

They had been 10-0 this season with double-digit leads at halftime and 15-0 when taking a lead into the fourth quarter. They had a 27-21 lead against the Chiefs entering the final frame.

This isn't to say Rihanna was a jinx or that Mahomes was obviously a better quarterback than all the others Philadelphia had built its success against, but it was clear that the Eagles didn't handle the extended halftime lull well.

“After halftime, they went right down and scored to cut it to three. We talked about what was working for us and what we wanted to continue to do, what we can anticipate them potentially doing," Sirianni said. "They did a good job of adjusting. And apparently, with them beating us in the second half, we didn’t do as good of a job as they did adjusting."

Sense of urgency was the theme after the game with the players.

“I think that they made the plays in the second half to help themselves win the game and we didn’t make enough plays," defensive end Brandon Graham said. "It definitely sucked, because we know we left some stuff out there and we’re definitely going to sit back on this one.”

All-Pro center Jason Kelce didn't feel any lull.

“I don’t think so," said Kelce. "They only got the ball a few times. For the most part, we were moving the ball. We just kind of stalled out on a couple plays, stalled out on one with a blitz.”

Perhaps the easy answer was experience. 

This was Kansas City's third Super Bowl in four years while the Eagles hadn't been to the big game since 2018 and only a handful of players remain from that group.

If the Eagles are able to make it back to the big stage with this core group, expect a better understanding of how to deal with the unique circumstances of the Super Bowl.

"We’ll all look ourselves in the mirror and drag ourselves through the mud in attempts to get better," Sirianni said. "We just got to do a better job of coaching in the second half."

“You either win or you learn, that’s how I feel,” quarterback Jalen Hurts added. “You either win or you learn.”

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen