Super Bowl LVII: How the state’s players performed
Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts had a hand in four touchdowns, but the Kansas City Chiefs rallied to win Super Bowl LVII 38-35 on Sunday.
Kansas City became the second of the 28 teams that have trailed by 10 or more points at halftime to win the Super Bowl, with Harrison Butker’s 27-yard field goal with eight seconds to play providing the winning margin at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
The Chiefs trailed 24-14 at halftime and had questions about quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ injured ankle after he limped to the sideline following Kansas City’s final offensive snap of the first half.
But Mahomes threw for two touchdowns as the Chiefs’ scored on all four of their second-half possessions.
The Kansas City comeback got a spark from former Blount High School quarterback Kadarius Toney. Now a wide receiver, Toney caught a 5-yard touchdown pass with 12:04 to play as the Chiefs took a 28-27 lead.
After a three-and-out by Philadelphia, Toney returned a punt 65 yards to the Eagles 5-yard line to set up another touchdown. Toney’s punt return was the longest in Super Bowl history.
With Kansas City leading 35-27, Hurts led Philadelphia on an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive and scored for the third time in the game on a 2-yard run with 5:15 to go. Hurts followed that with another run across the goal line for a 2-point conversion to tie the game.
The former Alabama quarterback had scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter and a 4-yard run in the second quarter. His three TD runs tied the Super Bowl record established by Terrell Davis in the Denver Broncos’ 31-24 victory over the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII on Jan. 25, 1998.
Hurts completed 27-of-38 passes for 304 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and ran for 70 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries. He also lost a fumble that Kansas City linebacker Nick Bolton recovered and returned 36 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.
Hurts’ touchdown pass was a 45-yard throw to wide receiver A.J. Brown as Philadelphia took a 14-7 lead on the first snap of the second quarter.
Toney’s touchdown reception was his only catch of the game. He also had a 12-yard punt return to go with his record-breaker.
In addition to Hurts and Toney, nine other players from Alabama high schools and colleges got on the field during Super Bowl LVII:
· Eagles safety Reed Blankenship (West Limestone) played but did not record any stats.
· James Bradberry (Pleasant Grove, Samford) started at cornerback for the Eagles. Bradberry made five tackles.
· Landon Dickerson (Alabama) started at left guard for the Eagles.
· Eagles offensive lineman Jack Driscoll (Auburn) played but did not record any stats.
· Eagles cornerback Josh Jobe (Alabama) played but did not record any stats.
· Chiefs running back La’Mical Perine (Theodore) is a member of the practice squad and not eligible to play.
· Chiefs wide receiver Justyn Ross (Central-Phenix City) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.
· Eagles punter Arryn Siposs (Auburn) punted twice with one going 57 yards and the other 38. The 57-yarder was returned 12 yards to the Kansas City 34-yard line, and the 38-yarder was returned 65 yards to the Philadelphia 5-yard line. Siposs played for the first time since Dec. 11 when he sustained an ankle injury.
· Chiefs offensive tackle Prince Tega Wanogho (Edgewood Academy, Auburn) played but did not record any stats.
· DeVonta Smith (Alabama) started at wide receiver for the Eagles. Smith had seven receptions for 100 yards. Smith’s 45-yarder to the Kansas City 2-yard line set up Philadelphia’s final touchdown in the fourth quarter.
· Quez Watkins (Athens) started at wide receiver for the Eagles. Watkins had an 8-yard reception.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.