The Kansas City Chiefs looked like they might make Super Bowl history…just not the kind they were hoping for.
They entered Sunday’s game one victory away from becoming the first team to win three straight Super Bowls. But they sure didn’t look like Super Bowl champions or history makers.
At least not the good kind.
The Chiefs trailed the Philadelphia Eagles by 24 at the half of what became a 40-22 loss. Patrick Mahomes threw two first-half interceptions, including a pick-six by Cooper DeJean and another pick at the Chiefs’ 14-yard line to set up an Eagles touchdown.
Kansas City didn’t get on the board until late in the third quarter, avoiding what would have been the first Super Bowl shut out. They then tacked on some garbage time touchdowns to make the score appear closer than it really was.
By doing so, they avoided being on the wrong side of Super Bowl history.
The most lopsided loss in Super Bowl history was a 45-point rout when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Denver Broncos 55-10 in 1990. Here are the big game’s biggest blowouts:
- 45 points: San Francisco 49ers 55, Denver Broncos 10 (Super Bowl XXIV, 1990)
- 36 points: Chicago Bears 46, New England Patriots 10 (Super Bowl XX, 1986)
- 35 points: Dallas Cowboys 52, Buffalo Bills 17 (Super Bowl XXVII, 1993)
- 35 points: Seattle Seahawks 43, Denver Broncos 8 (Super Bowl XLVIII, 2014)
- 32 points: Washington 42, Denver Broncos 10 (Super Bowl XXII, 1988)
There has never been a shut out in Super Bowl history.
The fewest points scored by a Super Bowl team is three by the Los Angeles Rams in their 13-3 loss to the New England Patriots in 2019, and by the Miami Dolphins in their 24-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in 1972.
The New England Patriots trailed the Atlanta Falcons 21-3 at halftime and came back to win 34-28 during Super Bowl LI in 2017. They were the first team to erase a double-digit halftime deficit to win the Super Bowl.
The largest halftime lead in Super Bowl history was 25 points when Washington led the Denver Broncos 35-10 en route to a 42-10 victory in 1988.
The Chiefs lost Super Bowl I by 25 points, falling 35-10 to the Green Bay Packers. Their lone Super Bowl defeat in the Patrick Mahomes era was a 31-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.
