Kirby Lee/Imagn Images
On Sunday night, the Philadelphia Eagles outscored the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. As new reigning champs of the Super Bowl, the Eagles had plenty to celebrate.
In addition to their win in the big game, they also made football history. Here’s how Super Bowl LIX will be remembered by NFL fans for years to come.
The most-watched game in Super Bowl history
The 2025 Super Bowl game was watched by an estimated 127.7 million people according to the Nielsen ratings agency. That’s the largest Super Bowl audience in TV history, a record previously held by last year’s game featuring the Chiefs’ narrow victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
In 2024, 123.7 million people watched the game. Viewership was up by 3.2% this year, showing an increased interest in the 2025 matchup.
It wasn’t just the most Super Bowl viewers of all time, though. It was also the largest audience in TV history for a single-network telecast.
How many people watched the Super Bowl halftime show?
Sunday’s halftime show featuring Kendrick Lamar was a big draw for audiences. In fact, Lamar’s performance brought in 133.5 million viewers, an even bigger audience than the game itself. It now holds the title for the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show of all time.
A three-peat denied
If the Kansas City Chiefs had beaten the Eagles in Sunday’s championship game, they would’ve become the first NFL team to notch three Super Bowl wins in a row.
The Eagles denied them that opportunity in a dominant performance that kept the Chiefs scoreless for the first half of the game. In fact, it wasn’t until a touchdown late in the third quarter that the Chiefs finally got on the scoreboard.
It was a bit of sweet revenge for the Eagles considering that they had been the losing team to the Chiefs two years prior in Super Bowl LVII. The rivalry couldn’t have been more intense that year, especially considering that a pair of brothers (Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce and Eagles’ center Jason Kelce) competed for the championship on opposing teams.
The Chiefs still have the distinction of being one of eight teams to win Super Bowls back to back. Here’s a list of the other teams with consecutive Super Bowl wins, starting with the winners of the first Super Bowl ever:
- Green Bay Packers: Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II (1967-68)
- Miami Dolphins: Super Bowl VII and Super Bowl VIII (1972-73)
- Pittsburgh Steelers: Super Bowl IX and Super Bowl X (1974-75)
- Pittsburgh Steelers: Super Bowl XIII and Super Bowl XIV (1978-79)
- San Francisco 49ers: Super Bowl XXIII and Super Bowl XXIV (1988-89)
- Dallas Cowboys: Super Bowl XXVII and Super Bowl XXVIII (1992-93)
- Denver Broncos: Super XXXII and Super Bowl XXXIII (1997-98)
- New England Patriots: Super Bowl XXXVIII and Super Bowl XXXIX (2003-04)
- Kansas City Chiefs: Super Bowl LVII and Super Bowl LVIII (2023-24)
Teams with the most Super Bowl wins
As for the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday marked the team’s second Super Bowl win in NFL history out of five total appearances. Their first win occurred in 2018 at Super Bowl LII. That year, they beat the New England Patriots (who had won Super Bowl LI the previous year) with a final score of 41-33.
The Eagles didn’t break any records for the most Super Bowl wins on Sunday. That honor is still held by the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers, each of which have six Super Bowl wins. The Patriots also hold the title for the most Super Bowl appearances with 11, all of which occurred between 2001 and 2018.
Stand-out Super Bowl performances
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Many Super Bowl party attendees were surprised at how poorly the Chiefs’ performed on Sunday. Following the national anthem and kickoff, the Eagles dominated heavily throughout the first three quarters of the game.
That led to several stand-out performances for the Eagles on their journey to the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Cornerback Saquon Barkley had perhaps the biggest achievement of the night when he smashed the NFL single-season rushing record.
His Super Bowl performance included an impressive 57 rushing yards and 25 carries. Barkley ultimately finished the season (including playoffs) with 2,504 rushing yards.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts also had an impressive showing on Sunday. In fact, he took home the Super Bowl MVP award for his accomplishments.
Hurts broke the record for the most rushing yards by a quarterback in a Super Bowl, with a total of 72. He had actually already been the record holder with 70 rushing yards from his appearance at Super Bowl LVII. Hurts also completed 17 out of 22 passes for a total of 221 passing yards.
Meanwhile, Eagles kicker Jake Elliot had a record-breaking night on the field. He successfully kicked four field goals during Sunday’s game, setting a new record for the most Super Bowl field goal attempts without a miss and tying the single-game record for the most field goals in a Super Bowl.
Combined with his previous Super Bowl appearances, Elliot also set a record for the most Super Bowl points scored by a kicker.
Birthday celebrations
Three players at the Super Bowl actually celebrated their birthdays during the big game, but only two of the three went home winners.
Cooper DeJean, star running back for the Eagles, became the first player to ever intercept a pass or score a touchdown at the Super Bowl on their birthday. He turned 22 on Sunday. Cornerback Saquon Barkley, who had the stand-out performance mentioned above, turned 28 the same day.
On the Chiefs’ side, linebacker Jack Cochrane turned 26 on Super Bowl Sunday. Unfortunately, Cochrane wasn’t able to play in the big game this year after suffering an ankle injury in a regular season matchup against the Houston Texans.
Super Bowl misfires
The Chiefs had probably the roughest game of their entire season on Sunday. The Eagles notched a total of six quarterback sacks against Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
They actually broke a record previously held by the New York Giants, who famously took Tom Brady down five times in Super Bowl XLII. The Eagles now hold the spot for the second-most sacks by a team in a Super Bowl game. Four teams currently share the top spot with seven sacks: the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams.
For Mahomes, the six sacks were the most in a single game in his professional career. He also had two interceptions, both of which led to Eagles touchdowns.
Although Mahomes rallied in the second half with three touchdown passes, his overall performance in New Orleans on Sunday was subpar. It was Mahomes’ second-worst performance by EPA (expected points added) in a game in his career (-19.3).
Bonus: Super Bowl Trivia Questions
Test your Super Bowl knowledge with these fun trivia questions.
Which NFL teams have never appeared in a Super Bowl?
The Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars have yet to make a Super Bowl appearance.
Which NFL teams have never won a Super Bowl?
Of course, the four teams that have never played in a Super Bowl game (Browns, Lions, Texans and Jaguars) have never won one.
In addition, the following teams have been to at least one Super Bowl game but never won:
- Arizona Cardinals
- Atlanta Falcons
- Buffalo Bills
- Carolina Panthers
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Minnesota Vikings
- Tennessee Titans
Which NFL player has been crowned Super Bowl MVP the most times?
Tom Brady has won the Super Bowl MVP award five times, more than any other player. The first four times, he won while playing for the New England Patriots, and the final time was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Joe Montana and Patrick Mahomes share the second-place spot with three Super Bowl MVP awards each.
Which players have won Super Bowls with two different teams as starting quarterbacks?
Tom Brady won the Super Bowl as a starting QB for the Patriots and the Buccaneers. Peyton Manning also won as starting QB for both the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos.
When was the Super Bowl trophy named for Vince Lombardi?
The Super Bowl trophy wasn’t named the Lombardi Trophy until 1970. That was the year Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi passed away, and the trophy was renamed in his memory.
Which cities have hosted the most Super Bowl Games?
Miami and New Orleans have each hosted the Super Bowl 11 times, more than any other cities.