National Football League

How Chiefs’ halftime adjustments changed everything in Super Bowl win over Eagles

Updated Jun. 3, 2023 7:08 p.m. ET

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Henry McKenna

AFC East Reporter

GLENDALE, Ariz. — In the NFL, there is no greater myth than halftime adjustments, according to Peyton Manning. The legendary quarterback has made it clear that players have just enough time to sit and sip some water before they have to get back out on the field.

But there's one exception: the Super Bowl.

Halftime in the Super Bowl is 29 minutes — more than double the 13-minute halftime in the regular season. That gives each team a real chance to control their emotions and make schematic adjustments. 

That's, in part, how the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII 38-35 over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Because as halftime neared, the Chiefs were trailing 24-14, the largest deficit they'd face. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes hobbled off the field after having his right ankle — the one he sprained three weeks ago — twisted during a tackle. Backup QB Chad Henne was warming up in case he needed to take over. Kansas City's sideline looked lacking in energy. Mahomes was wincing, testing his ankle and jogging in place to see how much new pain the tackle had caused. And then when the half ended, they all got the heck off the field, with Mahomes leading the way and jogging gingerly to the locker room.

That's when the Chiefs got the time they needed to remind themselves they were going to win this game.

Rihanna was blaring through the stadium and the nation was tuning in to watch her musical performance. But inside the Chiefs' locker room, Mahomes addressed his teammates — and other teammates spoke alongside him.

"I was proud because I talked a little bit, but it was everybody," Mahomes said during a postgame press conference. "It wasn't like I was the only person talking in that locker room. 

"We just challenged each other to leave everything out there. I don't want to say we played tight in the first half, but you didn't see that same joy that we play with. And I just wanted guys to know that everything we worked for is for this month. You have to enjoy this moment. You can't let the moment overtake you. I thought the guys did that in the second half."

Patrick Mahomes on Chiefs' Super Bowl win

Patrick Mahomes sat down with the "NFL on FOX" crew to discuss the Chiefs' win over the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.

By halftime, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was already just three yards short of the Super Bowl record for rushing yards by a quarterback (66). The Chiefs had converted 0 of 3 third downs while the Eagles had converted 6 of 10. Kansas City had 128 total yards of offense to the Eagles' 270. The Chiefs had 8:06 in time of possession to the Eagles 21:54. 

The game was even more lopsided than the scoreline showed.

And, I'll repeat, the best quarterback in the NFL — Patrick Mahomes — appeared to have badly reinjured himself. At halftime, he did not receive a painkiller shot.

"But we did some stuff to get it ready to go for the second half," Mahomes said postgame.

It could have been grim in that locker room. But it was just the opposite.

"That 29 minutes was perfect," Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said after the game. "I didn't get to see the Rihanna performance, and she was probably amazing. That 29 minutes literally brought us together. It was just the passion and the energy. And it was, ‘We just gotta be ourselves and we gotta dedicate your whole body and your whole life for 30 minutes.' And that's just what we did."

The Chiefs' coaches made adjustments. The Chiefs' players made speeches. 

And then there was the really important stuff — like snacks.

"We was able to eat a few chicken strips. Relax. Everybody was able to take it in, take a deep breath, meditate," defensive lineman Chris Jones said with a smile. He added: "It felt like everybody was able to catch their breath. These type of games with this type of atmosphere — the extra break was needed."

JuJu Smith-Schuster: "Dreams turned into reality"

Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster was ecstatic talking with Peter Schrager about the Chiefs' comeback victory against the Eagles.

The Super Bowl is a big stage. These athletes are human. And many of the Chiefs starters are youngsters. On defense, cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson and defensive end George Karlaftis are rookies. On offense, running back Isiah Pacheco and Skyy Moore are also rookies. Offensive lineman Creed Humphrey and linebacker Nick Bolton are in their second year. 

You're getting the point, right? These guys don't have a lot of NFL experience, let alone Super Bowl experience.

"We've got a lot of young guys, a lot of young starters in this league," Jones said. "I still get jitters getting out — the excitement. Those guys — I can only imagine what they had going on in their minds. I think the halftime played perfectly and let us come back together and bring the brotherhood back together."

Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was able to show the players what had beaten them in the first half — and it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. They'd prepared for what they were seeing.

"[The Eagles] gave us a few different — not so much different — but they gave us some blitzes. They played the same type of coverages. We just weren't executing like we needed to," Bieniemy said. "I thought our guys did a hell of a job adjusting. I thought our guys just did a hell of a job just playing through the lows and hanging together."

The Chiefs certainly seemed out of it at many points in Super Bowl LVII. But Mahomes willed them into contention. Even with Hurts scoring four total touchdowns (3 rushing, 1 passing) and, statistically, outplaying Mahomes, the Chiefs quarterback did what he needed to do to get his teammates into winning situations. And he got plenty of help, with touchdowns from unlikely contributors: linebacker Nick Bolton, receiver Kadarius Toney and Moore. Kansas City went from looking stumped in the second quarter to unbeatable in the fourth.

And that really shifted at halftime, when everything began to turn in the Chiefs' favor.

Prior to joining FOX Sports as the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years covering the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.

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