Patrick Mahomes accepts responsibility for Super Bowl defeat after failing to ‘play to his standard’

The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback was sacked six times as the Philadelphia Eagles swept to a 40-22 victory

Kansas City Chiefs quarter-back Patrick Mahomes took responsibility for his team’s loss in Super Bowl 59 as the Philadelphia Eagles stormed to a 40-22 win at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

The two-time Super Bowl champion made a flurry of errors early in the game and was sacked six times throughout the match, the most in any game of his career.

Eagles linebacker Josh Sweat in particular had an eye for the quarter-back regularly tormenting him as the Chiefs attempted to assert some control on the game.

The Eagles scored two touchdowns in the first half from intercepting Mahomes’ passes including a 38 yard run from defensive back Cooper DeJean who scored the team’s second touchdown of the game.

The Chiefs trailed 24-0 at the halfway stage and couldn’t mount a comeback despite a late rally in the fourth quarter.

"Credit to the Eagles, they played better than us from start to finish," said Mahomes after the defeat.

"Obviously the turnovers hurt - I've just got to take all the blame for that. Those early turnovers swing the momentum of the game and they capitalised on them.

"It was kind of 14 points that I gave them and it's hard to come back from that at the Super Bowl. I just didn't play to my standard and I have to be better next time."

Most of the build-up to the match had concerned the possibility of the Chiefs completing an unprecedented ‘three-peat’ as they had triumphed in the previous two Super Bowls.

Mahomes explained how his own performance ended any chance of the Chiefs winning a third Super Bowl in a row and he took ownership for the painful loss.

Patrick Mahomes was sacked six times in a Super Bowl display to forget (AP)

"I threw two interceptions in their end, I mean, I threw a pick six, and I threw a pick that they returned to the five-yard line, and they scored immediately after," he added.

"So, you give the team 14 points, especially a really good football team, a Super Bowl football team, and not a lot of good things happen.

"That's why I take ownership of this loss more than probably any loss in my entire career, because I put us in a bad spot there."

Legendary quarter-back Tom Brady assessed Mahomes’ display for Fox and said: “We've seen tonight, their inability to pass protect, it's similar to when we beat them with Tampa in 2020, they couldn't pass protect then either, it's back to the drawing board, there are no two ways about it. It's the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows when you're trying to win and do something historic in the NFL.

“I remember when I lost to the Giants in 2007, I got on the bus after the game, it was just devastating, I couldn't speak for the rest of the night. I just always remember waking up, that was a nightmare, that game didn't happen? It's a difficult feeling to have, but if there's anybody who can rebound it's Patrick Mahomes.”