NEW ORLEANS — Cooper DeJean picked Patrick Mahomes off in stride, a perfect break on a terribly imperfect pass over the middle. “The kid made a great play on it,” Mahomes said later.
Now the Philadelphia defensive back was slaloming through Kansas City Chiefs en route to the end zone, Mahomes proving to be the final, fruitless attempt to stop him.
Philly’s defense had already taken over this Super Bowl (Josh Sweat had just gotten in on sacks on consecutive plays). Now reality was hitting like a wrecking ball against a house of cards.
The rout was on: a 40-22 Super Bowl annihilation that wasn’t as close as the score would indicate.