Super Bowl LVII

Super Bowl LVII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2022 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles, 38–35. The game was played on February 12, 2023, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It was the fourth Super Bowl hosted by the Phoenix metropolitan area, and the third at this venue, after Super Bowls XLII in 2008 and XLIX in 2015 when it was known as University of Phoenix Stadium.

Both teams finished the regular season with a league-best 14–3 record. This was the Eagles' fourth Super Bowl appearance, having previously won Super Bowl LII and lost Super Bowls XV and XXXIX. This was the Chiefs' fifth Super Bowl appearance overall and third in the last four seasons, having previously won Super Bowls IV and LIV and lost Super Bowls I and LV.

The Chiefs won the game 38–35 on a game-winning field goal by Harrison Butker. Butker's game-winning kick was set up by a pivotal defensive holding call on Philadelphia cornerback James Bradberry, which was criticized by some observers but supported by others, including Bradberry himself. The 73 combined points made this the third-highest scoring Super Bowl game, and the 35 points scored by the Eagles were the most by the losing team in the Super Bowl. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP), completing 21 of 27 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns. The three touchdowns and two-point conversion scored by Jalen Hurts tied the record for most points scored by a player in a Super Bowl with 20. The game was remembered for the use of signature plays on both sides, with the Chiefs scoring two touchdowns on plays using the Corn Dog misdirection route and the Eagles scoring twice using the Tush Push.

Fox's broadcast of the game became the most-watched program in American television history, with an average of 115.1 million viewers. The halftime show, headlined by Rihanna, peaked at 121 million viewers. This record would later be broken the following year.

This was the last Super Bowl that George Toma would serve as groundskeeper for, having previously served as groundskeeper for every Super Bowl since the event's creation. The field conditions were criticized by players, particularly for slipperiness.

Kansas City and Philadelphia would meet for a rematch two years later in Super Bowl LIX, in which the Eagles avenged their loss against the Chiefs, 40–22. The victory secured their second Super Bowl title, after Super Bowl LII seven years prior.

Background

Host selection

Beginning with this Super Bowl, a new system was introduced to select Super Bowl hosting sites. Discarding the previous process that allowed cities to submit bids for the hosting rights, the league unilaterally chooses a single hosting site for each game. The chosen city then creates a proposal that is voted upon at the league's owners' meetings. Arizona was the first location chosen under this process; its proposal was accepted unanimously on May 23, 2018.

The official logo was unveiled on February 14, 2022; it follows the updated logo template introduced by Super Bowl LVI, with imagery of a sunset resembling Arizona's state flag behind a desert canyon to reflect the landscapes of the host region.

Calls for location change

In February 2022, over 200 liberal religious leaders, including Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Dr. William Barber II, petitioned NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to move Super Bowl LVII out of Arizona after they accused the Arizona legislature of enacting voting restrictions with HB 1003, SB 1485, and SB 1819. Arizona Democratic Party vice-chair Brianna Westbrook also voiced her support to move the Super Bowl after the Arizona legislature passed SB 1138 and SB 1165, which restricts access to gender-affirming care for minors and prevents transgender girls from playing on girls' sports teams.

Indigenous representation

The game and surrounding festivities included acknowledgements of the Indigenous peoples of Arizona; the Ak-Chin Indian Community, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Gila River Indian Community, and Tohono O'odham Nation were named as Host Committee Partners, and the official branding for the game features artwork by Lucinda "La Morena" Hinojos, featuring the White Tank Mountains adorned with 22 diamonds representing the Native American tribes that have a presence in Arizona. This marked the first time an Indigenous artist was commissioned to create the official artwork for the Super Bowl. An 8,500 square feet (790 m²) mural in downtown Phoenix was also commissioned in collaboration between Hinojos and other Indigenous artists.

For the first time, a land acknowledgment was read during a ceremony on February 6 attended by representatives of the Host Committee Partner tribes, while dance troupe Indigenous Enterprise performed during Super Bowl Opening Night, and as part of entertainment outside State Farm Stadium on the day of the game.

The presence of the Kansas City Chiefs led to continued calls against the use of Native American imagery by the team and its fans (including the "tomahawk chop"), including by the Kansas City Indian Center, the National Congress of American Indians, and the first Indigenous Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. Groups of Indigenous activists organized a protest rally outside State Farm Stadium.

Stadium playing surface

The NFL spent two years preparing the grass used in Super Bowl LVII. The field, made of Tahoma 31 grass, was grown at a local sod farm in Phoenix. Despite the field prep, multiple players could be seen slipping and falling on the surface. Players from both teams criticized the playing surface, and several players changed cleats during the game to get better traction. During their Week 1 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, Chiefs players had complained of the playing surface at the time (it was replaced by February) which potentially led to injuries to Harrison Butker and Trent McDuffie.

Teams

Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City finished the season with its tenth consecutive winning record under head coach Andy Reid, going 14–3 and advancing to their third Super Bowl in the last four years with one-score wins over the Jacksonville Jaguars (Divisional Round) and Cincinnati Bengals (AFC Championship Game).

The Chiefs traded star wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins in the offseason for draft picks but still finished the year as the NFL's best offense, leading the league in yards (7,032) and points scored (496). Quarterback Patrick Mahomes made his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl and won his second NFL Most Valuable Player award, leading the league with a career-high 5,250 passing yards and 41 touchdowns while throwing 12 interceptions. His passer rating of 105.2 was the second-highest in the league. He also rushed for 354 yards and four touchdowns, setting the NFL record for most combined passing and rushing yards in a season with 5,608. Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce was the team's leading receiver with 1,338 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. The team also added in a pair of veteran receivers to help make up for the loss of Hill: JuJu Smith-Schuster (933 yards and three touchdowns) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (687 yards and two touchdowns). The Chiefs' running game was led by rookie Isiah Pacheco, who had stepped into the leading role due to a midseason injury to starter Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Pacheco finished the season with 830 rushing yards and five touchdowns while also gaining 130 receiving yards and returning kickoffs with an average of 20.6 yards per return. Veteran running back Jerick McKinnon added 803 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns. Their offensive line featured three Pro Bowl selections: guard Joe Thuney, tackle Orlando Brown Jr., and center Creed Humphrey. Punter Tommy Townsend also made the Pro Bowl, ranking second in the NFL in yards per punt (50.4) and leading the league with a 45.4 net average.

Kansas City's defensive line featured Pro Bowl defensive tackle Chris Jones, who led the team with 15.5 sacks, along with defensive ends George Karlaftis (6 sacks, seven pass deflections) and Frank Clark (5 sacks). Linebacker Nick Bolton led the team with 180 combined tackles and two interceptions. The secondary was led by cornerback L'Jarius Sneed (three interceptions, 108 tackles, three forced fumbles, 3.5 sacks) and safety Juan Thornhill (three interceptions, 71 tackles).

This was Kansas City's fifth Super Bowl, following wins in Super Bowls IV and LIV and losses in Super Bowls I and LV. Prior to the Super Bowl era, the Chiefs won the American Football League championship in 1962.

The Super Bowl was the final for Norma Hunt, the widow of the Chiefs' founder, Lamar Hunt, who died in June 2023. She was a member (and the only woman) of the Never Miss a Super Bowl Club. She was a minority owner of the Chiefs at the time of her death.