DeAndre Hopkins furiously hit out at the conspiracy theories surrounding the Kansas City Chiefs and the referees after suffering a blowout defeat in Super Bowl LIX.
On Sunday night at the Superdome in New Orleans, Jalen Hurts and the defense inspired the Philadelphia Eagles to a stellar 40-22 victory over the back-to-back defending champion Chiefs. Hurts threw for an efficient 221 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while using the Tush Push to get in the end zone himself en route to clinching Super Bowl MVP honors.
Patrick Mahomes, accustomed to victories in the Big Game, finished with 257 yards and three touchdowns – much of which came after the game was over – along with two interceptions and a fumble lost. Kansas City’s hopes of becoming the first team to win three successive Super Bowl titles were left in tatters.
Hopkins was clearly annoyed when he spoke to the media after the game. One of the big storylines heading into the Super Bowl was the officials seemingly leaning toward the AFC West franchise, with the team consistently being on the favorable end of numerous borderline calls in the regular season and playoffs.
This gave rise to theories that the league likes the Chiefs winning due to the popularity of Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Taylor Swift. Following Super Bowl LIX, a frustrated Hopkins took a swipe at the conspiracies.
“It’s my first year being with the Chiefs and I saw a lot of things in the media about the refs, but what are you all going to say now about the refs and us?” Hopkins declared. “There was a lot of touchy calls. Are you going to report that? Are you going to talk about the refs now?”
#Chiefs WR DeAndre Hopkins: "I saw a lot of things in the media about the refs. … There were a lot of touchy calls. Are ya'll gonna report that? Are ya'll gonna talk about the refs now?"
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 10, 2025
pic.twitter.com/oy1g5t3apy
The Chiefs benefitted from a soft offensive pass interference penalty to start the game, which negated a big A.J. Brown reception on fourth down that killed the Eagles’ opening drive. Brown himself said the flag made him think he was in for a long night. Instead, it was Hopkins’ Chiefs who were longing for the game to end.
The Eagles stormed out to a 34-0 lead at one stage as Vic Fangio’s defense wiped the floor with the Kansas City offense. Late in the second quarter, Mahomes threw a pick-six to rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean before then tossing another pick into the grateful arms of offseason free agent acquisition Zack Baun.
Mahomes and co. found their rhythm late as the Eagles took their foot off the gas – and the Chiefs’ throat. Hopkins hauled in a seven-yard touchdown, and even after Xavier Worthy was on the receiving end of a stellar 50-yard touchdown bomb from Mahomes, the game was over.
Some of the officials’ calls may have been questionable, but both sides will feel that way. It’s safe to say Hopkins certainly does.
| The Mirror US