Super Bowl loss to Eagles was ‘one of the lowest points of my career,’ Patrick Mahomes says in new series

ESPN’s new six-part documentary series, The Kingdom, chronicles the Kansas City Chiefs’ quest to make NFL history by becoming the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls. The series follows the team throughout the year — documenting their 15-2 season, their Taylor Swift connection, and of course, (spoiler alert) their loss to the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.

And that’s exactly where the series starts off, with a montage from 17 minutes after the Super Bowl ended, including clips of Patrick Mahomes upset on the sideline, green-and-white confetti raining down inside Caesar’s Superdome, and game MVP Jalen Hurts celebrating the win.

The first two episodes aired Thursday on ESPN — with the next two airing Tuesday, Aug. 19, and the final two on Wednesday, Aug. 20 — and all six are currently streaming on ESPN+.

Here are the biggest Eagles moments from the series, starting with the one all Philly fans want to see.

The final episode of the series, titled “The Pursuit,” centers around the Chiefs’ loss to the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. Down 7-0 early, Chiefs players still had high hopes for a comeback.

“The Eagles team is really tough, but I always feel like with Patrick and Coach Reid we always have a chance,” said Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones. “We just got to pick it up.”

By the end of the half, hope slowly started to fade — even for Mahomes. The six-time Pro Bowler threw two interceptions in the second quarter, including a pick-six to Cooper DeJean. But according to Mahomes, Zack Baun’s interception with less than two minutes left in the half was more costly.

“You want to get something good to happen going into the half,” Mahomes said. “And that one, it hurt the momentum of the game. So, that’s why I think that interception hurt so much, even more than I think the pick-six hurt.”

After the loss, the players headed back into the locker room as the Eagles celebrated their second Super Bowl win in franchise history.

“You can’t win them all,” Jones said. “Sometimes you just get outplayed, and sometimes you just get your [expletive] kicked. It ain’t our day and it’s OK, it’s OK. It happens.”

Mahomes added: “Leaving the football field [was] one of the lowest points in my career. You lose a chance of having that three-peat. You never know if you’ll ever have that opportunity again. You lose a Super Bowl. That’s stuff you have to live with for the rest of your career.”

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Episode 2 is titled “Don’t Judge” and follows Andy Reid’s rise to fame — from learning under Mike Holmgren to becoming the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. However, a majority of the episode focused on his time as head coach in Philadelphia.

”I don’t think I was the first choice out of everybody,” Reid admitted. “I think I was the fourth or fifth interview. So, I was sneaking around the chicken coop, as they say.”

Reid was hired in 1999 without any experience as a college head coach or NFL coordinator. Prior to his job with the Eagles, he was hired by Holmgren as an assistant offensive line and tight ends coach for the Green Bay Packers. He would eventually become the team’s quarterback coach before moving to Philly.

“I loved Philadelphia, what a great challenge,” Reid said. “The people there are passionate. When you stink, they’re going to let you know you stink. They boo’d you, they chant your name. It’s because they care.”

During Reid’s 14 seasons as the head coach of the Eagles, he led the team to a 130-93 record and earned six division titles. He also appeared in five NFC championship games and one Super Bowl appearance, all alongside quarterback Donovan McNabb.

“I was his first draft pick, and we were kind of able to mature and gain experience together, and make mistakes together,” McNabb said. “My rookie year, I wasn’t playing well, he came over to the bench and gave it to me a little bit. But then he also said, ‘I love you.’ And I was like, ‘All right, this guy’s got my back.’ For a head coach and a quarterback, that chemistry and combination is special.”

Despite both Reid and McNabb’s success, they never brought a Lombardi Trophy to the city, losing to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.

“We had been knocking on the door for however many times and not been able to get over the hump together,” McNabb said. “That was one of the downfalls for us.”

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The Eagles traded McNabb after the 2009 season, and after a disappointing 4-12 season in 2012, Reid’s contract was not renewed. Leading up to Reid’s exit, fans let the coach know how they felt about him, bringing “Fire Andy” signs to games.

“There’s calluses on you, for sure,” Reid said. “You learn a lot about people. You helped build this thing with all these guys, and then things just fell apart. The last year, I had a lot of things going on.”

During training camp at Lehigh University ahead of that season, Reid’s 29-year-old son, Garrett, who had been working with the Eagles, was found dead of a heroin overdose.

McNabb wasn’t the only former Eagles quarterback who made an appearance in the series. Michael Vick, now the head coach at Norfolk State, praised the coach for giving him a second chance.

“When a coach believes in you, trusts you, leads you, then you trust them,” Vick said. “That’s the way it’s supposed to be. Sometimes when you grow up, you need mentors. You need people to talk to and he was certainly one of those guys. There’s no discrimination, there’s no passing judgment. When you see things like that, it makes you respect people. You know, coming from where I come from, it means a lot.”

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Reid signed Vick in August 2009 after the former Falcons quarterback was released from federal prison after serving 21 months in connection to a dog fighting ring. Vick earned Comeback Player of the Year in 2010.

“Andrew makes everybody feel like they’re his son,” said his wife, Tammy. “He does believe in second chances because everybody makes mistakes.”