Australians Jordan Mailata and Arryn Siposs have been denied a slice of NFL history after Kansas City snatched a thrilling Super Bowl win from the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35.
Behind Jalen Hurts the Eagles dominated possession to lead by 10 at halftime and six at the final break in Phoenix, before season and game MVP and opposing quarterback Patrick Mahomes orchestrated a comeback for the Chiefs’ second title in four years.
Left tackle Mailata and punter Siposs were the third and fourth Australians to feature in the NFL decider, seeking to become the first to play in a win after Ben Graham (Arizona, 2009) and Mitch Wishnowsky (San Francisco, 2020) both played on losing Super Bowl teams.
Jesse Williams won a Super Bowl ring with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014, but he was an injured reserve and he never made his NFL debut.
Mahomes passed for two of his three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, as Kansas City became just the second team in Super Bowl history to win after falling at least 10 points behind.
A Harrison Butker field goal with eight seconds left was the difference, incredibly earning the Chiefs an eighth-straight win in games they’ve trailed at three-quarter time.
Fringe NRL player Mailata took a chance in America five years ago despite never playing the game, while Siposs – elevated a day before the game off the injury list – played 28 AFL games for St Kilda between 2011-2015 before making the switch.
And the pair looked set to make history as the Eagles dominated the first half in Arizona, the 203cm and 166kg Mailata paving the way for Hurts to make some history of his own.
But the quarterback’s record three rushing touch downs and 304 passing yards weren’t enough, Mahomes returning on a ginger ankle to steal the moment.
Siposs had two punts for 86 metres, his first a 52-metre drop punt that proved awkward to return.
But his second fell short and relatively straight, allowing Kadarius Toney to dart off his left foot around a gang of tacklers and set off for a Super Bowl record 60-metre return that set up the go-ahead touchdown.
Hurts, who had earlier fumbled to gift the Chiefs a first-half TD, struck back with his third rushing touchdown to level the scores.
But, helped by a holding penalty, the Chiefs managed the clock and even passed up a touchdown before opting to kick, leaving the Eagles with just one play to concoct a miracle that didn’t eventuate.