Diehard Philadelphia Eagles fans turned on Aussie punter Arryn Siposs after a nightmare Super Bowl moment, with the cult hero’s fourth quarter punt leading to a record return, and ultimately a match-defining touchdown.
Moments after the Chiefs took a 28-27 lead – the first time they had led all night – and with about 10 minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter, the ex-St Kilda AFL gun fluffed his lines with his second punt of the night.
As a result, his Eagles teammates were late to cover Chiefs punt returner Kadarius Toney, who scrambled all the way back to his attacking five-yard line to complete a 64-yard return.
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It was the longest punt return in Super Bowl history.
From the next play, the Chiefs scored a touchdown to extend their lead to eight points through Skyy Moore.
While the Eagles would rally, scoring a touchdown and a two-point conversion to draw level within minutes of full-time, they never again regained their lead and were finally put to bed courtesy of a field-goal that resulted from a contentious holding penalty.
It was a moment that will always stick with Siposs and turned sour a Super Bowl that started with great promise for both the Victorian and his star Aussie teammate Jordan Mailata.
With his first kick, Siposs booted a 57-yard punt that Toney was only able to return 12 yards, an excellent contribution especially when considering he had missed the last six games through injury and only started practicing again last week.
Mailata, meanwhile, had been in strong form coming into the Super Bowl, which he was able to carry into the NFL’s biggest night.
Mailata block leads to crucial touchdown
He rag-dolled numerous Chiefs defenders throughout the night, and had a direct hand in two of the Eagles’ first half touchdowns.
First, he made a key block that allowed quarterback Jalen Hurts to throw a stunning pass to wide receiver AJ Brown. Then, not long after, and with his team basically on top of the end zone, Mailata blocked two Chiefs defenders to allow Hurts to stroll into the end zone virtually unchallenged.
It gave them the lead heading into half-time.
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