Three former Michigan football players win Super Bowl LIX with Philadelphia Eagles
For the 11th straight season, at least one former Michigan Wolverines football player has won the Super Bowl. The Philadelphia Eagles blew out the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, in Super Bowl LIX Sunday evening in New Orleans, La.
There are three former Michigan players on the Eagles: defensive end Brandon Graham, offensive lineman Trevor Keegan and linebacker/fullback Ben VanSumeren.
Graham, Keegan and VanSumeren earned the lopsided victory over two former Wolverines, defensive end Mike Danna and linebacker Joshua Uche, members of the Chiefs.
Since VanSumeren finished his career at Michigan State, the Wolverines officially had four former players on Super Bowl rosters. Only two college programs had more — Oklahoma (seven) and Georgia (six). U-M, Alabama and Florida each had four.
The Eagles got up 34-0 late in the third quarter, dominating to that point, and held on despite Kansas City’s best efforts.
Graham played a limited role, but it was remarkable that he took the field at all. The 35-year-old tore his triceps Nov. 24 and was at that point said to be done for the season, the final one of his career. However, he rehabbed diligently and was healthy enough to give it a go Sunday, with the Eagles removing him from the injured reserve list after the NFC championship game win over the Washington Commanders and activating him against the Chiefs.
Graham only played 13 defensive snaps but posted 1 tackle and 1 pressure as part of a dominant defensive line performance. The Eagles recorded 6 sacks, 1 shy of the Super Bowl record, and 6 other tackles for loss.
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl champion, was held to 21-of-32 passing fro 257 yards and 3 touchdowns with 2 interceptions. He was pressured on 42.9 percent of his dropbacks, according to PFF. Much of his positive production came while trailing by a large deficit, including his final touchdown pass, which came against backup Eagle defenders.
Keegan was inactive for the game. He only appeared in one contest during his rookie season, a Jan. 5 win over the New York Giants. He’s earned a Super Bowl ring in his first professional season, one year after leading the Wolverines to the national championship.
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VanSumeren, meanwhile, was also inactive, having suffered a season-ending knee injury in late-November.
The Chiefs became the only team to win back-to-back Super Bowls and then make it back to the final game with a chance to three-peat. However, another world title wasn’t in the cards.
Philadelphia now has its second Lombardi Trophy. Graham was a big part of the first, sealing the Super Bowl LII victory with a strip sack on fellow Michigan Wolverine Tom Brady. Brady, a seven-time champion, was the color analyst for the FOX broadcast Sunday night, and even shouted out his “fellow Wolverine” Graham.
Graham is set to retire following his 15th professional season. Graham saw action in 11 games during the regular season, registering 6 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. He’s been a mainstay in the Eagles’ lineup for 15 seasons, logging 206 appearances with 106 starts in the regular season, posting 76.5 sacks and 126 tackles for loss in his career.
Danna recorded 1 tackle in the loss. He had a strip sack that was recovered by Buffalo in the AFC championship game win over the Bills, his second career postseason sack, helping his team get to this point. Danna has won two world championships with the Chiefs. Danna registered 3.5 sacks and 5 tackles for loss as a starter in the regular season.
Uche joined Kansas City via a midseason trade from the New England Patriots. He played in six outings with the Chiefs, posting 10 tackles. He didn’t see time in the postseason and was inactive for the Super Bowl.
