Cooper DeJean will forever be remembered for pick-six
NEW ORLEANS — In a complete blowout like Super Bowl 2025 turned out to be Sunday night at the Superdome, one play never is the difference.
But if there was one play that proved to be more stunning and soul-crushing to the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs in their 40-22 loss to the Eagles, it was made by Cooper DeJean.
There wasn’t a play in a game full of them for Philadelphia that buoyed the Eagles more than the 38-yard pick-six by DeJean, their rookie nickelback.
DeJean picked off a Patrick Mahomes pass with the Kansas City quarterback having been flushed from the pocket and flustered, and he returned it 38 yards to give the Eagles a 17-0 lead with 7:03 remaining in the first half.
The play came in the midst of a series of defensive plays by the Eagles as they completely took the game over.
It was Kansas City’s fourth possession of the game, and Mahomes was sacked on the first and second plays of it, when he faced a third-and-16 from his own 24.
Mahomes forced the pass toward receiver DeAndre Hopkins and the ball landed in DeJean’s arms so easily it looked like he was the intended receiver.
His TD didn’t seal the game, but it came damn close.
It was a career highlight-reel play for DeJean, a unanimous All-American at Iowa who was the No. 40 pick in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
He was as much a steal for the Eagles in that draft as his INT stole the collective soul of the Chiefs.
DeJean — whose entrance into the Philadelphia starting lineup came in Week 5, with the Eagles struggling at 2-2 — finished the year allowing only 329 receiving yards and no TDs playing in the slot, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Eagles would lose only one more game the rest of the season, and the performances of DeJean and fellow rookie corner Quinyon Mitchell are considered a big reason.
“They’re great guys, man, Coop and Quinyon,” Eagles veteran cornerback Darius Slay said before the game. “They’re detailed. They pay attention. They listen. They learn.
“It’s hard to get rookies to understand this game at a high level. It’s amazing.’’
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DeJean, before the game, called the experience in his rookie season “amazing,’’ adding, “I’ve been enjoying every second of it.’’
DeJean’s interception was the first pick-six in a Super Bowl since Robert Alford intercepted Tom Brady in the Falcons’ infamously blown 28-3 lead against the Patriots in the 2017 Super Bowl.
Much was made about Sunday being the 28th birthday of Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. But it was also DeJean’s 22nd birthday.
And he became the first player in NFL history to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl on his birthday.
What a gift.
