GLENDALE, Ariz. — The grass used in State Farm Stadium during Super Bowl 57 took nearly two years and more than $800,000 to prepare for Sunday, but it wasn’t without faults.
The grass looked immaculate and thick ahead of kickoff, with both end zones painted in Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs colors. The NFL logo in the center of the field was flanked by Super Bowl 57 logos on each side. It was an appealing sight for 67,827 fans packed into the stadium, but the playing conditions during the Chiefs’ 38-35 victory were less than pretty.
Players from both the Eagles and Chiefs struggled to get traction on the natural grass and slipped many times. At least half a dozen Eagles players switched cleats during the first half in an attempt to get a better grip, including quarterback Jalen Hurts, who changed from Jordan 11 cleats to Jordan 1 cleats.
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Eagles offensive lineman Jordan Mailata, who said he’s ‘not a grass expert,’ described the conditions as ‘pretty slippery,’ similar to ‘playing on a water park.’
‘We can’t control the field. We just have to accept the reality of the situation and whoever can perform the best wins the game and we fell short,’ Mailata added.
Ahead of the second half, groundskeepers attempted to fill in divots on the field following Rihanna’s halftime show performance, but the struggles continued.
Eagles kicker Jake Elliott nearly twisted his ankle when he slipped during a kick-off in the third quarter. Hurts appeared to slip during the last play of the game when he attempted a Hail Mary pass.
‘Hate to end the game like that,’ Hurts said.
The Super Bowl 57 grass featured a Bermuda grass base and rye grass overseed. It was grown at a local sod farm in Phoenix, beginning in May 2021, and was installed in State Farm Stadium’s retractable playing field track two weeks ago.
Despite the conditions, Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert said the grass was ‘definitely not the reason we lost the game or anything.’
‘Both teams played on the same field. We saw them slipping around a little bit,’ Goedert said.
Mailata added, ‘It comes down to who can handle the conditions the best.’