Three Wolverines win Super Bowl LVII with Kansas City Chiefs
Three former Michigan Wolverines football players are world champions. Defensive ends Frank Clark and Michael Danna and quarterback Chad Henne won Super Bowl LVII with the Kansas City Chiefs, who won a 38-35 thriller over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Kansas City kicker Harrison Butker nailed a 27-yard field goal with eight seconds to go, after a controversial defensive holding call on third down gave the Chiefs a fresh set of downs. That finished off a back-and-forth game that the Eagles led at halftime, 24-14.
Former Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham played in his second Super Bowl with the Eagles but fell just short Sunday night in Glendale, Ariz.
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At least one former Michigan player won the Super Bowl for the ninth straight year. This was the second title for both Clark and Henne, and the first for Danna, who played in Super Bowl LV, a 31-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with the other two former Michigan standouts.
Clark committed an offsides penalty and notched 1 tackle, while Danna also totaled 1 tackle. Danna delivered a block on teammate Nick Bolton‘s 36-yard fumble return touchdown in the second quarter.
Henne, Patrick Mahomes‘ backup, did not play. Henne, 37 years old, announced his retirement following the game, going out as a two-time champ.
Graham did not record any statistics for the game, with his Eagles defense surprisingly getting shredded in the second half, allowing 24 points, and not notching a sack for the game. The former Michigan defensive end posted a career-best 11 sacks during the 2022 regular season, one of four Eagles pass rushers with 10-plus sacks.
“We’ll be back next year,” Graham said as he walked off the stage at his postgame press conference.
Clark has 13.5 career postseason sacks, which ranks third all time. With 2.5 during these playoffs, he was a key part of the Chiefs’ run.
“I’m just ecstatic, man,” the former Michigan defensive end told FOX. “I’m just overfilled with joy.”
Clark was suspended earlier in the season, missing time stemming from him pleading no contest in September to two counts of misdemeanor possession of an assault weapon in separate incidents in 2021.
“I had a rough year, man. It’s been rough for me,” Clark continued. “My teammates, they never lost faith in me. I’m just thankful — I’m extremely humbled and thankful. I got some of the best teammates in the world.
“A lot of adversity there in the first half, to come out there in the second half and fix our mistakes … we’re champs, two times, man.
“It’s a blessing, man. I know my [late] pops is smiling. I wish he could see it, but I know he’s smiling, man. I’ve been going through a lot these last few days, but it makes sense now. It makes sense.”
The Chiefs have won their second Super Bowl in the last four seasons, appearing in three of the last four.
