Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes described their 40-22 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59 as "the worst thing in the world".
Mahomes threw two interceptions - one returned by Cooper DeJean for a touchdown - lost a fumble and was sacked six times as Kansas City's quest for an historic three-peat of titles was crushed by a rampant Eagles defense.
The 29-year-old also missed out on the chance to secure a fourth Super Bowl ring before the age of 30, suffering instead his second loss in the sport's biggest game - a loss which he says will fuel the rest of his career.
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"There's no way around it. Anytime you lose a Super Bowl, it's the worst thing in the world... it will stick with you the rest of your career," Mahomes told reporters after the game in New Orleans.
"I mean these will be the two losses that will motivate me to be even better, for the rest of my career. Because you only get so few of these [Super Bowls], and you have to capitalise on them
"It's going to hurt for a while, but how can you respond from it?"
Mahomes: I didn't play to my standard
There was a three-play sequence in the second quarter of Super Bowl 59 that rather summarised Mahomes and the Chiefs' nightmare night.
Philadelphia had taken a 10-0 lead and the two-time defending champs were on the ropes when Mahomes was sacked by Josh Sweat.
On the next play, Sweat took the Kansas City QB down again before, on third down, Mahomes threw an interception that DeJean returned 38 yards for a score to further extend Philadelphia's advantage.
"They played great from start to finish," Mahomes said of the Eagles' No 1-ranked defense. "They got after it.
"We didn't start how we wanted to. The turnovers hurt... I take all the blame for that. Those turnovers swing the moment of the game and they capitalised on them.
"They scored on one and got a touchdown immediately after another. That's 14 points I gave them.
"It's hard to come back from that in the Super Bowl. I have to learn from that and try to be better the next opportunity that I hopefully get.
"I didn't play to my standard and I have to be better next time."
Travis Kelce sets Super Bowl catches record, but will he return to Chiefs?
Travis Kelce set the Super Bowl record for the most career receptions in the defeat to the Eagles, but his future remains unclear.
Kelce's four receptions for 39 yards in the Kansas City Chiefs' 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday took his Super Bowl total to 35, two ahead of legendary Jerry Rice.
Pat Mahomes hopes Kelce will return for a 12th full NFL season.
"I know he still has love for the game," Mahomes said. "He'll get time to spend with his family and make that decision on his own. He'll be welcomed back here with open arms."
Kelce, 35, didn't address his future and was understandably downbeat after the defeat.
"You don't lose bad without everything going bad," Kelce said. "There was a lot of things going wrong. You can't just say it was the O-line or anything like that. I think it was accumulated of everything really not going our way today."
Asked what Andy Reid told the Chiefs after the game, Kelce added: "You know, this will hurt. Let it hurt and figure out and figure out how to get better."