By Amy Tennery
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean celebrated his 22nd birthday with a pick-six in the Super Bowl on Sunday, capping his dream rookie year with a 40-22 defeat of the Kansas City Chiefs inside the New Orleans’ Superdome.
DeJean did not need any candles to get his birthday wish in front of a 65,719-person party as he scooped up a poor pass by three-times champion Patrick Mahomes in the second quarter and ran it 38 yards into the end zone.
He carved out a piece of NFL history with the play, becoming the first in the league to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl on his birthday.
“It was just our defense working together, just like we have all year, It fell into the right place, had to catch the ball and there’s blocks out in front of me and I go take it to the end zone,” said DeJean.
“I didn’t even have a celebration planned, I was just running around like crazy, like a little kid.”
It was the first career interception for the second-round draft pick out of Iowa, whom few might have suspected would become one of the standout characters in the NFL title game.
He was not even the only person on the Eagles celebrating a birthday as star running back Saquon Barkley turned 28 on the day. Barkley, who was astonishingly prolific in the regular season, was held to 57 yards on 25 carries and was unable to score.
“It’s a credit to the people around me,” said DeJean, who struggled to juggle an ESPN microphone and a slice of birthday cake presented to him in a post-game interview.
“The coaches, they’ve helped me grow a lot this season. All the leaders we have on our defense helping me along. I couldn’t be in a better situation.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New Orleans and Nick Mulvenney in Sydney; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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