SB LVIII: Mahomes magic do in 49ers

LAS VEGAS – Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs did it again to the San Francisco 49ers. Mahomes and the Chiefs spotted the 49ers 10 points in Super Bowl LVIII and came back to win 25-22 in overtime to claim their second straight championship in a row. 

“It’s a little bit surreal,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said after the game. “Back-to-back is rare for this football team and this organization. I don’t know what a dynasty is. You guys have the thesaurus, so you can figure it out. It’s a great win because I know how hard it is to do and how hard the season was.”

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) face reporters after leading his team to a 25-22 overtime win against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11, 2024. Photo credit: Dennis J. Freeman/News4usonline

“The ups and downs of the season and how proud I am of the guys for just hanging with each other and staying positive with each other. The young guys grew up, and nobody ever pointed fingers at the offense when the offense was growing. It all kind of came together during the playoffs and worked out well,” Reid added.  

Thanks to a 3-yard touchdown reception by Mecole Hardman with three seconds remaining in the extra period, Mahomes and Reid are now three-time Super Bowl champs. 

“It’s culture man,” Mahomes said about the team repeating as NFL champions  in his postgrame press conference. “I got brought into this culture. Alex Smith was leading this team. They had the pieces in place and coached a great team. He was the ultimate leader, and I got brought in, and I just kind of try to exemplify that and keep pushing them to be even better, and that’s why in moments like this, we get guys come through, and it truly is special, it really is special, just to be able to say we’re back -to -back champs.”

This was supposed to be a down year for the Chiefs. Questions abounded all season about whether or not the Chiefs were as good as past Kansas City teams in the past five years under Reid. 

That criticism held throughout the regular season and into the postseason. The Chiefs had issues and finished the season with an 11-6 record. A down year for sure. However, Reid and the Chiefs got it together long enough at the right time and place. 

The Chiefs went on the road and knocked off Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in a statement game in the divisional round. Then to reach Super Bowl LVIII, Reid and his Chiefs had to get by a ruggedly tough Baltimore Ravens team with league MVP Lamar Jackson. 

The Chiefs bottled up Jackson and Baltimore’s offense and came away with another impressive road victory. With Reid guiding the Kansas City ship, the Chiefs have appeared in four of the last five Super Bowl games.

Coming into Super Bowl LVIII, Reid and the Chiefs were 2-1 in the Super Bowl won-loss column. One of those wins was against the San Francisco 49ers. 

That was back in 2020. Down by 10 points entering the fourth quarter, the Chiefs outscored San Francisco 21-0 in the final period to turn a close game into a complete disaster for the 49ers. This time around, the Niners jumped out to a 10-0 lead. 

San Francisco controlled Mahomes and the Kansas City offense in the first half, limiting the Chiefs to just six points. The Chiefs offense fluttered and Mahomes looked flustered and out of sync as Nick Bosa and the Niners defense made life in the pocket miserable for him.    

“That first half was a very good defensive performance, but there were missed opportunities in the first half too,” Bosa said. “[And] we definitely wanted to lap them a couple more times to give us a cushion because you know who we’re playing and they’re going to play to the end.”

Mahomes and the Chiefs battled back and eventually took a 13-10 lead thanks to a 16-yard touchdown strike the Kansas City quarterback fired to Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the third quarter.   

After a dud of a first half, things got interesting in the third quarter and heated up in the fourth period as both team’s offenses decided to come out to the party and join their defensive teammates at the Super Bowl. 

Harrison Butker’s 29-yard field goal sent the game into overtime with the score tied at 19-19. The Niners made one mistake in overtime. They allowed Mahomes to get his hands on the ball. 

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was selected as Super Bowl LVIII MVP after guiding his team to a 25-22 win against the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11, 2024. Photo credit: Dennis J. Freeman/News4usonline

After winning the coin toss, San Francisco drove the length of the field but was eventually stopped inside Kansas City’s 10-yard line and had to settle for a short field goal. 

That’s where they messed up. Mahomes patiently and determined, came back and drove the Chiefs down the field all the while milking the clock all the way down to the point of almost no time left on the clock. 

With the clock agonizingly trickling down to expiration, Mahomes found Valdes-Scantling alone and the wide receiver walked into the endzone untouched. It was just another Mahomes moment in a magical career. Mahomes, who won the game’s MVP honors, said he was at a loss for words after the team pulled out the victory. 

“I can’t even explain what was going through my mind,” Mahomes said. “It was just extreme joy. Didn’t even know where to go. Just so much excitement, man. I’m so proud of the team, so proud of the guys the battle to the very end. That was the microcosm of our season; I said it and then everybody came together, and we were able to get the win.” 


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