A period of dominance with multiple Super Bowl titles over a few years is a level of superiority that very few teams have achieved. The NFL’s dynasties — the Packers, the Steelers, the 49ers, the Cowboys and the Patriots — have achieved this, and they made room for a new team in their exclusive club on Sunday.
Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs won their second straight Super Bowl, this time over the San Francisco 49ers in overtime by a final score of 25-22. This title has forever etched this Chiefs organization, Mahomes, Coach Andy Reid, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones and more, into the NFL’s history books as one of the game’s all-time greats.
The game started slow for both teams as the pregame festivities took just long enough for the pregame nerves to fester into a cagey and conservative first quarter. An early Christian McCaffrey fumble just outside the red zone stalled a strong start from San Francisco and led to three straight punts. The Chiefs looked off-rhythm as the 49ers defense held them in check, and quarterback Brock Purdy led a ten-play, 46-yard drive capped off with the longest field goal in Super Bowl history from Jake Moody as the second quarter was just getting started.
The Chiefs looked poised to answer back after a 52-yard bomb to Mecole Hardman brought them down to the nine-yard line. However, an Isiah Pacheco fumble gave the 49ers’ defense a huge break and set their team up in a great spot to put the Chiefs in a hole.
Despite having been down ten points in their previous two Super Bowls, things just felt different for the Chiefs this time. On the sideline, frustration bubbled over as Travis Kelce shoved his head coach before yelling at him about not having him on the field during the fumble. The energy from the Chiefs sideline was shaky and they were beating themselves more than the 49ers were beating them.
The Chiefs’ defense made a big stop, but the offense stalled again and gave the 49ers another chance to take a two-score lead. After a silky seven-play drive down to the 21-yard line, head coach Kyle Shanahan pulled out a trick play to cap the drive off. A lateral to Jennings, who threw a screen back across the field to McCaffrey, gave the 49ers a 10-point lead after the extra point. The Chiefs weren’t ready to give up, though. Things finally started to click for the offense as Mahomes orchestrated a long drive down to the 9-yard line, where the drive stalled, and the Chiefs took their three points. The game went into halftime with the 49ers up 10-3.
After finally figuring things out to end the first half, the Chiefs were poised to come back out and make a statement. However, Mahomes tried playing hero-ball, scrambling around and eventually forcing an ill-advised throw on the run straight into the hands of the 49ers secondary. In a moment of deja vu, yet another new longest-field goal in Super Bowl history ended a scoring drought after a turnover and three straight punts.
Then disaster struck for San Francisco as they fell behind for the first time in the game due to a muffed punt. The 49ers hadn’t scored since they made it 10-0, and they were now losing by three. But the high-powered offense came out and made a statement with a 12-play, 75-yard, 6-minute drive to take back the lead. The roller coaster of emotions that 49ers fans had been through seemed to be calming down until the former holder of the longest kick in Super Bowl history (Moody) had his extra point blocked, meaning the 49ers were now up by only a field goal.
That extra point came back to bite San Francisco as the Chiefs kicked two field goals and the 49ers one to end regulation tied at 19 points. The 49ers were, at one point, a first down away from being able to run out the clock and kick a game-winner as time expired, but a brilliantly designed blitz off the slot caught Purdy off guard and prevented San Francisco from icing it.
The 49ers won the toss and took the ball to ensure that if both teams scored touchdowns, they would have a chance to win the game without Kansas City touching it again. However, this did not pan out in the 49ers’ favor, as their overtime drive once again stalled in the red zone. They were forced to settle for three, and with Mahomes waiting to respond, that pretty much sealed the game.
To me, the 49ers were the better team. Across the board, San Francisco is built with extreme levels of talent, grit and extreme athleticism. There is no team in the NFL better than them on paper. However, the Chiefs have something special, and his name is Patrick Mahomes. His team kept it close all game, and when push came to shove, Mahomes was there with a clutch game-tying drive and then a game-winning one in overtime, earning his third Super Bowl MVP.
There have been many great coaches to grace the NFL over the years. There have been show-stopping runners, incredible pass catchers, and game-wrecking defenders but Mahomes reminded everyone on Sunday night that a great quarterback can trump everything. Mahomes did just that, winning his third Super Bowl with the Chiefs giving Kansas City a dynasty, and cementing himself as one of the top 10 quarterbacks of all time at just 28.
