They had to fight for their right to party.
Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid have made the Kansas City Chiefs a dynasty, becoming the first team in 19 years to win back-to-back Super Bowls. It is almost impossible to believe that Mahomes could be better than he has been over the first six years of his career in the NFL. However, on Sunday night in the entertainment capital of the world, he put on the show of shows and found a way to get it done in Super Bowl LVIII.
Mahomes’ overtime drive for a game-winning touchdown beat the San Francisco 49ers by a field goal, 25-22 and moved to the top of the list of Mahomes’ greatest moments. It is his second game-winning Super Bowl drive in two seasons, and his Super Bowl victory tally has climbed to three.
“I am going to celebrate tonight, celebrate at the parade and then work my way to get back in this game next year,” Mahomes said. “I am going to do whatever I can to be back in this game next year. Three-peat.”
With pop star Taylor Swift watching boyfriend Kelce from a suite, the Chiefs captured their third title in five years, a run that puts them among the league’s greatest franchises.
“Well, you know the goal has always been to get three,” Kelce screamed on stage after sharing a kiss with Swift. “But we couldn’t get here without getting that two, and having that target on our back all year. … How about that. We get a chance to do it three times in a row.”
Mahomes completed some game-changing passes and utilized his wheels and athleticism for a pair of first downs on the final drive of overtime. Needing a field goal to tie the game and a touchdown to win, Mahomes connected with Mecole Hardman for a 3-yard touchdown and the 25-22 victory. Hardman started the year with the New York Jets but found his way back to the place where his career took off. With that score, Mahomes added another ring, another Super Bowl MVP award and another chapter to his legend. He accumulate 333 yards passing and two touchdowns.
Super Bowl LVIII started at a snails pace with little rhythm to speak of before turning into an instant classic, with each team coming up with huge drives in the final minutes of regulation and overtime.
Brock Purdy led a drive that ended in a field goal and a 19-16 49ers lead with less than two minutes remaining. Then Mahomes responded, engineering a drive in the final two minutes of the fourth, and Harrison Butker booted a field goal with three seconds left to tie the game. It was just the second time a Super Bowl has gone to overtime, joining Super Bowl LI between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons.
“We have the offense to score touchdowns and I failed to put the team in position to do that,” Purdy said.
The 49ers scored a field goal to start overtime, but the Chiefs were guaranteed a possession as part of the NFL’s new postseason overtime rules. Mahomes needed a touchdown to win, and everyone in Allegiant Stadium, which is the 27th venue to host a Super Bowl, knew how the story was going to end.
The 49ers came out hot to start Sunday. They had 46 yards on their first four plays. Even though that drive ended abruptly, with a fumble by the normally sure-handed Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey, who has lost just four regular-season fumbles on more than 1,800 touches, San Francisco’s defense was fantastic from the start. The Niners flustered Mahomes with a good pass rush, took Kelce away and out of the game for the first half and never let the Chiefs get comfortable and find their groove.
The most excitement in the first half came when a frustrated Kelce bumped Andy Reid on the sideline, knocking the Chiefs’ 65-year-old coach several steps back after teammate Isiah Pacheco fumbled inside the red zone during the second quarter.
“You guys saw that?” Kelce said. “I’m going to keep it between us unless my ‘mic’d up’ tells the world. I was just telling him how much I loved him.”
The 49ers’ issue were that its offense moved the ball with ease at times, but scoring was the ultimate challenge. The Niners led 3-0 when they went deep into the playbook. 49ers receiver Jauan Jennings, a highly recruited high school quarterback, caught a backward pass at the snap. He paused for a moment, then turned and threw to McCaffrey on the other side of the field. McCaffrey had a clear lane to the end zone and a 21-yard touchdown.
Defense was the name of the game before the break, and the 49ers were the better team over the first 30 minutes. It would have been worse for the Chiefs if they had not put together a drive late in the first half and kicked a field goal. Those were their only points of the half, and they went to the locker room trailing by a touchdown, 10-3, when Usher came out to perform.
For all that had gone wrong for the Chiefs in the first half, they were behind by only a score to start the second half. They trailed 24-14 in the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles last year and came back to win, 38-35. In both scenarios, they had the NFL’s ultimate deodorant in Mahomes.
The Chiefs defense held after a Mahomes interception to start the third quarter, then a 22-yard scamper by Mahomes set up a field goal. Kansas City trailed 10-6.
Embed from Getty ImagesThen the Chiefs got a massive break to take the lead. A Kansas City punt hit 49ers rookie Darrell Luter’s foot as it landed, making it a live ball. Ray-Ray McCloud attempted to pick it up, but he could not and the Chiefs recovered. Marquez Valdes-Scantling was wide open for a 16-yard touchdown on the ensuing play, and the Chiefs suddenly had their first lead, 13-10.
Not long after, a fourth-down conversion on a bold call by Kyle Shanahan led to a touchdown catch by Jennings, and the 49ers got the lead back 16-13, but their extra point was blocked. That missed point ended up being enormous in the outcome of the game. The Chiefs soon tied it, and then the 49ers took a 19-16 lead with 1:53 to go.
Giving Mahomes that much time needing just a field goal to force overtime seemed to be almost automatic. He faced a third-and-2 but beat the 49ers’ blitz with a quick dump off to Jerick McKinnon for 7 yards. That put the Chiefs on the edge of field-goal range. Then he hit Kelce for a gain of 23. The Chiefs had six seconds and a timeout at their disposal after an incompletion, but head coach Andy Reid did not risk it and had Butker kick a field goal for the tie.
The Chiefs thought they had forced a quick punt to start the extra session, but Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie was called for holding. That penalty allowed the 49ers to get a drive going, and they ended up getting a field goal to take a tenuous 22-19 advantage.
On the Chiefs’ overtime drive, they faced a fourth-and-1 with the Super Bowl hanging in the balance. Mahomes ran for a first down to keep the game alive. He later hooked up with Rashee Rice for a critical first down on third-and-6. Then Mahomes ran for another first down. Finally, he found Hardman for the walk-off winner.
“With all the adversity we’ve been through this season to come through tonight. … I’m proud of the guys,” said Mahomes, who earned his third Super Bowl MVP award. “This is awesome. Legendary.”
The Chiefs had an up-and-down season, posting an 11-6 record. But they had Mahomes, and that is what mattered the most in winning another title.
There were plenty of stars in the building as the NFL brought its biggest game to this gambling mecca, once a controversial idea. Jay-Z, Beyonce, LeBron James and Sir Paul McCartney were among the celebrities in the crowd. Also in attendance were Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Lady Gaga, Gayle King, and Wayne Newton, just to name a few.
Post Malone sang “America the Beautiful,” Reba McEntire performed the national anthem and Usher electrified the crowd at halftime. He brought out a number of guests, including Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon and Ludacris.
Fans will get to celebrate the Chiefs on Wednesday, Valentine’s Day. The Kansas City Sports Commission released the official route and timing late Sunday night, KMBC-TV reported. The parade will begin at 11 a.m. central time.
