Photo courtesy of CBP Photography, Flickr
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to a 31-20 victory in Super Bowl LIV on Sunday, Feb. 2.
For Mahomes, this was the 24-year-old’s first appearance in the Super Bowl. For his head coach Andy Reid, he was looking for his first ever win as a head coach in the big game. Reid previously coached the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX and came up short against the New England Patriots.
The Chiefs got the ball first to start the game and went three and out. Mahomes looked shaky and off-balance as he missed his first two pass attempts. San Francisco proceeded to go 62 yards on 10 plays for a field goal. They led 3-0.
Kansas City then went 75 yards on 15 plays to take a 7-3 lead. Mahomes scored a rushing touchdown from the one-yard line.
The Chiefs then picked off 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and settled for a field goal to increase their lead to 10-3.
The 49ers then went 80 yards in seven plays to tie the game at 10. Garoppolo found his fullback Kyle Juszczyk for a 15-yard touchdown.
The game went into halftime all knotted up with both teams loving their chances to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
The 49ers easily picked up where they left off at the end of the second quarter. San Francisco went 60 yards on nine plays to kick a field goal and lead 13-10.
On the next Chiefs possession, Mahomes was sacked and fumbled, yet he was able to recover the ball. He was then intercepted on the next play and the 49ers marched down to score a touchdown. Running back Raheem Mostert had the one-year rushing score and San Francisco led 20-10.
They had now scored 17 unanswered points, but this was a familiar position for the Chiefs. They trailed 24-0 in their first playoff game against the Texans and came back to win, and trailed 10-3 against a red-hot Titans team before winning in the AFC Championship game.
However, being down 10 points is not a spot that any team wants to be in, especially in the Super Bowl.
After throwing his second interception it looked like it was inevitable that the Chiefs’ special season was going to end there. Yet with 8:33 left in the fourth quarter, the Kansas City offense had their best drive of the game, going 83 yards on 10 plays in just 2:40 of game clock.
The play that will go down as the most memorable of the game was a third and 15 pass from Mahomes to Tyreke Hill. This set the Chiefs up at the 49ers’ 21-yard line, and just three plays later, Mahomes found his reliable tight end Travis Kelce for a one-yard touchdown pass.
At this moment, Kansas City regained all their momentum.
The 49ers went three and out, putting the ball back in the hands of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense with 5:10 left in the game. The Chiefs offense went 65 yards on seven plays in 2:26 to take a 24-20 lead.
Jimmy Garoppolo missed a deep ball to Emmanuel Sanders that could have won the 49ers the game. Kansas City got the ball back again, and running back Damian Williams broke free for a 38-yard touchdown run. This officially put the icing on the cake.
Kansas City’s faithful fans can now rejoice, as they have won their first Super Bowl in 50 years. At the age of 24, Patrick Mahomes transitioned from being a league MVP to a Super Bowl MVP and champion, all within his first two full seasons as a starter. He is already being hyped up as one of the all-time great quarterbacks.
Mahomes says that he will certainly enjoy this for a while, but soon enough his focus will be on preparing to get back to this position next season.
shenrici@ramapo.edu
