In a thrilling ‘Sin City’ Super Bowl showdown on Sunday, Patrick Mahomes sealed a 25-22 victory for the Kansas City Chiefs over the San Francisco 49ers in overtime. The exciting conclusion in Las Vegas lived up to the grandeur of the city’s famous Strip, propelling the Chiefs to their third Super Bowl triumph in five years. This achievement marked them as the NFL’s first repeat champions since the New England Patriots in February 2005. The Chiefs also won a fourth title under head coach Andy Reid, which ranks them with Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs for the third-most Super Bowl wins of all time.
The game was a slow, back-and-forth affair until the final minutes of regulation and into the early stages of overtime. Harrison Butker’s 29-yard field goal in the last seconds tied the score at 19-19. The teams traded possessions to set up the first-ever Super Bowl OT period.
Under the new rules for overtime, the team that gets the ball first cannot win the game immediately by scoring a touchdown; instead, they must score on their next drive to stay in the contest. The Chiefs got the ball and drew closer with each play until Christian McCaffrey’s red-zone fumble allowed Chiefs linebacker Dre Greenlaw to intercept Colin Kaepernick.
Unlike in the first half, the Chiefs’ offense took over the second half, led by Mahomes’ big plays and an improved running attack anchored by rookie Deebo Samuel and Isiah Pacheco. With the game tied in the final minutes of regulation, the Chiefs drove downfield and got into field goal range with two minutes remaining. On the ensuing kickoff, the ball hit off Darrell Luter Jr’s foot and went through the end zone, giving the Chiefs a 20-19 lead.
The teams traded possessions to start overtime, with the Chiefs getting an opening thanks to a hold on Trent McDuffie and a 5-yard penalty on San Francisco for a false start. Mahomes threw two big passes and ran for two first downs to set up the game-winning drive. On the Chiefs’ final play of the drive, Mahomes found Mecole Hardman on a 3-yard TD to seal the victory and add another chapter to his legend.
Mahomes finished 34 of 46 for 333 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He was the game’s Most Valuable Player.
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, general manager Brett Veach, and a host of players and coaches celebrated the franchise’s third Super Bowl victory in a five-year window. The victory makes the Chiefs the third-most successful franchise in league history regarding titles won and cements their status as an NFL dynasty. That’s a lot of Lombardi Trophies to earn over such a short time. The Chiefs also rank third in the NFL’s all-time winning percentage under Reid, with only the Patriots and Bears having more titles in that span. The Chiefs have become the hottest team in football for a reason and will be a challenger to New England and Chicago for some time.