Mahomes’ magic shocks the 49ers
Kansas City Chiefs win dramatic Super Bowl
February 12, 2024, 4:52 a.m
The Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl for the fourth time. The team around star quarterback Patrick Mahomes defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas after overtime. Both teams can’t live up to their great expectations for a long time – in the end it becomes dramatic.
The Kansas City Chiefs around quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Taylor Swift friend Travis Kelce have won the Super Bowl again and became the first NFL team to successfully defend the title in 19 years. The football team in Las Vegas prevailed against the San Francisco 49ers 25:22 after only the second overtime in the history of the Super Bowl, which ended in a very exciting game. As in the victories last year against the Philadelphia Eagles and four years ago against the 49ers, the Chiefs turned around a ten-point deficit and showed their quality late on.
For Mahomes, Kelce and coach Andy Reid as well as several other teammates, it was the third Super Bowl victory in five years. The 49ers, on the other hand, missed their sixth triumph – this record is still held by the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mahomes’ second touchdown to Mecole Hardman decided the game. Mahomes finished with 333 yards on passes. Kelce had a weak first half and still managed 93 yards in the end. Purdy finished the game with 255 passing yards. 49ers professional Juan Jennings managed both a touchdown pass and a touchdown himself in the gambling metropolis in the Nevada desert.
After the national anthem and the first appearance of pop superstar Swift on the video walls in the stadium, the 49ers got started. Purdy showed no signs of nervousness in his first Super Bowl and led the offense almost the entire field – but then running back Christian McCaffrey had the ball ripped out of his hands.
San Francisco comes into play better
That’s how it went at first. The 49ers appeared more alert, more aggressive and stronger, but received many unnecessary penalties for holding or being offside. There was no sign of the Chiefs’ much greater Super Bowl experience. The team around Mahomes and Kelce didn’t get going at all. 49ers kicker Jake Moody scored a 55-yard field goal for the 49ers, setting a Super Bowl record – which was later beaten by Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker by two yards.
Mahomes responded with the longest throw of the game to date, hurling the football 53 yards to Hardman. Nine yards separated the defending champions from the end zone, but this time Isaiah Pacheco couldn’t hold on to the ball and the 49ers regained control. Kelce was not on the court in this situation and then stormed angrily at his coach Andy Reid and even threw him off balance.
McCaffrey corrected his early mistake and scored the first touchdown of the game – after a trick play in which Purdy first threw the ball to Jennings and Jennings then passed it to McCaffrey. The acoustically superior 49ers fans among the approximately 60,000 spectators with stars and celebrities such as LeBron James, Beyoncé, Paul McCartney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Justin Bieber and Jay-Z and the more than 100 million in the USA cheered.
Taylor Swift booed
Swift was also booed when she appeared on the video screen. The 34-year-old then emptied the drink cup she was holding in her hand in one go and slammed it on the table in front of her. Swift arrived in time for the Super Bowl after a concert in Tokyo on Saturday evening. At first she didn’t see an encouraging performance from her friend Kelce’s team. Like four years ago in Miami, when the Chiefs won 31:20, the 49ers were ten points ahead. Because Chiefs kicker Butker scored a field goal with Usher before the halftime show, the Chiefs’ halftime deficit was limited.
After Usher and his guests Alicia Keys, HER and rappers Ludacris and Lil Jon were finished and the stage was dismantled, the Chiefs made another mistake. First a short return pass from Mahomes to Pacheco fell to the ground, then the highly decorated star quarterback threw into the hands of a 49ers defender on the next play – something that hadn’t happened to him in 218 passes in the playoffs.
Dramatic ending
In the game, which for a long time lived on tension and hardly on spectacular scenes, it took until five minutes before the end of the third quarter before Butker shortened the score to 6:10 from 57 yards. Then it was another mistake by the 49ers that gave the Chiefs a chance – this time they took advantage of the opportunity. After a lost punt, Mahomes threw the ball 16 yards into the end zone to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The Chiefs led 13:10 and suddenly had a streak of 13 points in a row.
Because Jennings didn’t let himself be pulled down a little later and caught a pass for six points after the touchdown throw, the 49ers took the lead again, but only by three points. Because Moody missed the extra point. Butker tied the score with another field goal. Moody and Butker each scored another field goal. In overtime, the 49ers only managed a field goal, but the Chiefs scored a touchdown through Hardman. That was the difference between great celebration and great disappointment.