Super Bowl LIV began as an underwhelming offensive show in what was thought to be an offensive shootout. Both quarterbacks put up decent performances in the first half, but it seemed that head coaches Andy Reid and Kyle Shannahan were playing it fairly conservative with short pass plays resulting in just 10 points on the board for each team.
San Francisco exploded in the second quarter and continued into the third quarter as they scored 17 unanswered points. The 49ers’ defense put immense pressure on Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes (Tyler, Texas), while their secondary positioned themselves in the right places at the right times, picking off Mahomes on back-to-back drives.
But as all of America saw throughout the playoffs, Mahomes is the last quarterback to count out after massive comebacks; the Chiefs were down 24-0 in the division round against the Texans and 17-7 in the AFC Championship against the Titans.
“We never lost faith,” Mahomes said. “That’s the biggest thing. Everybody on this team, no one had their head down.”
The Chiefs’ defense was looking especially humiliated being down, as safety Tyrann Mathieu (New Orleans, La.) could be seen getting hot on the sidelines after the 49ers took the 20-10 lead. The Chiefs were able to channel that frustration in the fourth quarter, disrupting Garoppolo’s smooth passing game to give Reid’s offense yet another chance at a miraculous comeback.
Mahomes’ heroics came to life one last time, this time with under seven minutes to play. Another memorable part of the script was written on a third down and 15 yards with a deep pass to Tyreek Hill to place the Chiefs in scoring position.
That drive was followed by a quick three and out by the young Chiefs’ defense, led by one of the NFL’s great defensive minds Steve Spagnuolo, before Mahomes led yet another stellar drive, hitting his other favorite wide receiver target Sammy Watkins (Ft Myers, Fla.) for 38 yards before finding running back Damian Williams (San Diego, Calif.) in the end zone to put the Chiefs on top 24-20.
With a little over two minutes left, Garoppolo had a chance to spoil the Chiefs’ comeback, but he could not find an answer to the stingy defense.
Reid earned his first Super Bowl victory as a head coach, the one thing he was missing in his monumental head coaching career.
“This is what it’s all about,” Reid said. “What a great team, great coaches. Appreciate every bit of it.”
The NFL’s 100th season could not have been capped off any better by the Chiefs as the franchise captured their second Lombardi Trophy and their first in 50 years.
