After a long two weeks leading up to the big game, Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas finally arrived. The Chiefs, who struggled this year and were initially counted out, found themselves back on the big stage for the second year in a row and the fourth time in five years. It is safe to say that a dynasty has begun, and the Chiefs are just getting started. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City’s award-winning quarterback, would win his third Super Bowl MVP en route to the victory, completing 33 of his 46 passing attempts to finish with 399 total yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.
At the very beginning of the game, the 49ers shot out of a cannon, averaging 16 yards on their first three plays. Right when the 49ers were about to enter the redzone, the Chiefs punched it out of Christian McCaffrey’s hand’s to put an end to their hot start. But the 49ers defense would not budge. This drought continued for the rest of the first quarter; the first score of the game coming from 54 yards out thanks to Jake Moody of the 49ers. Not only did he score the first points of the game, but he also hit the longest field goal in Super Bowl history.
On the next drive, Mahomes would respond with a 52-yard bomb to Mecole Hardman to set up the Chiefs at the 10-yard line. On the next play, Isiah Pacheco fumbled the ball to give it right back to the 49ers. With 4:32 left in the first half, the 49ers dialed up a trick play, and Juwan Jennings threw it to McCaffrey for the game’s first touchdown. Just before the first half ended, Harrison Butker would put a 28-yard field goal through the uprights to finally put the Chiefs on the board.
Butker would also break Moody’s fresh record, nailing a 57-yard field goal to open the scoring in the second half, making it a 10-6 game. Late in the third quarter, the 49ers muffed a punt, and the Chiefs found themselves in scoring position. Mahomes wasted no time, finding receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling wide open for a touchdown to give them their first lead of the night.
Just a few minutes later, George Kittle converted a fourth and a third in the red zone, setting up Jennings’ second touchdown of the evening. But when Moody came on the field for the extra point attempt, the Chiefs would stuff the kick to keep the game at 16-13.
On the next drive, Butker knocked down a 24-yard field goal to even the score. With 1:57 left in regulation, Moody drilled a 53-yard field goal. Butker responded with a 29-yard field goal to send the game into overtime for only the second time in Super Bowl history.
The 49ers won the toss and elected to receive the ball first, not knowing about the new rules regarding overtime in the playoffs. The Chiefs defense forced a field goal, giving Kansas City the chance to kick a field goal to keep the game going or score a touchdown to win it. Mahomes drove down the field and found Hardman in the endzone for a 3-yard touchdown pass and his third Super Bowl ring.
“I think that this is the beginning of a dynasty for the Chiefs. You can’t doubt Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce in the playoffs because they’ve proved they are great game managers and can come back and win in moments when they’re needed most. They’re hungry for more as they want to ‘three-peat’ this season,” junior Frank Sirufo said.
Early in the game, Mahomes did not get off to the start that he was looking for, not able to get anything going for the offense in the first half. It would not get much better in the second half, as he threw his first postseason interception on the opening drive of the third quarter. From there, things turned around, as while facing a 4th and 1 on their own 34-yard line, Mahomes took a designed run for the first down to keep the season alive. He then completed five consecutive passes to lead Kansas City into 49ers territory. Once again, on a crucial third and one situation, Mahomes ran for 15 yards to pick up the first down, which would lead to the game winning touchdown.
When asked if he ever counted out the Chiefs, when the 49ers were up 10-3 and the momentum was swinging their way, junior Luca Palleschi said, “I believed that although the 49ers defense was elite, Mahomes is just too good. We saw him come back many other times in much larger deficits. I believed that it was inevitable that he would come back.”
When asked if he thinks that Patrick Mahomes will surpass Tom Brady as the greatest quarterback of all time, social studies teacher Michael King said, “While Mahomes is clearly a great quarterback, it is far too early to claim he will surpass Brady. The fact that Brady went 9-9 in Super Bowl appearances, including one ring past his age-40 season, is really unheard of. Greatness is not just measured by Super Bowl wins and longevity, but dominance. The Patriots, while blessed with an awful division for most of Brady’s career, were totally dominant, including a perfect regular season. Even this season, the Chiefs lost 6 games…hardly dominance.”
