There is nothing like ending another football season with a competitive and entertaining super bowl. I feel that a lot of the super bowls I have enjoyed over the years have turned into star-studded evens and media circuses. The football game is a one-sided affair. Not this year. The Kansas City Chiefs beating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 last night, snatching Super Bowl LVIII from the San Francisco 49ers was great, and is a sports fanatic, it made me smile. First the Niners had the lead 19-16 in the fourth quarter and I’m thinking, “San Fran’s gonna win this game.” But then, KC ties it up. The game goes to overtime. Only thing I could say was “Wow!”
The game started off sloppy and uneventful. Both teams had trouble holding on to the football as San Francisco’s running back Christian McCaffrey fumbled on the 9ers’ first possession and Kansas City running back Isaiah Pacheco fumbled in the red zone during the second quarter. Both teams had their share of penalties which hurt them. The game was scoreless until 49ers kicker Jake Moody kicked a 55-yard field goal, which was then a super bowl record for longest field goal, making the score 3-0. Shortly after, 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings somehow threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey, making the score 10-0. I was starting to get worried, as I almost never pull for the San Francisco 49ers, but when KC’s kicker Harrison Butker kicked a 57-yard field goal near the end of the first half, breaking the record, just seemed like here might be a good back-and-forth game in store for the second half. The score was 10-3 Niners at halftime.
The Chiefs weren’t worried about being down 10-0 and then 10-3 at halftime. They trailed 10-0 in all three of their super bowl victories, including last year when they came back to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII. So, being down 10-6 in the third quarter, the action picked up when a crucial mistake by the 49ers on special teams gave KC the ball beyond the San Francisco 20-yard line. That set up Patrick Mahomes’ 16-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, giving the Chiefs their first lead of the game at 13-10.
And the game was officially, on! 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy tossed a touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings, giving San Francisco back the lead at 16-13, because Moody missed the extra point. Into the fourth quarter, the Chiefs tied the game at 16, then Jake Moody gave the lead back to San Fran at 19-16 with 1:53 remaining in the fourth quarter.
But when you have an all-star quarterback like Patrick Mahomes, who has won two MVP trophies in two prior super bowls, like I said, they worried not. It started with Mahomes’ short but effective 9-yard pass to tight end Travis Kelce which moved the ball from the KC 25 to their 34-yard line. Mahomes had a couple of incomplete passes on this drive, but the possession featured a 12-yard pass, an 8-yard pass, two quarterback scrambles, and a 22-yard pass to Travis Kelce on 3rd and 7, on the San Francisco 33-yard line, and with 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter, to put KC at the 11. After an injury timeout on the long pass play and an incomplete complete pass, Harrison Butker kicked a 29-yard game tying field goal with 3 seconds left, basically sending the Super Bowl to overtime.
In the overtime, San Francisco had the chance to do more on their opening drive, but they only got a field goal out of a holding call on KC’s Trent McDuffie and moving the ball to the Chiefs’ 9-yard line. Then, with the overtime score 19-16 San Fran, the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes got the ball and they did what they do. They methodically moved down the field, culminating in a quick 3-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to Mecole Hardman, winning Super Bowl LVIIII by three points. What a game!
All week last week, everyone I talked to about the super bowl asked me “Who are you pulling for?” Probably the most popular sports question. I told them, I didn’t have a “Dog in the fight”, I just wanted a good game. I wanted to sit back, turn on the SiriusXM app on my phone, enjoy a little adult beverage, and listen to the Super Bowl, before I have to go back to work the next day. I believe I got my wish. And, the 9ers lost. I almost never go for the San Francisco 49ers and because it is Black History Month, I’m going for the black quarterback. Also, besides the rainy weather, it wasn’t even a bad day at work.
I think it’s safe to say that Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, coach Andy Reid, and the Kansas City Chiefs are officially an NFL dynasty. They have managed to win back-to-back super bowls, the first team to do so since the New England Patriots of 2003 and 2004. This is their third super bowl victory in five years, the first coming in the 2019 season against the San Francisco 49ers. These things are hard and nearly impossible to do in the National Football League. I’d say, that makes them a dynasty. And what’s crazy, is Patrick Mahomes is only 28-years-old and hopefully has five or six more years of prime left. This means, there will be more. I can’t wait! But, that’s the way to end it, and say bye bye to the football season. Now onto college basketball. And possibly, the NBA, as the Charlotte Hornets have a new and exciting team after the trade deadline. As far as my favorite NFL team, that is another post.
