Patrick Mahomes leads Chiefs’ comeback against 49ers to win Super Bowl 31-20
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — It happened once again, the Kansas City Chiefs were down double digits again this postseason and came back to win, while a Kyle Shanahan coached-team blew another double-digit 4th quarter lead in a Super Bowl.
It all went down Sunday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami when the Chiefs scored 21 unanswered 4th quarter points in the final 6:13 of the game to beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl 54. It’s the Chief’s first Super Bowl title since 1970.
Down 20-10 with 7:35 left in the game with Super Bowl 54, MVP Patrick Mahomes hit Tyreek Hill for a 44-yard completion on third and 15. That’s the spark the Chiefs needed to start another comeback. Mahomes threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce to cut the deficit to 20-17 later in the drive.
Mahomes, then lead the game-winning touchdown drive throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Damien Williams to go-ahead 24-20. After a 4th down sack by Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark. Williams then iced the game with a 38- yard touchdown run to clinch the win and come back for the Chiefs.
“We never lost faith,” Mahomes said, “That’s the biggest thing. Everybody on this team, no one had their head down. We believed in each other. That’s what we preached all year long.” The 24-year-old former MVP was held in check through three quarters by the 49ers defense. However, Mahomes did not panic in the fourth quarter going 10-of-16 for 141 yards and two touchdowns, to shake off two second-half interceptions. Mahome’s final stat line for the game was 286 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
For Andy Reid, he finally got to soak in his Super Bowl moment of glory after waiting 21 years, the longest wait for any head coach in NFL history. “This is what it’s all about,” Reid said. “What a great team, great coaches. Appreciate every bit of it.”
Of course, how was Reid going to celebrate his first Super Bowl title? “I’m gonna go get the biggest cheeseburger you’ve ever seen. Might be a double,” Reid said. It was a night to remember for Reid, the Chiefs, and their fans but a night to forget for the 49ers.
The 49ers tasted the Vince Lombardi Trophy after Raheem Mostert the NFC Championship hero surged in for a 1-yard touchdown run that put the 49ers up 20-10 going into the 4th quarter. However, just like it did three years ago when he was the offensive coordinator of the Altana Falcons in Super Bowl 51 everything fell apart for San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan.
“It hurts everybody,” Shanahan said. “We had opportunities to win and we came up short.”
In Shanahan’s two games coaching in the Super Bowl, his teams have been outscored 46-0 in the 4th quarter and overtime. A common theme in both collapses was the lack of running the ball to run out the clock. “We were just grateful those guys got out of the run and started to throw the ball,” Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu said.
Down the stretch, the game and a Super Bowl championship was put in the hands of franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo who finished the game going 20-31 for 219 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
“You’re paying the guy [$137 million dollars]. He’s gotta throw the ball. Obviously, he didn’t do that,” Clark said. Garoppolo overthrew a pass to Emmanuel Sanders that if caught, would set up the 49ers the retake the lead late in the game.
“We missed some shots tonight,” Garoppolo said. “Just some plays that we normally make so it’s a tough one.”
But In the end, the Chiefs finished off a Super Bowl championship following the formula that got them to reach Super Bowl 54.
“We have an ability as a team to figure out what the other team is doing and put our foot in the ground and say, ‘Enough is enough,” Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said. “It’s special. We showed it throughout the playoffs and showed it even more tonight.”
