It was an exciting and well-fought battle in Las Vegas, marking the first time the Super Bowl has been held in Nevada. The Kansas City Chiefs have truly become the reincarnation of the New England Patriots, being the first team to win the Super Bowl back-to-back seasons in 20 years.
The first quarter was a defensive stalemate, with neither team being able to convert their first drives into any points.
To open the second quarter, the 49ers kicker, Jake Moody, broke the NFL’s record for the longest field goal in the history of the Super Bowl, with a 55-yard bomb. San Fransisco was able to fend off the Chiefs offense again, getting the ball back. Then they bamboozled Kansas City’s defense with a trick play, letting one of the 49ers wide receivers, Jauan Jennings, throw a 22-yard touchdown to their running back, Christian McCaffery. With under a minute left, the Chiefs kicker, Harrison Butker, was able to put up a 28-yard field goal before halftime, making the score 10-3.
This year’s halftime show saw Usher headlining, celebrating his biggest hits throughout his career, and showcasing and promoting his newest album, Coming Home, which came out on Feb. 9, two days before the performance. Alongside him, Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon and Ludacris each showed up to help make the show feel exciting and unpredictable.
The Chiefs came out of the break looking reinvigorated. They were able to prevent the 49ers from scoring throughout the third quarter. Meanwhile, the record for longest field goal was broken for the second time in the night, this time for 57 yards by Butker. After this, they scored again with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Marquez Valdes-Scantling to take a 13-10 lead.
The fourth quarter was electric on both sides. The 49ers took the lead back with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Brock Purdy to Jennings, making him the second player in NFL history to pass and receive a touchdown in the same
Super Bowl, along with Nick Foles. However, immediately after, Moody’s extra point was blocked, only putting them up three instead of four. The Chiefs were able to drive down and tie the game with another field goal from Butker, followed by another deep field goal from Moody to take the lead back again with under two minutes left. Mahomes led his team down the field in crunch time, allowing Butker to put up another field goal to tie the game as the clock ran out.
Moving into overtime, the 49ers drove down the field but then stalled out, only able to get another field goal from Moody. Then the Chiefs put an end to the back and forth with a touchdown pass from Mahomes to Mecole Hardman Jr.
To nobody’s surprise, Patrick Mahomes was awarded the title of Super Bowl MVP for the third time in his career. Their status as the NFL’s newest dynasty has been secured in case anybody was still doubting them. Now the question is, what team will challenge them for it in the coming seasons?
