Chiefs squander late scoring opportunity and Super Bowl is tied 10-10 at halftime
Super Bowl 54 between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers is tied 10-10 at halftime.
After a jittery opening drive, the Chiefs responded with a nice mixture of rushing and passing to score their first Super Bowl touchdown since Otis Taylor took Len Dawson’s short pass and turned it into a 46-yard score in Super Bowl IV.
The Chiefs drove 75 yards in 15 plays with running back Damien Williams covering 25, including a couple of first-down runs.
Mahomes went five for seven for 40 yards, and his keeper on a scramble nearly got the Chiefs a first down at the 4. But Mahomes was hit hard by safety Jimmy Ward and fumbled the ball out of bounds, 1 yard short of the first down.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid sent the field goal unit on the field during a pause in the game. During the commercial, Reid changed his mind, the offense returned to the field, and the play called hadn’t been used by the Chiefs this season.
Wide receivers Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson lined up on either side of Mahomes with Williams behind him. The four spun in unison. Robinson went in motion, the snap appeared to go to Mahomes, who faked a toss. In reality, Williams got the snap. A hole opened for Williams to gain 4 yards to the 1.
Two plays later, Mahomes got into the end zone on an option keeper as the Chiefs took a 7-3 lead.
The Chiefs defense then came up with the next big play. Chris Jones flushed Jimmy Garoppolo and Mike Pennel applied the hit as Garoppolo flung a pass that never should have left his hand.
Cornerback Bashaud Breeland stepped in front of the underthrown pass for the interception at the Chiefs 44.
A Mahomes to Watkins 28-yard completion got the drive started. It stalled at the 13 and Harrison Butker booted a 31-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead.
The 49ers came right back. Garapollo found fullback Kyle Juszczyk open over the middle. He broke free from a Daniel Sorsensen tackle and got into the end zone from 15 yards.
The Chiefs were content to take what the 49ers were allowing underneath. Mahomes didn’t have a big yardage half, completing 12 of 18 for 104 yards.
A poor play calling sequence toward the end of the first half proved costly for the Chiefs.
The Chiefs had second-and-8 at the 49ers’ 46. On the first play after the two-minute warning, Mecole Hardman lost 6 yards on an end around and ran out of bounds. The third down play was a conservative short pass to Williams that netted 1 yard.
Instead of attacking, the Chiefs gave the ball back and lost a scoring opportunity.
The 49ers get the ball to open the second half.
First series jitters for the Chiefs?
The 49ers won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, giving the Chiefs the ball first. Mecole Hardman’s kick return set up the Chiefs at the 26 and a nice gain of 7 yards by Damien Williams on first down set up the Chiefs in good position.
But Joey Bosa deflected Mahomes’ short attempt to Williams, and Mahomes’ third-down attempt was rushed. A three-and-out to start the game for Kansas City.
This story was originally published February 2, 2020 at 7:05 PM.