The cardiac kids did it: Charting struggles, joyous rise in Chiefs’ Super Bowl triumph
The Chiefs claimed the shiny Vince Lombardi Trophy for the first time in 50 years with their come-from-behind 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
Here’s how it played out Sunday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
The flip, and flop
Things didn’t start very well for Kansas City. San Francisco won the opening coin toss and elected to defer, leaving the Chiefs to receive and defend the west end zone. They opened with a nice run to the right by Damien Williams but proceeded to go three-and-out.
The 49ers took Dustin Colquitt’s punt deep in their own territory but were methodical in the drive that followed, including a 32-yard run to the right by Deebo Samuel that required a touchdown-saving tackle by Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu.
The Chiefs limited the Niners to a 38-yard field goal by Robbie Gould, and trailed 3-0 — perhaps not so worrisome considering they’d found themselves down by 24 points against the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional Round game and by 10 to the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game.
Still, not the start Chiefs Kingdom had hoped for.
Warming up ...
Then the Chiefs went to work. They went 62 yards in 10 plays, a drive that consumed 5 minutes, 58 seconds and ended with Mahomes’ 1-yard run for a touchdown. The eventual Super Bowl MVP became the first QB to score a rushing TD in a Super Bowl since Colin Kaepernick in Super Bowl XLVII.
That’s where the first quarter ended, the Chiefs ahead 7-3 after Harrison Butker’s extra point. For the Chiefs, it was a clear improvement over the scores after one quarter in their first two playoff games of this postseason, when they trailed the Texans 21-0 and Titans 10-7.
Niners pull even
The Niners started the second quarter with the ball, but Chiefs cornerback Bashaud Breeland picked off Jimmy Garoppolo on second down, and KC was in business again.
The Chiefs followed with a nine-play, 43-yard drive capped by a 38-yard field goal by Butker that made it 10-3 Kansas City. But Garoppolo was better on the 49ers’ next drive, and so was the vaunted San Francisco rushing attack.
The Niners had the Chiefs on their heels during a methodical 80-yard march capped by Garoppolo’s TD pass to Kyle Juszczyk.
At the two-minute warning, the Chiefs faced second-and-8 at San Francisco’s 46. Their drive ended in a Colquitt punt that Byron Pringle almost downed near the goal line. Instead, it was a touchback and the 49ers took over at their own 20 with 59 seconds remaining until intermission.
It was 10-10 at the break.
Bleak third quarter
If Garoppolo started the game cold, he sure heated up after halftime. By the time the third quarter came to a close, he was 17 of 20 for 183 yards. And he didn’t need to get the Niners into the end zone because his teammates stepped up, too.
While San Francisco’s defensive front (especially defensive end Nick Bosa) harassed Mahomes nonstop, Gould punctuated a nine-play, 60-yard drive with a 42-yard field goal.
Bosa sacked Mahomes and forced a fumble that the Chiefs were fortunate to recover, and on the next play KC’s star quarterback threw an interception right into the chest of Niners linebacker Fred Warner.
Garoppolo stepped into a nice pass for a long gain in the flat to wide receiver Kendrick Burne, converting a third-and-8 from the Chiefs’ 37. Another completion to Juszczyk brought the 49ers to the Chiefs’ 1, and Raheem Mostert plunged in for the short touchdown on the next play. San Francisco led 20-10.
Desperation time
Suddenly the Chiefs were clawing for anything they could get. And things were about to get worse.
Mahomes’ second career postseason pick came early in the fourth quarter of his first Super Bowl. He’d entered this game with 11 playoff touchdowns and zero interceptions in the postseason.
He had a career-low passer rating of 49.78 in Sunday’s game as the Chiefs dug in for their second drive of the final period of their first Super Bowl in five decades. But they still had confidence that Sunday’s misfires were an aberration — it was the first time in 440 days Mahomes had thrown more than one pick in a game.
The comeback
Starting at their own 17, the Chiefs put together a nice drive highlighted by a 44-yard completion from Mahomes to Tyreek Hill on third and long. San Francisco’s Tarvarius Moore was flagged for pass interference in the end zone on a throw intended for Kelce, setting up the Chiefs at the Niners’ 1, and Mahomes found Kelce on the next play for a touchdown.
The crowd was awake again, the Chiefs down just three after their 10-play, 83-yard drive in a mere 2:43.
With 6:13 remaining in the game, it was time for defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s guys to show what they were made of. They did, stopping the Niners and forcing a punt.
Mahomes then hit Sammy Watkins and Hill for long passes that put the latter over 100 yards receiving on eight catches. Watkins, who caught a perfect spiral in stride down the right sideline for a 38-yard gain, was now at 98 yards receiving on five catches ... and the Chiefs fans in attendance were back on their feet.
On third-and-goal from the 5, Mahomes put the Chiefs ahead 24-20 with less than 3 minutes left on a TD toss to Damien Williams that was upheld on review.
The Chiefs came up with yet another defensive stop, and Williams put the icing on the cake with a touchdown run down the left sideline.
Ballgame. The Chiefs had overcome double-digit deficits in all three of their postseason games en route to their first world championship in half a century.