MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The fear in picking the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV was that the Kansas City Chiefs would mount a late-game comeback to win.
And that’s exactly what happened Sunday when the Chiefs came back from 20-10 to beat the 49ers 31-20. The Chiefs were slightly more unstoppable than they were last season when they did everything they could but simply couldn’t outlast the New England Patriots in an AFC Championship Game loss. The Chiefs added some pieces over the offseason — mostly on defense — that helped them limit the 49ers’ scoring. And they were shaped by that 2018 postseason loss.
They held onto it over the offseason and through this year’s AFC championship win over the Tennessee Titans. And they used it to win it all and come away with a Lombardi Trophy.
It was the Chiefs’ offense, led by Patrick Mahomes overcoming two costly interceptions, who left a lasting impression on NFL fans in Super Bowl LIV.
Mahomes went 26-of-42 for 286 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He carried the ball nine times for 29 yards, including kneel-downs, with another touchdown. It was a pedestrian performance by his standards. But those interceptions didn’t really matter when Mahomes was leading the Chiefs down the field in hurried fashion on consecutive fourth-quarter scoring drives.
The first took 10 plays to go 68 yards in just 2:40. The second was slightly longer in duration — over three minutes — to go 65 yards on seven plays.
Mahomes delivered one of those lofting, floating passes to Tyreek Hill on the first fourth-quarter drive that makes you wonder how a defender didn’t have time to catch up. But Hill’s simply too fast and gains so much separation, and Mahomes’ placement is perfect. Even a pass that seems like a pop fly is still leading his receiver away from defenders. He threw another one to Sammy Watkins early in the game. They seem to defy geography, yet they work.
It’s too early to say this is a changing of the guard in the AFC. The Patriots have still made four of the last six Super Bowls and won four of them. But if the Chiefs can maintain this level of offensive production, they will be almost impossible to stop.
The 49ers were built as well as any team to beat them. They should have been able to run against the Chiefs’ defensive front. They had one of the league’s best defenses to slow down Mahomes and Kansas City’s passing attack. But the Chiefs were too unstoppable. They have almost limitless offensive production in short periods of time. And now they’re Super Bowl champions.
