Patrick Mahomes sparks a rally, fuels an epic comeback for Chiefs in Super Bowl
The Kansas City Chiefs side-stepped a half-century of frustration and stiff-armed the jaws of defeat Sunday night by mounting a late-game comeback to beat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-20, in capturing the franchise’s first Super Bowl title in 50 years.
In what was billed as a classic contrast in styles and philosophies, most prognosticators and odds-makers had the game as a virtual toss-up before kickoff. Fans were treated to game that saw lead changes in three of four quarters. Super Bowl LIV didn’t disappoint.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the 24-year-old MVP of the 2018 regular season, was named Super Bowl MVP, thus becoming the youngest player in the history of the league to win both awards. Mahomes, from Whitehouse, Texas, played at Texas Tech for three seasons before being drafted by the Chiefs in 2017.
The 11-point victory did not fully indicate how dire the Chiefs’ situation actually was. Down by 10 points with 7:17 remaining in the game and facing a 3rd-and-15 from their 35-yard-line, the Chiefs’ win probability was only 4%. But then Mahomes completed a 44-yard strike to receiver Tyreek Hill, the highlight of a 2:40 scoring drive that ended with a 1-yard pass to tight end Travis Kelce.
“It’s this team,” Mahomes said. “We have heart. We never give up. We are going to fight to the end. It’s surreal.”
For the third time in these playoffs, the Chiefs came back from a 10-point deficit to win the game. They rallied from 24 points down against the Houston Texans in the divisional round and from 10 points back to the Tennessee Titans in the AFC title game. The Chiefs are the first team in NFL history to mount three double-digit comebacks in one postseason.
“He was encouraging to us, telling us to believe,” Hill said of Mahomes’ mindset in the huddle during the comeback. “You know, we were down 20-10 and he was telling us to believe.
“He seen it in some guys’ eyes. They were getting down, including myself. I was like, ‘Man, how are we going to pull this off?’ He said, ‘10 you got to believe, brother. You got to believe right now. It’s going to happen I can feel it.’ He brought the guys together and saw what happened. We pulled it off.”
Mahomes said he had two goals in mind when he joined the Chiefs — getting team owner Clark Hunt and his family back to the Super Bowl and to get coach Andy Reid a ring so there would be no question as to whether his 21-year resume could stand among the all-time coaching greats in NFL history.
Mission accomplished.
“Man, alive, how great is that,” exclaimed Reid, whose first ever Super Bowl title came on his 222nd career victory. “I am happy for the Hunt family. They have been through a lot over the years.”
The Chiefs won Super Bowl IV in January of 1970, but the franchise has gone decades without being close to championship contention. And no active coach had coached longer than Reid or had more wins without leading his team to a Super Bowl title. (Reid’s Philadelphia Eagles lost the championship to the New England Patriots 15 years ago.)
“He is one of the best coaches of all-time,” Mahomes said of Reid. “He was way before he got this trophy. He deserved it. I am glad we were able to get that trophy for him.”
But triumph hardly comes without trauma, and Chiefs’ fans have known that all too well since their team defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. So when the 49ers took a 20-10 lead in the third quarter it looked as though the string of unrealized dreams was going to continue for at least another season.
After recovering his own fumble on a strip sack by 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, Mahomes forced a pass to Hill into coverage on 3rd and 12. The ball went right into the hands of linebacker Fred Warner, giving the 49ers a first down at San Francisco’s 45-yard line.
“The third quarter didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” Mahomes said. ”I tried to force some things. They guys believed in me. We kept fighting and found a way.”
It wasn’t Mahomes’ best game (286 yards passing, three touchdowns, two passing and one on the ground, and two interceptions), but he was at his best when it mattered most, passing for 141 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter against a ferocious 49ers defense that had ranked first in the league against the pass.
“[Mahomes] kept firing,” Reid said. “That is what he did. The guys around him just believed in him. And our defense had a couple of great stands in there.”
In the fourth quarter, Kansas City outscored San Francisco 21-0, and the Chiefs defense gave Mahomes the opportunity to work his magic. After the Kelce score pulled the Chiefs to within three, 20-17, Mahomes led the Chiefs 65 yards to take the lead with 2:44 left in the game. The highlight was a 38-yard pass to Sammy Watkins. Three plays later, running back Damien Williams took a short toss from Mahomes. Williams evaded a defender and stuck the nose of the ball over the goal line just inside the right pylon a split-second before stepping out of bounds to complete the five-yard scoring play. The Chiefs took a 24-20 lead.
San Francisco was unable to do anything offensively down the stretch, and they had to turn the ball over on downs. Williams, who had 104 yards rushing on the night, iced the scoring with a 38-yard touchdown run with 1:12 remaining.
Kansas City’s defense stiffened exactly the perfect time. San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was limited to just 36 yards in the fourth quarter, completing only three of 11 pass attempts. The 49ers managed just three first downs in the final stanza, and coach Kyle Shanahan now has two blown double-digit fourth-quarter leads in the Super Bowl on his resume.
He was the offensive coordinator for an Atlanta Falcons squad that three years ago was up 28-3 on the New England Patriots, ultimately falling in overtime, 34-28.
That comeback was engineered by Tom Brady. This one was was led by Patrick Mahomes.
It seems like a baton has been passed in more ways that one.
This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 1:17 AM.
