Chiefs Defeat 49ers in Second Super Bowl Overtime Game

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl LVIII, becoming the first team since the New England Patriots in Super Bowls XXXIII and XXXIX to repeat as Super Bowl Champions.

The Chiefs won on a game-winning touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Mecole Hardman in the final seconds of the first overtime period of the game. After entering the overtime period tied at 19, the Chiefs won by a final score of 25-22.

This was just the second ever Super Bowl that went into overtime. The first was Super Bowl LI, which featured the New England Patriots coming back from a 28-3 deficit in the third quarter to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28. 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan was the head coach for the Falcons in that game.

The game got off to a slow start, with neither team scoring in the first quarter and the Chiefs scored their fewest points in the first half all season, with the 49ers holding them to a field goal. The score was 10-3 at halftime in favor of the 49ers, with the Chiefs field goal coming at the halftime marker. The Chiefs players were visibly frustrated. Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty for slapping a 49ers player across the helmet. TE Travis Kelce was so frustrated after an Isaiah Pacheco fumble occurred deep in 49ers territory that he got physical with Head Coach Andy Reid. In the second half, however, the Chiefs turned on the gas. It was a strong defensive game throughout though, with both defenses coming up with critical plays to keep opposing offenses off the field, which contributed to the slow start.

Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who went 34 for 46 in the passing game, threw for 333 yards. He also ran the ball nine times for 66 yards. Mahomes sustained three sacks in the game and only had one interception, an ill-advised throw that landed in the arms of 49ers Safety Ji’Ayir Brown. Mahomes was named Super Bowl LVIII MVP.

The Chiefs leading receiver was Kelce, who had nine catches on ten targets for 93 yards, but he was nonexistent in the first half, with just one catch for one yard in the first two quarters. Wide Receiver Rashee Rice had six catches for 39 yards, and Running Back Isaiah Pacheco had six catches for 33 yards. Hardman, who had the game-winning touchdown, had three catches on the night for 57 yards. No other Chiefs receiver besides Kelce had more than three catches.

Meanwhile, Brock Purdy, 49ers quarterback, went 23 for 38 in the passing game, and threw for 258 yards. He ran the ball 3 times for 12 yards, though the bulk of the run game for the 49ers was handled by Running Back Christian McCaffrey, who ran 22 times for 80 yards.

McCaffrey was also the 49ers leading receiver; he had eight catches on as many targets for 80 yards. Beyond him, the receiving performance dropped precipitously. Wide Receiver Brandon Aiyuk had three catches on six targets for 49 yards, while fellow receiver Jauan Jennings had four catches on five targets for 42 yards. Deebo Samuel, who had eleven targets, was a relative non-factor in the game with just three catches for 33 yards.

Jennings made Super Bowl history as just the second player to have both a passing and receiving touchdown in Super Bowl play. The first player was former Eagles’ quarterback Nick Foles, who accomplished the feat in Super Bowl LII, which included the Philly Special.

The 49ers offense did a good job of staying in the game throughout, but the defense began to wear down in the second half. After holding the Chiefs to just 157 yards in the first half, the 49ers allowed 223 offensive yards to the Chiefs in the second half. Meanwhile, the 49ers were held to just 189 yards in the first half and 117 in the second.

The overtime period was the first postseason overtime period since the NFL revised the rules to require each team to possess the football in overtime before the game could be called. The 49ers, who won the coin toss to start the overtime period, marched about 66 yards downfield, but the drive stalled at the nine yard line and they had to kick a field goal.

The Chiefs then went 75 yards downfield, though they got into some sticky situations and faced a fourth down during their possession. Mahomes’ ability to extend the play, in the face of shaky wide receiver play, kept their overtime drive alive.

As the NFL heads into the offseason, the Chiefs get to celebrate their Super Bowl victory.