The first half of Super Bowl LVIII proved so fruitless for the defending-champion Kansas City Chiefs that it drove their star tight end Travis Kelce to throw a sideline tantrum (nearly knocking over coach Andy Reid in the process), and so boring for the Allegiant Stadium crowd in Vegas that it brought his girlfriend Taylor Swift to chug a beer on the jumbotron. Swift was joined in her luxury suite (estimated cost: $2.5 million) by pals Ice Spice and Blake Lively as well as the Kelce family. The lone first-half touchdown came on a 21-yard pass to 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey from wide receiver Jauan Jennings, and the score was just 10-3 by half’s end with the 49ers on top.
But the second half was a different story.
Mahomes got his team to a 13-10 lead on a 16-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling only to have 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy fire back with a touchdown pass of his own to Jennings, giving his team a 16-13 lead thanks to a critical missed extra point from rookie kicker Jake Moody. A field goal from the Chiefs’ Harrison Butker tied the game at 16-16 — and then the 24-year-old Moody redeemed himself by hitting a 53-yard field goal with 1:53 left in regulation to give the 49ers a 19-16 lead. And then the Chiefs’ all-world quarterback Patrick Mahomes led his team down the field — aided by a 22-yard reception from Kelce — resulting in a game-tying field goal with three seconds to go, sending the game into overtime at 19-19.
It’s only the second time in Super Bowl history that a game has headed into overtime. The last overtime came in 2017, when Tom Brady and the New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34-28. Brady and the Pats came all the way back from down 28-3, making it the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.
The 49ers won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball in overtime. A critical holding call on third down by Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie that would have given the Chiefs the ball kept the 49ers’ drive alive, and Purdy and McCaffrey drove the team downfield for a Moody field goal from 27 yards out, giving the 49ers a 22-19 lead.
Since NFL overtime rules dictate that each team must possess the ball at least once — and if the score is tied after that, then the next score wins — the Chiefs still had a chance to tie the game with a field goal or win it with a touchdown. A Mahomes scramble on 4th down kept the Chiefs’ drive alive, and another Mahomes scramble on a broken third-down play took them to the 13-yard-line. Kelce powered his way to a 1st and goal and then Mahomes found wide receiver Mecole Hardman Jr. on a four-yard pass for the Super Bowl win for the Chiefs: 25-22.
It was the Chiefs’ second consecutive Super Bowl win — the first team to go back-to-back since the Patriots 20 years ago — and their third victory in the last five years. Mahomes, naturally, was named Super Bowl MVP for the third time, tying him with Joe Montana for second all-time. Brady has the most Super Bowl MVPs in history with five. And Kelce was embraced by Swift on the field for a post-game smooch.
“They have their dynasty,” offered CBS announcer Jim Nantz.
Michaela Coel in ‘The Christophers.’Claudette Barius/NEON
