The Kansas City Chiefs overcame a 20-10 fourth quarter deficit Sunday night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami,FL to eventually beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV.
The Chiefs trailed the 49ers 20-10 midway through the fourth quarter and faced a third-and-15 from their own 35-yard-line. That play, a deep pass down the left side of the field to wide receiver Tyreek Hill from quarterback Patrick Mahomes for 44 yards to the 49ers 21-yard-line started the big comeback.
A few plays later, the Chiefs finished that offensive possession off with a touchdown pass from Mahomes to tight end Travis Kelce from one yard out and Kansas City was back in the game down 20-17.
The 49ers offense went three-and-out on their ensuing possession and had to punt the football back to the Chiefs. Seven plays and 65 yards later, the Chiefs were back in the 49ers end zone with a touchdown pass from Mahomes to running back Damien Williams from five yards out on a third-and-goal play from the San Francisco 5-yard-line with 2:50 left in the fourth and final quarter.
The 49ers couldn’t answer back and ultimately turned the football back over to the chiefs on downs after quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was sacked on a fourth-and-10 play by Kansas City defensive end Frank Clark with 1:33 left in the game. on the Chiefs second offensive play after taking over on downs, Williams scored his second touchdown of the game on a 38-yard run around left end and that sealed the Lombardi Trophy for Kansas City.
Mahomes, who was named MVP of Super Bowl LIV, completed 26 of his 42 total pass attempts in the contest for 286 yards with the two touchdown passes and two interceptions. Hill, who had the biggest catch in the game in the fourth quarter to start the Chiefs comeback, finished the game with nine receptions for 105 yards. Williams led all rushers in the game with 104 yards on 17 total carries.
The Chiefs defense buckled down in the fourth quarter as they did not allow the 49ers offense to score any points on their final four possessions of the game. The unit intercepted Garoppolo once in that quarter and sacked him once. Garoppolo finished the game having completed 20 of his 31 total pass attempts for 219 yards with a touchdown and the two interceptions.
The 49ers got the scoring started in Super Bowl LIV with a 10 play, 62-yard first quarter drive that culminated with a 38-yard field goal by kicker Robbie Gould with 7:57 left. The Chiefs answered with a 15 play, 75-yard drive that culminated with a Mahomes one-yard touchdown run with 0:31 left in the first quarter.
After the Chiefs took a 10-3 lead with 9:32 left in the second quarter on a 31-yard field goal by kicker Harrison Butker, the 49ers offense answered to tie the game at 10-10 with 7 play, 80 yard drive that culminated with Garoppolo hitting fullback Kyle Juszczyk for 15 yard touchdown pass with 5:05 left in the first half.
The 49ers seemingly took full control of the game in the third quarter as their two offensive possessions after halftime netted 10 points. The first drive ended with a 42-yard field goal by Gould while the second drive, that spanned six plays and 55 yards, ended with a one-yard touchdown run by running back Raheem Mostert with 2:35 left in the third quarter. That put the 49ers up 20-10. The Chiefs then took back over the game in the final 15 minutes of play.
The Chiefs are now Super Bowl champions for just the second time ever. Their previous Lombardi trophy win came in Super Bowl IV in January of 1970 against the Minnesota Vikings at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, LA. The Chiefs finished the 2019 regular season with a 12-4 record and after a first-round playoff bye, beat the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round and the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game to advance to Super Bowl LIV.
