(Photo courtesy of WHYY.org) “Patrick Mahomes holds Vince Lombardi trophy.”
Shaan Baid
Connector Staff
Well, that’s a wrap to the 2023 NFL season. The Kansas City Chiefs outlasted the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime to win their third Super Bowl in the last five years. This year’s big game took place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This was just the second Super Bowl in NFL history to go to overtime, the first being Super Bowl LI, which saw the New England Patriots defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 after infamously being down 28-3.
This game, however, was not as dramatic or high-scoring. It was mostly a defensive battle between Kansas City’s No. 2 and San Francisco’s No. 8 ranked defense.
In the first quarter, San Francisco had a promising start to their opening drive, totaling 35 yards on just 3 plays, before All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey fumbled the ball at the Kansas City 29-yard line. Fortunately, San Francisco’s defense was able to force a three-and-out. For the rest of the quarter, neither team could put points on the board. A couple of penalties also stalled drives for San Francisco.
Early in the second quarter, Niners kicker Jake Foody nailed a then Super Bowl-record 55-yard field goal after a solid drive by the offense.
On the next drive for Kansas City, Mahomes connected on a 52-yard bomb to wide receiver Mecole Hardman to set up first-and-goal at the San Francisco nine-yard line. However, Chiefs running back Isaiah Pacheco would immediately fumble the ball on the very next play. The San Francisco offense could not capitalize after being forced to punt once again.
After another stop, San Francisco would cap off a touchdown drive on a well-designed trick play with wide receiver Juaun Jennings throwing to McCaffrey for a 21-yard touchdown to go up
10-0. Kansas City would then cut the lead to seven after a 28-yard field goal by kicker Harrison Butker.
On their opening drive in the third quarter, Mahomes overthrew tight end Travis Kelce for an interception, recorded by cornerback Ji’Ayir Brown near midfield. However, the San Francisco offense failed to capitalize on this play, going three-and-out again, allowing Kansas City to stay in the game.
Late in the third quarter, Kansas City would chip into the lead with a Super Bowl-record 57-yard field goal from Butker, making the score 10-6. Butker proceeded to break Moody’s record in the process.
What perhaps was one of the biggest blunders in recent memory, San Francisco kick returner Ray-Ray McCloud muffed a punt that was recovered inside the Niners 20-yard. On the next play, Mahomes threw a 16-yard touchdown to wide receiver Marquez Valdez-Scantling to go up
13-10.
The San Francisco offense woke up early in the fourth quarter, capping off a touchdown drive with quarterback Brock Purdy throwing a 10-yard touchdown to Jennings. However, the extra point by Moody would get blocked, giving the Niners just a 16-13 lead.
On the next drive, Kansas City would tie the game with a 24-yard field goal from Butker.
San Francisco would then respond with a 53-yard field goal by Moody to go up 19-16 with just under two minutes left in the quarter. The Niners had a golden opportunity to melt the clock and kick a potential walk-off field goal but were stopped on third-and-four.
On the final drive of regulation, Kansas City would send the game to overtime after a 29-yard field goal from Butker.
In overtime, San Francisco won the coin toss and elected to receive. The promising drive would conclude with a 27-yard field goal from Moody, after threatening to score. Regardless, Kansas City got the ball back as the new overtime rules allowed both teams a chance to score on their opening drives.
After a San Francisco defensive breakdown, Kansas City would win the game, with Mahomes throwing a three-yard touchdown to a wide-open Hardman with six seconds left in overtime.
Following the game, Mahomes was awarded Super Bowl MVP for his performance. The Chiefs quarterback threw for 333 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. While he didn’t have a great performance, he was clutch down the stretch in the fourth quarter and overtime. Kelce had 9 receptions for 93 yards, despite an abysmal first half where he had only one yard. Hardman had 57 yards and a touchdown on just three receptions.
For San Francisco, McCaffrey had a valiant effort in the loss, recording 160 total yards and a receiving touchdown. Jennings had a historic performance, being the only receiver in Super Bowl history to record a passing and receiving touchdown. Purdy had a solid performance, throwing for 255 yards and a touchdown.
Kansas City is now back-to-back champions, the first team to do so since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004. With that, Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s squad continues to be a force in the league.
