On Sunday, fifty-three years after the Kansas City Chiefs walked onto the field of the L.A. Coliseum to play the Green Bay Packers in the first-ever Super Bowl, the Chiefs once again found themselves on the biggest stage in football. Only this time around, the Chiefs won the game over the San Francisco 49ers, 31-20. 

In the first quarter, after forcing a three and out on the first possession of the game, the 49ers began the scoring first after a 62-yard drive ended in a 37-yard field goal by veteran kicker Robbie Gould. 

Following the 49er’s initial score, the Chiefs put together a long drive of their own marching 75 yards down the field and taking up more than seven minutes of game clock before punching the ball into the endzone by way of a one-yard rushing touchdown from quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Mahomes touchdown was set up by a risky play call by coach Andy Reid in which, on fourth down, the ball was snapped directly to running back Damien Williams and then ran for a first down.

Entering the second quarter, the score was 7-3 Chiefs. However, this changed quickly after 49er’s quarterback Jimmy Garropolo panicked in the pocket, and made an ill-advised throw, resulting in an interception. Luckily for the 49ers, the Chiefs were unable to capitalize on the great field position and ended up settling for a field goal, putting them up 10-3. 

In response, Garropolo bounced back from the interception and drove the 49ers 80 yards down the field, capping off the drive with a 15-yard passing touchdown to fullback Kyle Juszcyk. 

With 14 seconds left in the first half, the 49ers looked to get yet another score before halftime. After what initially looked to be a successful 40-yard completion from Garoppolo to tight end George Kittle, it seemed as though the 49ers had put themselves in a prime position to put some more points on the board. However, the referees flagged Kittle for offensive pass interference, effectively nullifying the completion. This call forced the 49ers to run out the clock, going into halftime tied at 10-10.

Out of the half, the 49ers came out with their foot on the gas. First, they drove 60 yards down the field before kicking another field goal. Then, after linebacker Fred Warner intercepted Mahomes, the 49ers took the ball down to the Kansas City 1-yard line before handing it off to running back Raheem Mostert who slipped into the endzone.

The score remained 20-10 for quite some time, and with seven minutes left, the game out of reach for the Chiefs. However on a 3rd down with 15 yards to convert, Mahomes connected with star wideout Tyreek Hill for a clutch 44-yard gain. Then, after tight end Travis Kelce drew a pass interference penalty, bringing the ball to the 1-yard line, Mahomes rewarded the tight end by throwing him a touchdown on the following play.

After the Kansas City defense once again forced the 49ers to punt, Mahomes put the team in a position to take the lead after throwing a beautiful pass down the sideline to wide receiver Sammy Watkins. The long gain set up a receiving touchdown for Williams, giving Kansas City the lead, 24-21.

In hopes of a comeback, Garropolo led the 49ers onto the field for what they hoped would be their game-winning drive. However, the drive did not end that way. Instead, the 49ers turned the ball over on downs, and while running down the clock Williams put the final nail in the coffin by breaking away for a 38-yard touchdown, all but sealing their victory.

As confetti flew onto the field and containers were emptied of Gatorade, the Kansas City Chiefs walked away Super Bowl champions. Their comeback was the 2nd largest in Super Bowl history, and it was led by 2018 NFL MVP, Patrick Mahomes: a storybook ending to the 100th season of the NFL.