©Reuters. Soccer Football – NFL – Super Bowl LVIII – Kansas City Chiefs v San Francisco 49ers – Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. – February 11, 2024 Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid gives instructions to his players during overtime REUTERS/ Mike B
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By Steve Keating
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) -Patrick Mahomes threw a touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman to give the Kansas City Chiefs a 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers in a Super Bowl thriller in Sin City on Sunday, cementing their status as NFL’s last dynasty.
The blockbuster finale was worthy of the biggest show on the Strip, as the Chiefs won their third Super Bowl in five years and became the NFL’s first repeat champion since the New England Patriots in February 2005.
After 49ers rookie kicker Jake Moody hit a field goal to open overtime, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes marched down the field and ended the game with a three-yard touchdown pass to Hardman.
It was even more heartbreaking for Niners fans, who were looking to celebrate a record-tying sixth Super Bowl win, but were once again denied by the Chiefs.
The Chiefs also sent the 49ers home empty-handed in 2020, when they scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for a 31-20 Super Bowl win in Miami.
After a glitzy week of high-octane parties and obsessing over whether pop superstar Taylor Swift would return from Tokyo in time to watch her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, play, the spotlight fell on the action on the pitch.
San Francisco dominated the first half, where the highlight for Chiefs supporters was Swift chugging a drink and slamming his cup as Niners fans booed.
Neither team could find its rhythm in a scoreless first quarter in which both quarterbacks focused on the ground game.
The 49ers took command in the second half, taking a 10-0 lead thanks to a Super Bowl record field goal and some razzledazzle.
Moody hit a 55-yarder before San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan reached into his bag of tricks with a play that saw receiver Jauan Jennings, a former high school quarterback, throw the ball across the field to running back Christian McCaffrey, who ran 21 yards for the score.
Kansas City got on the board just before halftime with kicker Harrison Butker chipping a 28-yard field goal to send the Chiefs ahead 10-3.
FAILURE TO CONVERT
The Chiefs, who misfired, then came out of halftime when Mahomes was intercepted by Ji’Ayir Brown, turning the ball over at his own 44.
The Chiefs’ play remained scrappy but their resolve did not waver and Butker scored a Super Bowl record 57-yard field goal to cut the Niners’ lead to 10–6.
Just before the end of the third quarter the Chiefs got the break they were waiting for: a punt that cleared the leg of the Niners’ Ray-Ray McCloud and the Chiefs recovered.
Mahomes quickly made San Francisco pay for the mistake, hitting Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a 16-yard touchdown to take the lead for the first time at 13-10.
San Francisco responded with a clinical play from 12, a 75-yard drive that was capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass from Brock Purdy to Jennings to put the 49ers within 16-13.
But Moody then missed the extra point leaving the Chiefs needing only a field goal to tie the game.
This mistake would prove costly as the Chiefs followed with another Butker field goal to leave the game deadlocked at 16-16.
Moody redeemed himself with a pressure-filled 53-yard field goal with just under two minutes to play in regulation, giving San Francisco a 19-16 lead, but Butker showed nerves of steel to knock home a 29 yarder to send the Super Bowl into overtime for just the second time.