Mahomes and the Chiefs Cement Their Legacy with 3rd SuperBowl Victory

Full of twists, turns, ups and downs, this one will go down as one of the most intense SuperBowl’s in living memory.

Yet, through the first three quarters, nobody could have told you that they would’ve seen that coming.

While both defenses showed up – from the off, the blight of mishaps defined this game for much of the way.

With the third play of the game, the 49er’s coughed one up when Christian McCaffrey uncharacteristically fumbled. Yet, not to be out done, the Chiefs returned the favour when running-back, Isiah Pacheco did likewise when deep within San Francisco’s redzone.

With pressure building bit by bit, this game changed on dramatically on two particular plays – and in line with the course of the game, they just happened to be errors.

Once more, special teams came back to bite the 49ers.

While the Chiefs were flailing on offense, a turnover helped them get back into the contest when a Tommy Townsend punt unknowingly bounced off the foot of 49ers cornerback Darrell Luter. As Ray-Ray McCloud attempted to clean up the mess, the Chiefs fell on the ball, earning massive swing in field position.

Allowed to take the ascendency, Mahomes hit Marquez Valdes-Scantling on the following snap to give Kansas their first lead of the game.

A San Francisco touchdown later, special teams again faltered, as rookie kicker Jake Moody’s low extra point attempt was blocked by Leo Chenal, keeping the game at 16-13 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Yet, the crucial mishap came from Kyle Shanahan himself. A defining moment, Shanahan handed over control to the Chiefs when his 49ers won the overtime coin toss and chose to receive first.

In reality, this gave Kansas City an advantage to utilise an extra down.

Postgame, there seemed to be an element of confusion over the new overtime rules which were changed during the 2022 offseason, done so as a result of the Chiefs-Bills divisional round game, which ended without Josh Allen ever possessing the football.

49ers defensive-end Arik Armstead confessed that he “didn’t really know what was going on in terms of that,” while fullback Kyle Juszczyk told reporters that he didn’t realise the overtime rules had been changed and assumed “you just want the ball to score a touchdown and win, but I guess that’s not the case,” before adding, “so I don’t totally know the strategy there.”

What a thing to admit – and what does it say about Kyle Shanahan?

Now 0-4 to the Chiefs in the regular season and playoffs (which includes two SuperBowl losses) we now have our evidence which shows that he is not up to the big time.

One question people were asking before today was if Purdy can handle the pressure. But this loss is not on the rookie. It is most definitely on Shanahan, a proclaimed offensive genius, but one who does not seem able to handle the crunch time moments.

Now involved in three separate SuperBowls where his teams have squandered ten point leads (one these as offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons in which he gave up a 21-3 half-time lead to the Patriots in SuperBowl LI), Shanahan keeps repeating the same mistakes with a lack of attention to detail which is becoming difficult to ignore.

On the other side, Mahomes, who as well as finishing with 333 yards passing, was also Kansas City’s leading rusher. He has done it again when it matters most. Though not stellar, he continues to show that he has what it takes in the most crucial moments. Unlike many of his current contempories, it is not actually his arm talent which is setting himself apart – but his ability to maintain control, adjust and keep poise.

Nevertheless, this winning season will go down to team effort – and without doubt, it is the best of Kansas City’s triumphs during the Mahomes era so far. The transformation of the Chiefs, from a high-powered offense to the creation of a barnstorming young defense all in the space of a few years has been nothing short to behold.

Led by Chris Jones, who made at least three score defining plays, the best looks like it is yet to come – and with a nucleus including Jones, Nick Bolton, L’Jarius Sneed, Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis, this group looks ready to choke opposition offenses for years to come.

Andy Reid channelled that sentiment clearly during the postgame trophy ceremony. “The defense played out of their mind. I’m so proud of the group.”

Mahomes added, “Really just the whole game was a microcosm of our whole entire season. The defense keeping us in there and then the offense making plays when it counted.”

Now firmly recognised as a dynasty, the Chiefs show no signs of slowing.

Can anyone really discount this team from making it a historic three-peat. You wouldn’t bet against it.