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1) Patrick Mahomes evokes magic as the Chiefs survive the 49ers in overtime. With the game on the line, there’s no one on the planet you’d rather have with the ball than the Magic Man, Mahomes. The Chiefs’ offense started slowly, as it has for much of the 2023 campaign, scoring three points on a turnover in the red zone in the first half. Then Mahomes began to find Travis Kelceate a Dre Greenlaw-minus 49ers D down the middle, and they marched up and down the field. Some red zone spots highlighted a yearlong struggle for an offense that lacked a big-play presence. But Mahomes led a game-tying field goal to force the second Super Bowl game in overtime in NFL history. He then got the ball back, trailing by three in overtime, and led the Chiefs down the field. Mahomes used his legs, fighting for a first down on fourth-and-1, and his arm. When Niners defensive coordinator Steve Wilks dared to charge at a key spot, the quarterback did what he always does: he ate him alive, finding Rashee Rice for a great third try. Another Mahomes fight put the Chiefs in the door. The QB kicked it, finding an open lane. Melchor Hardman for a 3-yard touchdown that won the game. All season long, Mahomes has conjured magic with an up-and-down pass-catching team. He did it again on the biggest stage. Greatness personified. Dynasty cemented.
2) Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers are shy once again. Once again, Shanahan watched Mahomes overcome a 10-point deficit in the Super Bowl. You have to give the coach credit for not trying hard, going for it on a big fourth-and-3 early in the fourth quarter, when a field goal would have tied the game. The decision underscored that Shanny knew they needed touchdowns, not field goals, against Mahomes. The coach did everything he could, including a great touchdown pass from the receiver John Jennings to Christian McCaffrey in the first half. Unfortunately, an OT FG from inside the 10 opened the door for Mahomes’ heroics. The Niners will beat themselves up all offseason for not finishing the game early. San Francisco blew up the Chiefs D in the first quarter, including gains of 18 yards, 11 yards and 11 yards on the opening possession, but a McCaffrey fumble (just his third loss all season) snuffed out the drive. The Niners led by seven at halftime despite dominating possession early on. Shanahan’s offense struggled to open the third quarter, going within three on three consecutive possessions. A botched punt in the third quarter set up the Chiefs’ first touchdown and lead. Instead of a big lead, the Niners were in fighting mode. A blocked PAT was also too late. Credit Brock Purdy for making plays in the fourth quarter after a rollercoaster game in which he missed some shots and made other excellent reads. The 49ers’ last three possessions were TDs, FGs and FGs. Unfortunately for Shanahan, his defense couldn’t stop Mahomes, allowing the Chiefs to make TD, FG, FG, TD. The NFL has seen two Super Bowl games go into overtime and Shanahan has been losing in both. Brutal.
3) Chiefs D stands tall again. KC wouldn’t have been the first back-to-back Super Bowl champion since the 2003-2004 New England Patriots without Steve Spagnuolo’s suffocating defense. The Chiefs gave up some big plays, particularly in the first half, but gave up frequently. The lack of pressure on Purdy was notable, but Spagnuolo adjusted and made life difficult for the QB in the third quarter. Spags swept 51.2% of Purdy’s dropbacks. The signal-caller made some plays against pressure, but speeding it up made the difference in the second half. The Spags team left McCaffrey on the ground for most of the game, holding the RB to 3.6 yards per carry on 22 totals. Eliminating those slashing runs gave Purdy the responsibility of carrying the competition. The Chiefs were phenomenal on third downs, allowing the Niners to convert just 3 of 12 in the contest. kc corner Trent McDuffie was the defensive MVP, making numerous big plays, including a touchdown-saving hit Samuel Deebo early in the game. Nick Bolton He was all over the field, eating up 13 tackles, a TFL and two QB hits. AND Chris Jones generated a team-high six QB pressures, forcing several errant passes from Purdy that could have led to big gains. KC’s D generated a season-high nine unblocked pressures in Super Bowl LVIII, all of them on blitzes, per Next Gen Stats. That’s some amazing scheming on Spags’ part.
4) Kicker Fiesta comes to the Super Bowl. This match set foot back in football. Both 49ers rookies Jake Moody and Chiefs veteran butcher harrison They were sensational. Moody set a Super Bowl record by connecting on a 55-yard pass early in the second quarter. Butker allowed Moody to hold the record during Usher’s halftime show, but little else. Butker launched a new record 57-yard bomb in the third quarter. Moody, who had some shaky moments during his first season, hit three field goals but one of his two PATs was blocked, which was huge. Butker made all four of his field goals and his only point attempt after attempt. In a back-and-forth game, both kickers calmly scored huge field goals at the last moment to force overtime. In the end, a botched Niners punt and blocked extra point made the difference. In the third phase of the game, the Chiefs were better and took home the hardware because their special teams made the difference.
5) Travis Kelce comes to life in the second half. In the first half, a fired-up Kelce was limited to one catch for a measly yard. Taylor Swift’s boyfriend went up a notch in the second half. Kelce finished with nine receptions on 10 targets for a team-high 93 yards. As he has done all season, the tight end found open areas in the Niners’ defense, eating up linebackers up the middle. Kelce caught eight of his nine targets on less than 10 passing yards for 77 yards, gaining 59 yards after the catch. With the Chiefs trailing by three points in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, Mahomes hit Kelce on a snap, and the tight end ran for a huge 22-yard gain to set up a short field goal to force overtime. It looked like Kelce found an extra gear on the play, which Next Gen Stats backs up: Kelce reached a top speed of 19.68 mph, his fastest speed as a ball carrier in the last seven seasons. The Super Bowl simply means more. Now Kelce has three rings to show off.
Next Generation Game Statistics: Nick Bosa generated 10 pressures in 48 pass rushes (20.8% pass rush rate) in Super Bowl LVIII, tied for the third-most in a playoff game since 2018. Bosa finished the season with 114 pressures, tied for the most in a single season since 2018.
NFL investigation: Niners WR Jauan Jennings became the second player to throw and catch a TD in the same Super Bowl. The first was Nick Foles, who won the MVP of Super Bowl LVII.
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