At Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, one of the most exciting and unique NFL championship games unfolded in front of fans, celebrities (yes, Taylor Swift was there), and a record-breaking number of viewers.
On sports biggest stage, the Kanas City Chiefs went on to defeat the San Fransisco 49ers 25-22 in an overtime brawl, securing their second consecutive title. Since its inception, 58 Super Bowls have been played but only two have progressed to overtime, including Sunday’s battle between the Chiefs and 49ers.
Eric Gay/AP
Mahomes runs for a first down during the game-winning drive.
With the Vince Lombardi Trophy at stake, there was a lot on the line for both teams. Kansas City aimed to defend their title as Super Bowl champions. While San Fransisco looked to capture its first title since 1995, ending their almost 30-year drought – despite making it back to the championship game three times since 2013.
The Chiefs were the first team to win back-to-back titles since the 2002-03 season, when the New Patriots last accomplished the feat (much to the dismay of Seahawks fans who remember being 1-yard away from a repeat championship in 2015 – but that’s a different story.)
According to Variety and People this year’s Super Bowl was the most watched telecast in U.S. history with Nielsen reporting over 123.7 million viewers tuning into watch Super Bowl LVIII.
“112 million of those viewers were tuned into the CBS broadcast — the largest audience ever for a single network,” according to Variety. “The rest were measured across Paramount+, Nickelodeon, Univision, CBS Sports and NFL digital properties including NFL+. Per Paramount Global, Paramount+ saw record-breaking viewership that made Sunday the most-streamed Super Bowl ever.”
Tension and anxiety was in the air as the first quarter went on since neither team was able to break through the defensive lines of their opponent.
Entering the second quarter scoreless, a tangible sense of pressure built in the stadium as players and fans alike wondered when one of the teams would finally find a way to score. The game entered half time with the Niners leading 10-3 after scoring a touchdown on a Madden 24-inspired trick play that saw wide receiver Juwuan Jennings throwing a touchdown to running back Christian McCaffery.
Out of the tunnel for the second half, the Chiefs looked like they were down for the count when quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw an interception on their first drive of the new quarter. But the 49ers seemed destined to break their fans hearts as they let the lead slip away, having three “3 and out” drives to open what would wind up being a scoreless third quarter for the Bay Area team.
The Chiefs scored 10 points in the third, giving them their first lead of the game. After three quarters of a defensive slugfest, the offenses of both teams finally stepped up scoring a combined 15 points to close out the end of regulation tied, including a thrilling catch from Patrick Mahomes to Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
For the second time in history, the Super Bowl went into overtime, with Sunday’s match featuring a new set of rules for the extra period. Of note was the change which allowed both teams to possess the ball at least once – during the regular season, if a team scores a touchdown on the first possession of overtime, then the game is over. Now, no matter what, both teams’ offense will get a chance to control their championship destiny.
The overtime coin-toss found the Niners to take the first possession of the historic fifth quarter. A long first drive that took over seven-and-a-half minutes off the clock ended with a 27-yard field goal off the toe of kicker Jake Moody.
The Chiefs offense took over with 7:22 left on the clock, having to score at least a field goal to stay alive. In what is becoming all too familiar on the football field, Mahomes sliced and diced his way through the once staunch defense of the 49ers, driving the Chiefs 75 yards down the field and handing the team their third Lombardi trophy in five years on a 3 yard touchdown pass to a criminally wide-open Mecole Hartman.
A stunned San Francisco sideline looked on as the Kansas City Chiefs celebrated on-field in their new Super Bowl LVIII champions swag. The 30 year Super Bowl drought tragically continues for “the always a bridesmaid, never a bride” 49ers.
Football fans and Swifties alike were treated to the excitement of the Lombardi trophy ceremony, featuring a completely unhinged rendition of “Viva Las Vegas” by an amped-up Travis Kelce as Taylor Swift looked on with can be only described as mortified adoration.
Amidst the celebrations on-field, the Chiefs were already training their eyes on the next season:
“I am going to celebrate tonight, celebrate at the parade and then work my way to get back in this game next year,” Mahomes said. “I am going to do whatever I can to be back in this game next year. Three-peat.”
Patrick Mahomes was named MVP of Super Bowl LVIII, just as he was for Super Bowl LVII and Super Bowl LIV. At 28 years old, the football wunderkind is the youngest of the six quarterbacks in NFL history to win three Super Bowls.
When asked about this historic win, Mahomes said simply: “This is awesome. Legendary.”
Legendary indeed.