After 50 years without a Super Bowl appearance, the Kansas City Chiefs, led by generational quarterback (QB) Patrick Mahomes, will bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Kansas City for the first time since Super Bowl 4.
The San Francisco 49ers have lost their second straight Super Bowl, further ruining their perfect 5-0 Super Bowl record that they acquired back in the 80’s and 90’s. The “Quest for Six” will have to wait another year.
The 49ers painfully blew a 10-point lead towards the end of the game, but it’s a pain that San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan knows all too well. Shanahan was the offensive coordinator on the Atlanta Falcons squad that famously blew a 28-3 lead to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 51.
Surprisingly, the 49ers managed to contain Mahomes and hold his offense to only 10 points by halftime and even up to the fourth quarter. However, Mahomes rallied the troops and beat the 49ers into the ground with a 44-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver (WR) Tyreek Hill, a one-yard bullet to tight end (TE)Travis Kelce and a 5-yard touchdown to running back (RB) Damien Williams. Once you get the Chiefs’ offense going, it’s not going to be an easy task to stop it.
After the Chiefs’ fourth quarter onslaught, the 49ers were left with a mere 2:44 left to make a comeback of their own, but it didn’t materialize, and Kansas City pulled off their third comeback win of the postseason.
49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo, who has a couple rings of his own due to being a backup behind QB Tom Brady for a couple of years in New England, found himself in unfamiliar territory in this year’s Super Bowl.
This season, the 49ers relied on a strong running game that laid waste to the NFL, even during the playoffs. This time though, the Chiefs were able to stop the run-game and forced Garoppolo to throw more. When the 49ers were forced to resort to the passing game, they struggled.
When this happened, the 49ers QB made some really questionable pass attempts. Garoppolo’s most notable incompletion was a sure-fire touchdown pass to WR Emmanuel Sanders that was wildly over-thrown. If the play had gone in the 49ers’ favor, it would’ve been a different ball game.
When you compare the two QBs, they both had comparable stats. They both had an equal number of interceptions (2) and three combined touchdowns (Mahomes two, Garoppolo one). Their completion percentages were pretty similar, so the loss can’t be blamed squarely on Garoppolo, but the win can be contributed highly to Mahomes, who was crowned Super Bowl MVP.
A large part in why the Chiefs have been so successful this season is the vast improvement of their defense. Going into the 2019 season, their defense was suspect and was the main knock against a Chiefs team that was already considered a Super Bowl contender. They had to step up when Mahomes got hurt in the middle of the season and they did.
I pegged the 49ers to take home the Lombardi going into this matchup, but a complete Kansas City squad that can throw bombs left and right on offense and stop opponents cold on defense is too much for any team to handle.
To put it plain and simple, the 49ers just couldn’t execute the game plan at the end. On a crucial drive where the team really needed to score, they threw three-straight interceptions and ended the drive by taking a big fourth down sack.
Typically clutch cornerback (CB) Richard Sherman, who sent the Seahawks to the Super Bowl with a crucial pass deflection on the 49ers earlier in the decade, got burned by Chiefs WR Sammy Watkins for a big 38-yard catch. The rest of the defense also lost sight of the goal.
While I’m disappointed that Sherman won’t get his second Super Bowl ring this season, I’m glad to see Chiefs head coach Andy Reid win his first. Reid, who will more than likely be an NFL Hall of Fame coach when everything is said and done, was missing a championship victory to solidify his legacy. His last appearance in the Super Bowl, similar to Shanahan’s, ended in defeat by the Patriots, though Reid coached the Philadelphia Eagles back then.
Both the Chiefs and 49ers have bright futures ahead of them, and I’m not worried about either team collapsing next year. But for the time being, enjoy your Super Bowl, Kansas City.
