After 50 long years, the Kansas City Chiefs are once again Super Bowl Champions. The Chiefs defeated the San Fransisco 49ers 31-20 on Sunday night to bring home their second Lombardi Trophy, and to wrap up the NFL's Centennial season by winning Super Bowl LIV.
The Chiefs had not won a title since Super Bowl IV in 1970 when they beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-7. The 49ers wanted to avenge a defeat in Super Bowl XLVII and win their first title since 1994.
The win didn't come easy for the Chiefs. An early touchdown and turnover gave the Chiefs a 10-3 lead, but the 49ers stifling defense picked off quarterback Patrick Mahomes twice, and scored 17 straight points to take a 20-10 lead heading into the 4th quarter.
Then came the onslaught. With the 49ers leading 20-10 early in the 4th quarter, Mahomes' second interception of the night seemed to put San Fransisco in full control of the game. But the Chiefs defense made a stand and forced a punt. On the ensuing drive, the Chiefs marched 83 yards in 10 plays and got back into the game thanks to a Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce touchdown pass.
The Chiefs defense forced their first 3-and-out of the night with 5:10 to play to give Mahomes and the offense the ball back down by 3. Mahomes took his opportunity in the big moment and seized it. He led Kansas City on a 7-play 65-yard touchdown drive to take a 24-20 lead. The touchdown pass to Damien Williams narrowly survived a replay review but gave the Chiefs the lead.
Once again, the spotlight went back to the Kansas City defense, and once again they answered the bell. Frank Clark sacked Jimmy Garoppolo on 4th and 10 to give the ball back to the offense. On the second play of the drive, Williams raced down the sideline for a 38-yard touchdown to give the Chiefs a 31-20 lead. Kendall Fuller intercepted Garoppolo on the next possession to seal the victory.
The Chiefs had trailed by double digits in both of their previous playoff games and had come from behind to win. Now they had done it again on the biggest stage in the biggest moment, rattling off 21 straight points in the final 6:13 of the game to bring home the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Mahomes took home the MVP award after throwing for 286 yards and 2 touchdowns. Head Coach Andy Reid won his first Super Bowl after 20 painful seasons of coming up short. With a young cast of characters, the Chiefs will hope this is the first of several Super Bowl titles to come.