Super Bowl LVIII was a highly anticipated championship game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams were equipped with highly talented players and franchise
quarterbacks: the talented Patrick Mahomes and “Mr. Irrelevant” Brock Purdy. Purdy exceeded many expectations as this was his first year becoming a full-time starter for the 49ers. Kansas City had a rough start to the year, starting off with a loss to the Lions, and then managing to barely win games — many by a single possession. They quickly rose to success as they dominated the playoffs by eliminating the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens to make their way to the Super Bowl.
“Personally, I’m a Ravens fan and I wanted Baltimore to win, but unfortunately KC (Kansas City) won it,” Daire Armstrong (10) said. “But I think it was a good game, and Mahomes played really well.”
Before the game started, the national anthem was sung by well-known country artist Reba McEntire. Then, the game kicked off after Kansas City won the coin toss and deferred. The 49ers were marching down the field relatively easy — up until running back Christian McCaffrey unexpectedly fumbled the ball, resulting in a turnover that was recovered by defensive end George Karlaftis of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs began their offensive drive but were held to a three-and-out by the 49ers’ impressive defense. As the first quarter continued, both teams relied heavily on their defensive performances.
After a scoreless first quarter, the second began and the 49ers were held to a fourth down. Luckily, Jake Moody put the ball through the uprights, breaking the record for the longest field goal in Super Bowl history and putting the 49ers up 3-0. Kansas City’s offense then wasted no time as Mahomes fired the ball 50 yards down the field to wide receiver Mecole Hardman, bringing KC into the red zone. On the next play, Mahomes handed the ball off to running back Isiah Pacheco, but once again, he unexpectedly lost control of the football after a hard hit by cornerback Demondre Lenoir on the 49ers, resulting in a turnover.
During that drive, tight end Travis Kelce (also notably known by even non-NFL fans as Taylor Swift’s boyfriend) was not on the field. Kelce was outraged at this, resulting in a small conflict where the KC player shoved his Head Coach Andy Reid, which spewed some controversy among fans. Many say what he did was disrespectful, unacceptable and shouldn’t have been tolerated. Kelce responded with his trademark humor.
“I had to give ‘Big Red’ a love tap and let him know that we were all here fighting for him no matter what,” Kelce said. “I just had to tell him I loved him real quick.”
As quarter two continued, both defenses were shining as both offenses struggled to get the ball in the end zone. With four minutes left in the first half, the 49ers ran a trick play on second down and wide receiver Jauan Jenning threw the ball to McCaffrey for a 49ers touchdown! The first score of the game, the 49ers led the game 10-3 and for another drive, Kansas City couldn’t find the end zone and had to settle for a 20-yard field goal to bring the score to 10-6.
The most anticipated part of the Super Bowl was the halftime performance hosted by Usher. The show featured many different artists who have worked with the 2000s R&B icon including Alicia Keys, Ludacris and Lil Jon. Usher proved that he was the ideal performer as he played many classic hits that pleased fans around the world.
Kansas City started off the second half on the wrong end as Mahomes dropped back for a pass that was intercepted by safety Ji-Ayir Brown. After many failed drives and turnovers, Mahomes finally answers with a touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling over the middle, giving KC the two-point advantage.
The fourth quarter then began and the game started to become more competitive as both offenses heated up. Purdy fired a bullet pass to Jenning, bringing the score to 16-13 after a blocked PAT (point-after-touchdown). Kansas City responded by making a short field goal after a strong drive. The 49ers responded to this by making a field goal of their own, bringing the lead to three points. With one minute left in the fourth, KC had an opportunity to seal the game and walk off with the Lombardi, but the 49ers’ defense stood their ground as they held Kansas City to a field goal, sending the game into overtime — just the second overtime in Super Bowl history!
The 49ers won the toss and chose to receive – a decision that would come back to bite them in the butt. San Francisco struggled to get their offense going as they were held to a field goal, bringing the lead back to three on the other side, 22-19. The pressure was on both teams as KC needed to either kick a field goal to tie or score a touchdown to win the game. After many failed offensive drives from Kansas City, they scored when they needed to most as Mahomes threw a touchdown to wide receiver Mecole Hardman to win the Super Bowl.
“I think the 49ers potentially had a chance to win if they scored touchdowns earlier in the game,” Columbia Heights High School (CHHS) football coach Mr. Matthew Townsend said.
Kansas City had officially won back-to-back championships. The 58th Super Bowl made it clear that Mahomes and the rest of the Kansas City NFL team are on a generational run and to expect much success in the future of their franchise!
