Chief Executive Officers

Mahomes, Mahomes, Mahomes. At a certain point, one simply runs out of superlatives to anoint an individual. After a mind-boggling first half, the greatness personified as Patrick Mahomes could not help but flow through. A perfect juxtaposition, the championship DNA of the back-to-back Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs went on full display. With neither defense cutting any slack, the scoreboard nulled 0-0 when the whistle blew at the end of the 1st Quarter. Despite this stalemate and a forced fumble on MVP finalist and Offensive Player of the Year, 49er Running Back Christian McCaffery by Chiefs Linebacker Leo Chanel, the San Francisco 49ers seemed to have a vice grip on the game's momentum. 

49ers' rookie kicker, Jake Moody, set a Super Bowl record, striking a 55-yard field goal with about 5-7 yards left to spare. As both defenses continued to prevail and the Chiefs offense looked shaky, the 49ers somehow managed to put points on the board thanks to a remarkable play call by the wizard known as Head Coach Kyle Shanahan. From Brock Purdy to Juan Jennings to Christian McCaffery with love, it took top-tier trickery to lead to the first touchdown of Super Bowl LVIII. Now down 10-0, the Chiefs were in what seemed to be a rock and a hard place but was just the beginning of comfortable territory. Surviving what could have been a 14-minute gut-wrenching dominatrix by San Francisco, the Kansas City Chiefs put together an impressive 65-yard drive capped by a 28-yard Harrison Butker field goal.

Now down 10-3, the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs had the faith of a mustard seed.

Coming out of halftime, Mahomes threw his first playoff interception in nearly 2 years on a pass directed at WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling that was picked off by Safety Ji'Ayir Brown, snapping the third-longest streak of this kind. After coming up empty, the Niners and the Chiefs went back and forth for 2 possessions before the Chiefs began to wake up and put together a solid drive. Mahomes and Kelce connected with about 8:59 in the 3rd for the first first down of the second half. After rushing for a key first down on 3rd and 4 in their territory, the Chiefs' all-time leading rusher in the postseason gutted the Niner defense for a crucial 22-yard rush to enter the opponent's territory. This would then allow kicker Harrison Butker to hit a record-breaking 57-yard field goal, erasing the previous record of 55 yards done earlier by Moody and making the score 10-6 in favor of San Franciso.

The momentum would drastically turn in Kansas City’s favor after a routine punt by Tommy Townsend turned into a nightmare for San Fran, bouncing off the heel of Darrell Luter Jr., who was engaged in blocking. This would give the Chiefs a front-row seat in the red zone, starting the possession on SF’s 16-yard line. Desperately needing a score, Mahomes wasted no time cashing in and finding a wide-open Valdes-Scantling in the endzone for the Chiefs' first lead of the Super Bowl.

Entering the 4th Quarter leading 13-10, the Chiefs seemingly had all the momentum.

Purdy responded in an impressive way leading a 75-yard drive down the field capped by a 10-yard completion to Juan Jennings(16-13). A muffed PAT attempt completely changed the game, allowing Kansas City to only need 3 points instead of 4.

From this point on, Mahomes’ magic was on full display. Hitting Kelce for a big first down on 3rd and 10, Watson on 2nd and 10, and 2 great runs from Isiah Pacheco, the Chiefs were able to tie the game at 16-16 with 5:46 left in regulation thanks to a 29-yard field goal by Butker.

SF kicker Moody would make temporary amends for his earlier missed PAT by hitting a 53-yard FG. With 1:50 left, Mahomes took the field and did what he does best. Methodically moved down the field and eventually hit Kelce on a 22-yard completion to set up Butker with a 29-yard FG, sending the game to overtime for only the second time in Super Bowl history. Interestingly, the first time was when 49er Head Coach Shanahan was an Offensive Coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons and choked a 25-point lead to Tom Brady.

Tied 19-19 in Overtime, the Niners would receive the ball first and also receive a gift from KC’s 1st team All-Pro Cornerback, Trent McDuffie, in the form of a holding call that changed a potential 4th and 13 to a 1st and 10. This kept the hope alive for San Fran as an impressive, elusive check-down pass from Purdy to McCaffrey completed their longest play of the game at 24 yards. Between fullback Kyle Juszczyk and McCaffrey, the Niners would drive about 20 more yards before the Chiefs' defense would force them to settle for a 27-yard field goal(22-19).

As Mahomes took the field, I don’t think anyone had a doubt, even with 4th and 1 on their own 34. A perfect play call by Andy Reid, Mahomes rushed for the first down off a called QB keep. Although Mahomes would continue to dissect San Fran’s defense, a 6-yard completion to MVS would quickly turn into a 4-yard loss as he tried to fight for extra yardage. A huge 14-yard completion to Rashee Rice would erase the earlier transgression of MVS and give Kansas City a 1st and 10 in SF’s 41-yard line. After 2 completions to Pochecho, Mahomes rushed for a back-breaking 19 yards on 3rd and 1 to get to SF’s 13-yard line before completing the game-winning touchdown(25-22) to Mecole Hardman, who started the season as a NY Jet.

Accounting for 89% of KC’s offense after halftime(266 of 298 yards), Mahomes willed the team to victory with great help from the Chris Jones-led defense. Becoming the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the ‘03 and ‘04 Patriots led by Tom Brady, Mahomes won his 3rd Super Bowl MVP, joining only Joe Montana and Tom Brady as the only other two QBs to accomplish such a feat. In his 7th season, 6th as a starter, Mahomes has reached the AFC title game 6 times, had 4 Super Bowl appearances, 3 Super Bowl titles, 3 Super Bowl MVPs, and 2 regular season MVPs. He becomes only the 7th player in the history of North American sports to have 3 championships and 2 MVPs in their first 7 seasons, joining Larry Bird(NBA), Bill Russell(NBA), Guy LaFleur(NHL), Stan Musial(MLB), Mickey Mantle(MLB) and Joe DiMaggio(MLB). Off to an unprecedented historic pace, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs look to make more history by becoming the first team in NFL history to 3peat.