The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV becoming the second team in the last four years to win after trailing by double digits. The Chiefs started the fourth quarter down by ten points and erased the deficit en route to victory by scoring 21 in the fourth quarter for the second biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Patrick Mahomes was named the Super Bowl 54 MVP and it was much deserved, especially since he was able to avoid sacks and escape constant pressure from the 49ers defensive line. Mahomes finished the game with 286 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions and also rushed nine times for 29 yards and a touchdown. In the fourth quarter alone, he was 10-17 with 145 yards, his most productive quarter. According to NFL Research, the 24-year-old became the youngest player to win a regular season MVP and Super Bowl MVP.
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The comeback began with a 44-yard pass to Tyreke Hill on 3rd and 15 with just over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. Down 20-10 and four plays later, Mahomes found Travis Kelce wide-open in the endzone to cut the lead to three. The Chiefs defense held strong on the next drive forcing the Niners to punt and Mahomes followed that up with a seven-play 65-yard drive that concluded with a five-yard touchdown catch by Damien Williams.
The Niners had one last chance to hold the Chiefs by attempting to stop the run and using two timeouts, but on third down Williams broke free and ran 38 yards for a touchdown leaving the 49ers just over a minute to make up an 11 point deficit, which they could not complete. Williams was a constant thorn in the Niners’ side as he finished the game with 104 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
San Francisco was scoreless in the fourth quarter as Jimmy Garoppolo finished the game 20-31 with 219 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Raheem Mostert rushed 12 times for 58 yards and a touchdown, but 17 of those yards came on one run and the Chiefs made adjustments to alter his run path and he was never really able to get going. On San Francisco’s final four drives, the Chiefs defense forced two punts, a turnover on downs and an interception. Stopping the run in the second half was a huge reason why the Niners couldn’t kill the clock more effectively and it ultimately kept the Chiefs in the game.
