The return champions nobody wanted? A confirmation of absurd conspiracy theories regarding a government-run Taylor Swift psyop? A testament to elite quarterback play in spite of a poverty roster? There are plenty of possible interpretations for the Chiefs’ improbable Super Bowl win, which came on the heels of a disappointing regular season riddled with errors and embarrassing losses.
The question is: what clicked in crunch-time? Because going into the playoffs, the Chiefs were looking like a first-round exit. Their receiving core, which made headlines due to the hilariously bad play of Kadarius Toney, was failing. Mahomes threw two pick-sixes to the Raiders on two consecutive snaps. Star tight end Travis Kelce fell short of a 1,000-yard receiving mark for the first time since 2015.
But defensively, the Chiefs were humming, finishing the regular season second overall in total defense and fourth overall in pass defense. No team scored more than 27 points against the outfit, in the regular season or in the playoffs. They were also second in scoring defense and 10th in third-down defense.
And in Sunday night’s Super Bowl, Kansas City excelled on both sides of the ball, vanquishing the San Francisco 49ers in a heartbreaking overtime win.
To the shock of many, the first quarter went scoreless. By halftime, the Niners were up 10-3. Interestingly, the game was a defensive stand by both sides – Christian McCaffrey was held to just 80 rushing yards, while Travis Kelce was held to 93 receiving.
San Francisco receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel may as well have been absent from the game; the two combined for a measly 82 yards. Thus, to the untrained eye, this Super Bowl was boring; one would be forgiven for going to bed after hearing Usher say “Yeah” about 600 times. But as the second half showed, this Super Bowl outshined most others in terms of pure entertainment value.
With the clock running down in the fourth quarter, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker tied the game at 19 points apiece with a field goal. In overtime, the Niners scored one of their own. This led to three remaining possibilities: a defensive stop or forced turnover by the Niners, which would seal them a win; a field goal by Butker to prolong the game; or a Chiefs TD, to win it for the Kingdom. The third scenario occurred.
With three seconds left in the first quarter of overtime, Mahomes fired it to Mecole Hardman to secure the franchise’s third Super Bowl in five years. In one moment, the unlikeliest repeat champs ever won it all.
What does this mean for next season? A few things. First: the 2020s Chiefs are a dynasty. Second: Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers have their work cut out for them in trying to unseat that dynasty next season. And third: quarterback truly is the most important position in football.
This season, Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill (a former Chief) had more receiving yards than all Chiefs receivers combined. Kelce, as was mentioned before, fell short of 1,000 receiving yards. So what worked? In both the regular season and the playoffs, Patrick Mahomes put the Kansas City Chiefs on his back. He won this game, and this season, pretty much single-handedly. The Chiefs’ victory goes to show that, even with a mediocre offensive roster, the right QB – with a little help from the defense – makes all the difference.
In short, Mahomes should enjoy that Super Bowl LVIII MVP Award. For, as both the NFL and the Swiftie masses can attest, he has certainly earned it.
