Super Bowl LIV Recap

The Chiefs won their first Super Bowl since the 1969 season and they broke their 50 year drought by coming back from a 10 point deficit in the 4th quarter to defeat the 49ers 31-20. Pat Mahomes won the Super Bowl MVP award to complete his amazing two-year run as the Chiefs starter, and Andy Reid broke through to win his first Super Bowl in his long career. The Chiefs are now at the top of the mountain in the NFL, and they might be there for a long time. Here is my recap of the game...

1) I thought this was a good Super Bowl. It was certainly better than last year's 13-3 Patriots win over the Rams. It was 24-20 Chiefs with the 49ers trying to drive to win the game with less than two minutes to go. That is all you could ask for in a Super Bowl. The final touchdown run by Damien Williams to make it 31-20 was more like an empty net goal to put the game away.

2) Make not mistake about it: The 49ers had this game and let it slip away. The game played out perfectly for them for the first 54 minutes. They were up 20-10 and they had frustrated Pat Mahomes, picked him off twice, got after him in the pocket, and they didn't let the Chiefs beat them with explosive plays. They were in control and then it fell apart. That will eat at 49ers fans for the rest of their lives. They had it right there.

3) Pat Mahomes was not good for the first 52 minutes of this game. He threw two really bad interceptions and he just wasn't playing well. He was playing the worst game of his career until they were down 20-10 and facing a 3rd and 15 with less than 7 minutes to go in the game. He hit Tyreek Hill on the big throw into SF territory and it set up the touchdown to Travis Kelce to cut the score to 20-17. The Chiefs were also aided by a pass interference call down to the 1 yard line. It helped KC eventually score on that drive. The pass from Mahomes to Hill turned the game and will be the moment from this Super Bowl that everyone remembers.

4) A lot of people were criticizing Kyle Shanahan for not killing the clock and running the ball more when they got the ball back, but I'm not going to go there. Shanahan had to be aggressive in my opinion and if it wasn't for Chris Jones being a force on the defensive line, then Jimmy Garappolo would have completed a few passes to George Kittle and the 49ers could have bled the clock.

5) Once the Chiefs got the 3 and out at 20-17, you just had a feeling that Mahomes was going to take advantage. You could feel it and then he hits the big pass to Sammy Watkins, who beat Richard Sherman, into SF territory, and you knew it they were going to score. Mahomes finished off the drive with a TD pass to Damien Williams, and the Chiefs took the lead 24-20 with only 2:44 left. The Chiefs were down 10 with under seven minutes to go, then five minutes later, they scored two touchdowns and were up by four. Amazing.

6) The 49ers got the ball back and had some hope by getting a couple big plays through the air, and they had the ball at midfield until the drive stalled. Garoppolo missed an open Emmanuel Sanders on a post route that would have given the Niners the lead. Sanders was behind the DBs, but Jimmy G just overthrew him. He has to make that throw in that spot. That throw will haunt the Niners all offseason, and if Jimmy G hit that throw, it might have put him on the map with one of the greatest clutch throws in Super Bowl history. He got sacked on the next play and the drive ended, and so did the hopes of the Niners.

7) Kyle Shanahan will have to live with the fact that his team was up 20-10 with under seven minutes to go in the Super Bowl, and they lost. He was also the OC in Atlanta when the Falcons were up 28-3 and blew that Super Bowl to the Patriots, so he has now been apart of two of the worst collapses in Super Bowl history. He has to live with that until he wins one.

8) The Niners defense was a really good defense all year, but they failed them in the last seven minutes of the game. Nick Bosa and the front was awesome, and I think Bosa could have made a case for MVP if the Niners had won. They have to shut the door on the Chiefs on 3rd and 15 in that spot. This game will be very tough for the entire 49ers franchise and fanbase to get over.

9) We now live in a world where the Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl Champions. It is always nice to see a team and a fanbase end a long championship drought, and I'm sure there are plenty of Chiefs fans that have suffered through some terrible losses, but I just can't be happy for them. As a Broncos fan, the Chiefs have been the biggest rival in my lifetime, so I just can't be thrilled for their fans.

10) The Pat Mahomes era has officially begun. The torch from Peyton Manning and Tom Brady has been passed to Mahomes and he is now the face of the NFL. It is scary to think about how this could be the beginning of the next dynasty in the NFL and the beginning of Mahomes putting together one of the greatest QB careers in NFL history. His time has arrived, and it is safe to say that Mahomes and Reid are not done winning Super Bowls together.