2024 Super Bowl, Chiefs vs. 49ers score: Patrick Mahomes leads OT comeback as K.C. wins back-to-back titles (2024)

Travis Kelce = best tight end ever?

He certainly has a strong case after becoming the third player in NFL history to lead three Super Bowl championship teams in yards receiving. While he did not find the end zone, Kelce was integral in the Chiefs coming back and hoisting their third Lombardi Trophy in five seasons Sunday night. And he's not finished yet, saying postgame that he's eyeing a three-peat.

One of the best QB performances in a Super Bowl ever?

CBS Sports NFL writer Bryan DeArdo definitely thinks so, as he put Patrick Mahomes' performance in Super Bowl LVIII in the top 5 of QB performances all-time in the big game. Read DeArdo's reasoning, and check out the rest of his top-30 QB performances, here.

'Out of their minds'

Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce -- that's who you think about when you think of the Chiefs' dynasty. And they deserve a large amount of the credit for winning three Super Bowls over the past five years. But this season, much more so than the others, the defense was just as impressive, if not more so at times. And when the offense sputtered during the first half of Super Bowl LVIII against the 49ers, the defense made enough plays to keep the game close until Mahomes and his playmakers found their rhythm.

5 things we'll remember about Super Bowl LVIII

What started as a sluggish Super Bowl gave way to plenty of theatrics late, with the teams trading scores throughout the second half and overtime until the Chiefs walked-off with the championship on a touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Mecole Hardman. We'll certainly remember that play, but what about the others storylines from the 25-22 thriller? Like Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift taking the world by storm? Or Patrick Mahomes further establishing himself as one of the greats? Here's how we'll remember Super Bowl LVIII.

Why the Chiefs won

Kansas City was down, but never out. Even as the offense struggled in the first half, the defense was able to hold up its end of the bargain by keeping San Francisco's offense at bay. Steve Spagnuolo's unit also didn't let the game get out of hand, even as the offense was giving the ball away at times. After both of the Chiefs turnovers on offense in this game, the defense responded by forcing punts on the ensuing 49ers drives and allowed just 20 yards of total offense on those possessions. Even in overtime, the defense bent, but didn't break as they limited the 49ers to a field goal despite getting pushed back to the nine-yard line. Chris Jones was the star of that drive, immediately pressuring Purdy on a third-and-4 snap that led to the field goal attempt.

Of course, the star on offense for the Chiefs was the Super Bowl MVP, Patrick Mahomes. The now three-time Super Bowl champion led his team through its initial struggles and was simply masterful down the stretch. With less than two minutes in regulation, he made the necessary plays to keep his team alive, including two clutch third-down completions. Overtime was more of the same from Mahomes, utilizing both his legs (headlined by a fourth-and-1 run to move the chains) and his arm to propel his team to victory.

Why the 49ers lost

The 49ers simply let the Chiefs hang around, which is a death sentence with Patrick Mahomes on the opposing sideline. There were ample opportunities for Kyle Shanahan's team to put Kansas City away in this game, but it could never deliver that key blow to secure it a Super Bowl title. The first drive of the game featured a missed scoring opportunity with Christian McCaffrey fumbling at the Chiefs 27-yard line. The Niners also had two turnovers in this game that resulted in zero points scored by the offense. After building up a 10-3 lead at the half, the offense began the second half with three consecutive three-and-outs that combined for -2 total yards of offense. What made that worse was the minimal time those drives took off the clock, allowing Kansas City time to chew away at the lead.

The muffed punt that bounced off of cornerback Darrell Luter Jr.'s ankle was also the big break that the Chiefs needed as they scored on the very next play to take the lead for the first time in the game. That opened the floodgates for Mahomes and company and sent Kyle Shanahan on a familiar path of blowing Super Bowl leads.

Turning point

As we noted, the muffed punt was what allowed the Chiefs to get directly back in this game and completely swung the momentum in their favor. While it was a bit of bad luck for Luter Jr. as the ball landed on his ankle, it's also the job of Ray-Ray McLoud III to make sure his blockers are out of harm's way. K.C. scored on the very next play, which sent it on a trajectory to win the Super Bowl.

Play of the game

Of course, it has to be the game-winning touchdown. Mahomes found a wide-open Mecole Hardman to give the Chiefs their fourth Super Bowl title in franchise history and third in the past five years. Hardman, who had a 52-yard reception in this game, was acquired by Kansas City in mid-October in a trade with the New York Jets. The wideout had spent the first four years of his career with the team but had signed with the Jets in free agency last offseason. Now, he is part of one of the most iconic plays in franchise history.

Back for more

Travis Kelce sure sounds like a guy who is coming back for another season at age-35. Pretty much his entire post-game interview was about the possibility of the Chiefs earning a three-peat next year.

"How about that 'D', baby?"

Andy Reid says the Kansas City defense was "out of their mind" tonight. They held the 49ers to just 5.3 yards per play, nearly a yard and a half south of their season average.

"We're not done"

Patrick Mahomes' message after throwing the game-winning score to Hardman is that the Chiefs are just getting started.

CHIEFS WIN

FINAL: Chiefs 25, 49ers 22

The Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champions once again. On the final play of overtime, Mahomes fakes an inside hand-off and found Mecole Hardman in the flat with no defenders anywhere near him. And Hardman walked into the end zone for a game-winning score. Kansas City has gone back-to-back, and now has three Super Bowl victories in five seasons.

Mahomes magic

Nobody in the NFL added more value as a scrambler against zone defenses this season than did Patrick Mahomes. He just made another great play there on third-and-short, taking off up the middle as soon as he saw the zones split and provide him a lane. Chiefs are in business at the 10-yard line.

Making all the plays

Mahomes picked up the fourth down conversion on a zone-read. After a massive mistake by MVS on the next play, Mahomes erased the second-and-14 with two quick completions, the latter of which went to Rashee Rice, who made a nice catch-and-run to pick up a first down. Chiefs on the move toward scoring territory.

For all the marbles

The Chiefs are facing fourth-and-short after Pacheco was stopped just shy of the line on third down. Remember, they don't run QB sneaks since Mahomes was injured on one a few years ago. Let's see what Andy Reid has in store for us here.

Niners in the lead

OT: 49ers 22, Chiefs 19

Once again facing third-and-short, the 49ers took CMC out of the backfield and removed the threat of a run. That let Steve Spagnuolo send heat after Brock Purdy, and Chris Jones got there quickly enough to force an inaccurate throw to Jauan Jennings.

Result: a short Jake Moody field goal. Now, the Chiefs will have a chance to drive for a game-tying or game-winning score.

Juice is loose

Brock Purdy made a great move to escape the pressure from George Karlaftis, and he got the ball outside to Kyle Juszczyk in the flat. The ball came loose at the end of the play, but Juice had taken two steps and then reached for the pylon, so they didn't even review the catch.

Run-CMC

Christian McCaffrey was wide open in the flat when pressure got into Purdy's face. Then he did what he does best: createsomething out of nothing. He sped right past the safety in the open field to rip off a huge gain.

Third-down conversion

The Niners motioned Brandon Aiyuk from one side of the formation to the other, and got him into a stacked alignment. That gave him both a free release and a matchup with Mike Edwards instead of Trent McDuffie or L'Jarius Sneed. San Francisco still on the move.

Bailed out

The 49ers chose to take the ball to open overtime, and their drive quickly sputtered... but they got bailed out by a penalty. Purdy was nearly intercepted on first down, Aiyuk had a false start on second down, and then the pressure got to Purdy on third, but Trent McDuffie -- who has been fantastic tonight -- got called for holding Jauan Jennings to give the Niners new life.

Overtime rules primer

During this commercial break, here's your chance to catch up on the new overtime rules, which were put into place after the famous "13 seconds" game between the Chiefs and Bills in the AFC title game a few years ago. This is the first time a playoff game has gone into overtime since then.

OVERTIME

Q4: 19-19 TIE

Kansas City's last-minute drive ties the game, and it sure looks like we'll be headed for overtime here. The Chiefs have 6 seconds left and elected to kick the field goal instead of risking time running out by running one more play.

REMINDER: BOTH TEAMS WILL POSSESS THE BALL IN OVERTIME NO MATTER WHAT.

Kelce makes it happen

On the biggest play of the game, where else would the Chiefs go? It's No. 87 on the crossing route to get them into range for a quick shot (or two) at the end zone with enough time remaining for a field goal. He beat Fred Warner off the line and ripped off a huge gain.

What a play call

The Chiefs had the perfect play on third-and-2. They got Jerick McKinnon out into the flat with three blockers ahead of him to pick up the first down. KC has enough time to drive for a game-winning TD and is already in field goal range.

Huge stop, a field goal, and now a chance for Mahomes

Q4: 49ers 19, Chiefs 16

The 49ers motioned Christian McCaffrey out of the backfield on third-and-4, basically announcing that they were going to throw the ball. Steve Spagnuolo brought the heat, and Brock Purdy's pass got deflected and fell incomplete. Jake Moody's 53-yard field goal gave the Niners the lead again, and now Kansas City will have a chance to tie or win the game with one final drive.

Niners on the march

San Francisco got this drive started quickly with back-to-back chunk gains. Jennings picked up his fourth catch of the night to gain 23 yards on the first snap, then the Niners gave the ball to Deebo on an end-around for another nine yards. They're already in Chiefs territory, with second-and-1 with 4:29 remaining.

49ers make stand at goal line

Q4: 49ers 16, Chiefs 16

The 49ers defense stepped up in a big way on the goal-to-go sequence. The defensive line dominated the series, stopping Pacheco for no gain on first down and then forcing Mahomes to freelance on both second and third. That forced K.C. into yet another Harrison Butker field goal. We're all tied up with 5:46 remaining.

Beating the blitz

The 49ers haven't sent pressure all that often today. They tried it right there on third down, but they blew the coverage behind it and left Travis Kelce wide open over the middle of the field. That allowed the Chiefs to pick up a first down and keep the drive alive.

Jauan Jennings AGAIN

Q4: 49ers 16, Chiefs 13

Jennings makes ANOTHER huge play! He had the touchdown pass on San Francisco's first score of the night, and now he comes up with an enormous catch, breaks a tackle, and falls into the end zone to put the Niners back in the lead. He joins ex-Eagles QB Nick Foles as the only players ever to catch and throw a touchdown in the same Super Bowl game. What a night for San Francisco's No. 3 WR.

Third-down stop, fourth-down conversion

Kansas City's defensive line stepped up on third-and-short to stop Christian McCaffrey short of the line to gain, dropping him for a loss. George Kittle's first catch of the night made up for it, though, with the Niners converting on fourth-and-3 to pick up a new set of downs instead of kicking what would have been a game-tying field goal.