Chiefs-Niners in Super Bowl
Kansas City beats Tennessee, San Francisco handles Green Bay.
New Smyrna Beach High alum Raheem Mostert made sure the San Francisco 49ers will return to his native Florida to close this season. Mostert rushed for 220 yards and scored four touchdowns during San Francisco’s 37-20 win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Sunday, punching the 49ers’ ticket to Super Bowl LIV in Miami.
Mostert’s perseverance was rewarded on a big stage Sunday. The hard-working running back went undrafted after wrapping up his Purdue career in 2015 and cycled through six NFL teams before earning a spot with the 49ers.
While holding his child during a postgame celebration, Mostert told Fox’s Terry Bradshaw, “Honestly, I just woke up like it was any other game.”
Now San Francisco will have two weeks to prepare to face the potent Chiefs, who rolled past the Titans 35-24 Sunday in the AFC Championship.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With his best imitation of a tightrope walker, Patrick Mahomes high-wired the Chiefs into their first Super Bowl in a half-century.
Oh sure, Mahomes did his usual superb job passing, but it was his 27-yard tap dance down the left sideline late in the first half that gave the Chiefs their first lead. From there, they outran the run-oriented Titans and star back Derrick Henry for a 35-24 victory Sunday in the AFC championship.
At last, for the first time since January 1970 and the third time overall, the Chiefs (14-4) are Super Bowl bound.
“I mean, it’s amazing. It really is,” Mahomes said. “To be here, to be a part of Chiefs Kingdom and to be able to do it here at Arrowhead, these people deserve it. And, we’re not done yet.”
Adding to the joy of the achievement, coach Andy Reid and owner Clark Hunt accepted the Lamar Hunt Trophy — named after his father — emblematic of the AFC title. It was handed over to them by Chiefs Hall of Famer Bobby Bell, with Mahomes and safety Tyrann Mathieu jumping for joy on the makeshift stage.
Next up: chasing the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
“Chiefs Kingdom, we are going to the Super Bowl,” Hunt said.
“It’s awesome,” Reid said, asking the crowd to chant “How about those Chiefs?”
The Chiefs lost in the very first Super Bowl, 35-10 to the Packers. But they charged back three years later to beat the Vikings 23-7 behind Len Dawson, Otis Taylor and animated coach Hank Stram famously urging his team to “keep matriculating the ball down the field, boys!”
As they had done in their past three “elimination” games, the sixth-seeded Titans (11-8) got started quickly. The difference at Arrowhead as opposed to the Texans, Patriots and Ravens was that the Chiefs had Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Damien Williams on offense, and a vastly upgraded defense from when they lost in last year’s AFC title game. Henry was held to 7 yards rushing in the second half.
“They were doubling all these guys,” Mahomes said of his spectacular TD run on which he barely stayed in bounds. “I just ran it and got some good blocking at the end and found a way to get in the end zone.’’
A week after they overcame a 24-0 deficit against the Texans, the Chiefs had to rally again.
Down 10-0 and 17-7, the hosts didn’t flinch, building a 35-17 lead while controlling the clock with a strong ground game. Naturally, Mahomes complemented that with sharp passing, spreading the ball on short and deep throws. The dagger came with a 60-yard completion to Watkins for the Chiefs’ 28th straight point midway in the final period.
Mahomes thrust both arms in the air as the crowd sang “I Want To Dance With Somebody.”
After taking a 3-0 lead on Greg Joseph’s first field goal — with the Titans’ penchant for scoring in the red zone, he hadn’t been called upon in his previous four games with the team — the Titans got a huge break. Bashaud Breeland appeared to make a diving interception, but replay review showed the ball hitting the ground.
Helped by consecutive offside penalties and a a fourth-down pass to Adam Humphries for his first career playoff reception, the Titans converted on, what else, Henry’s 4-yard run.
Then the Chiefs got rolling, scoring on three successive series. Hill took it in on a shovel pass, later beat top Titans cornerback Logan Ryan for a 20-yard reception, and Mahomes finished the half with his brilliant jaunt down the left sideline with half the Titans defense seemingly expecting him to step out of bounds.
That gave the Chiefs a 21-17 lead. It went to 28-17 on Williams’ 3-yard run to cap a seven-minute drive. Then Watkins toasted Logan for the clinching long pass.