Wrapping up the Chiefs’ comeback Super Bowl LIV triumph over the 49ers
Here are the top 20 things we learned from Super Bowl LIV: 1. The Kansas City Chiefs, then members of the American Football League, most recently won a championship at the conclusion of the NFL’s 50th season, winning Super Bowl IV 23-7 to cap the 1969 season... that was until Sunday night, when KC put a bow on the NFL’s centennial season by winning their second Lombardi Trophy.
2. Andy Reid’s 222nd victory means he’s finally a Super Bowl winner as a head coach... and no longer owns the most wins in that role without a ring. Congrats, Andy, most of the NFL world is thrilled for you.
3. At 24 years and 138 days old, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, the NFL’s 2018 MVP, became its youngest quarterback to win Super Bowl MVP honors.
3a. At 23 years and 320 days back in 2006, Ben Roethlisberger is the only quarterback younger than Mahomes to start for a triumphant Super Bowl team.
4. Mahomes and Hall of Famer Kurt Warner are the only players in NFL history to win the league MVP award and win the Super Bowl in their first three seasons.
4a. Mahomes and Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith are the only players to win a Super Bowl and MVP award before reaching age 25.
5. Mahomes’s teammates adore him. Take it from me. Real admiration for No. 15 – “one of the guys” – no matter whom you ask in that KC locker room.
6. Travis Kelce and George Kittle provided the best tight end matchup in Super Bowl history. However no one at their position has ever won the game’s MVP award.
7. Happy birthday to Shakira, who turned 43 on a Super Sunday that featured her and 50-year-old Jennifer Lopez in the game’s halftime performance, one of the best in recent memory. Bravo to the proud Latinas.
8. Really nice pre-game tribute to Kobe Bryant by both teams, who lined both 24-yard lines about a half-hour before kickoff.
9. Not a single Chief or 49er was listed on the pre-game injury report. Nice when both teams are essentially playing with a full deck.
10. Hate it for 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who’s probably going to take heat for being too conservative just three years after he was skewered for being too aggressive while with the Falcons.
11. The team that scored first has won eight of the past 10 Super Bowls. The clubs that lost? The 2016 Falcons and 2019 49ers. Oy.
12. Provided he stays healthy, defensive rookie of the year Nick Bosa is going to be a force in this league for a long time.
13. Kudos to Damien Williams, who’s more than replaced Kareem Hunt as the Chiefs lead back. He made a strong MVP case Sunday with his pair of TDs and 133 total yards.
14. Garoppolo threw 31 passes Sunday after totaling 27 in San Francisco’s first two playoff games. He was also picked off twice in a game for the fourth time this season.
14a. Mahomes was picked off twice in a game for the first time this season.
15. Super Bowl LIV was only the fourth to be tied at halftime.
16. Niners assistant Katie Sowers became the first woman and first openly LGBT coach in Super Bowl history. Congrats, Coach.
17. Kansas City became the first club in the NFL’s 100 seasons to win three games in the same playoffs despite trailing by at least 10 points in all of them.
18. The Chiefs’ win gave the AFC 25 Super Bowl victories, matching the NFC total. The AFL and NFL also split the first four Super Sundays.
19. After going 5-0 in Super Bowls in the 20th century, the 49ers are 0-2 in the 21st.
20. The 2020 Chiefs will now aim to become the first team to repeat since the 2004 Patriots.
(USA Today/TNS)