CHIEFS VICTORIOUS
Kansas City earns second title in half-century by rallying in fourth
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Uncomfortable and under duress for much of the game, quarterback Patrick Mahomes suddenly recaptured his mojo and lifted coach Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory, the team’s first NFL championship in a halfcentury.
All it took was falling behind by double digits in the postseason ... again. Then Mahomes led the Chiefs to 21 consecutive points in the final 6:13, hitting two long passes on touchdown drives for a 31-20 victory Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium.
“We never lost faith,” Mahomes said. “That’s the biggest thing. Everybody on this team, no one had their head down. We believed in each other. That’s what we preached all year long.”
The Chiefs (15-4) trailed, 24-0 and 17-7, in their previous playoff games. This time, Kansas City nearly didn’t have time for a comeback.
Kansas City’s fans in the crowd of 62,417 got little opportunity to chant and do the tomahawk chop as the Chiefs fell behind, 20-10, in the third quarter. Mahomes even threw his second interception of the game after they fell behind.
But the vaunted 49ers defense wilted late and Mahomes brought the magic that makes him special.
He completed passes of 44 yards to Tyreek
Hill and 38 to Sammy Watkins. The touchdowns came on short throws to Travis Kelce to cut the deficit to three and to Damien Williams for the lead. The first NFL title in Chiefs coach Reid’s two-decade career was clinched by Williams’ 38-yard touchdown run, sending redclad Chiefs fans into chants of “Andy!” Andy!”
Reid, 61, won a Super Bowl ring with the 1996 Packers while in charge of tight ends. He has been seeking one as a head coach since being hired by Philadelphia in 1999. The Eagles lost to the New England Patriots in their only trip to the big game after the 2004 season.
“This is what it’s all about,” Reid said. “What a great team, great coaches. Appreciate
every bit of it.”
Mahomes found Hill, whose bobble led to the second San Francisco pick, for 44 yards on a third-and-15 — the first long pass completed by Kansas City. A 20-yard pass interference call on Tarvarius Moore, who had that earlier pick, put the ball at the 1 and Kelce was wide open for the score.
The Chiefs defense confounded by the 49ers’ misdirection much of the game got stingy and forced a three-andout. Mahomes soon hit Watkins down the right sideline behind Richard Sherman for a 38-yard gain, leading to Williams’ first score.
San Francisco (15-4) had nothing left in the fourth quarter, and its coach, Kyle Shanahan, saw yet another lategame meltdown by his team. Three years ago, as offensive coordinator in Atlanta, he was part of the Falcons’ Super Bowl collapse and loss in overtime to the Patriots.
Kansas City, an original AFL franchise, won the final Super Bowl before the full merger, beating Minnesota in 1970. Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt even coined the phrase Super Bowl.
Now the Hunt family can add a Vince Lombardi Trophy to the Lamar Hunt Trophy earned with the AFC championship.
“It’s a beautiful trophy,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said. “I’m so happy for our players, coaches and fans. And especially Andy Reid. Nobody deserves this trophy more than Andy Reid.”
San Francisco went 4-12 in 2018 and Shanahan was on something of a hot seat this season. He came close to a ring once again, but down the stretch the 49ers couldn’t slow the no-huddle attack at which Mahomes, Hill, Kelce, Williams and all the other Chiefs excel.
“We have heart,” Mahomes said. “We never give up and those guys around us, the leaders on the team, have that mindset that we never give up.”
The fourth quarter fireworks by the Chiefs were along the lines of the expected offensive surge. Earlier, there were some strong drives but not a lot of huge plays.
The 49ers used up nearly six minutes on their opening drive, yet got only Robbie Gould’s 38-yard field goal. Kansas City took up 7:26 for its next march, including a fourth-and-1 run by Williams on a direct snap to the 49ers 1. All four Chiefs in the backfield spun around before the snap.
Mahomes took it in to end the 15-play series on a run option.
The 7-3 deficit was the first for San Francisco since Game 15. It soon became 10-3 after Jimmy Garoppolo’s illadvised lob under pressure was intercepted by Bashaud Breeland. Another fourthdown gamble paid off for the Chiefs, with Williams gaining 3 on a pitch-out. But the Chiefs stalled and Harrison Butker kicked a 31-yard field goal.
San Francisco needed a spark and, as it often has this season, the running game provided it. Gouging the Chiefs in the trenches, the 49ers gained 53 yards on five consecutive rushes before
Garoppolo hit on two passes. The second completion, over the middle to Kyle Juszczyk, saw the fullback look like anything but with a nifty open-field move past safety Daniel Sorensen — perhaps Kansas City’s best tackle. Juszczyk surged into the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown to tie it at 10-10.
Once more, Garoppolo was brilliant on a drive after being picked off. He improved to 39 for 42 for 461 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions with a 136.2 rating on such series after throwing an interception.
Gould’s 42-yarder gave the 49ers their first lead, capping the opening drive of the second half. Again, their misdirection plays kept the Chiefs off-balance.
As Garoppolo did in the first half, Mahomes then threw into heavy coverage trying to hit Hill and was picked by Fred Warner. It was the first interception of Mahomes in five postseason games.
And it paid off with another efficient series for the 49ers, keyed by a 26-yard completion to Kendrick Bourne on third down. Raheem Mostert, the star of the NFC title game, surged in from the 1 for a 20-10 edge. Hardly unfamiliar territory for Kansas City, which trailed Houston, 24-0, and Tennessee, 17-7, in the playoffs.