The Kansas City Chiefs rallied to win their third Super Bowl in five years, defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25–22 in overtime.
The 49ers were the slight favorites going into the first Super Bowl played in Las Vegas and had twice been close to winning at Allegiant Stadium.
After the 49ers almost gained the lead back thanks to a last-second field goal by the Chiefs that sent the game into overtime, Patrick Mahomes’ touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman solidified Kansas City’s place as the first NFL dynasty since the New England Patriots.
The Chiefs are the first club to win back-to-back championships since the Patriots in the 1970s, having advanced to four of the previous five Super Bowls.
Andy Reid is the fifth coach to win three or more Super Bowls, while Mahomes, at the age of 28, is the sixth quarterback in NFL history to do it. After the game, Reid was dubbed “the greatest coach this game has ever seen” by Mahomes.
That ensured yet another heartbreaking loss for the 49ers and their coach, Kyle Shanahan. The Chiefs’ most recent victory came in the second Super Bowl to go into overtime; the first saw the Patriots pull off a historic comeback in 2016 before defeating the Atlanta Falcons, who had Shanahan as their offensive coordinator.
The Chiefs started their Super Bowl run with a fourth-quarter comeback against San Francisco in 2020.
Although the 49ers have won five Super Bowls overall, they have already lost three of those games since their previous NFL championship in 1995.
