On Sunday, February 11, the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers faced off on the world stage in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl LVIII title. These two teams were familiar with each other as they were in the same spot just four years ago in Super Bowl LIV. Both teams battled all the way into overtime but the Chiefs remained on top for the second year in a row.
There was heavy anticipation surrounding this Super Bowl for several fanbases–Chiefs fans were looking for a second consecutive title, the 49ers fans hoping Brock Purdy, or “Mr. Irrelevant”, would prove himself, Usher fans eager for the halftime show and Taylor Swift fans superstitious about her 13th NFL appearance.
The Chiefs called the coin toss and won to give the 49ers the ball to start, and the first quarter was slow with no points for either team. Early in the second quarter, 49ers kicker Jake Moody put the first points on the board with a 55-yard field goal, breaking the Super Bowl field goal record from 1994. Moody was picked up by the Niners in the 2023 NFL Draft as the 99th pick overall from University of Michigan. In the final five minutes of the half, San Francisco’s Christain McCaffery scored a 21-yard touchdown followed by a successful extra point. Harrison Butker for the Chiefs was able to make a 28-yard field goal before ending the half.
Butker had a successful 57-yard field goal attempt midway through the third quarter to break the Super Bowl field goal record, set just 30 minutes prior by Moody. Originally drafted by the Carolina Panthers, Butker made his NFL debut with the Chiefs in 2017 and has been with them ever since. With two minutes left in the quarter, Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught a touchdown pass to take the lead from the 49ers. Chiefs made the extra point to end the quarter up by three points.
To start the fourth quarter, Purdy threw a touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings to gain back the lead but Moody’s field goal attempt was blocked by the Chiefs defense. The teams had back and forth field goals to finish out regular play with a 19-19 score. This was only the second Super Bowl overtime in history. San Francisco won the coin toss and took possession of the ball only to come up with a field goal attempt. The Chiefs still had their attempt and threw a successful touchdown to Mecole Hardman Jr. to secure the Super Bowl title with a 25-22 win.
Postgame, Patrick Mahomes was awarded his third Super Bowl MVP with his third Super Bowl title.
Edited by Lydia Manning
Content creation by Samantha Lopez
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