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Mitch Albom: Patrick Mahomes in rarefied air with 3rd Super Bowl victory in OT thriller
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- Mitch Albom: Patrick Mahomes in rarefied air with 3rd Super Bowl victory in OT thriller
LAS VEGAS — Now you know why he gets all those commercials. In overtime, in the Super Bowl, in the final minutes of the seventh longest game in NFL history, Patrick Mahomes took control of his team, the night, and football history. Running his way out of trouble and throwing his way to glory, Mahomes led a 75-yard winning drive and found a wide-open Mecole Hardman in the end zone to do what he always seems to do: convert when it counts. In the first ever Super Bowl played in Las Vegas, the Chiefs' quarterback turned out to be the best bet.
Viva, La Patrick.
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"This is awesome, it's legendary!" Mahomes gushed to CBS, after winning his third Super Bowl — and third game MVP — by three points, throwing for 333 yards.
Not that this is much of a betting town, but I think 3 was the lucky number.
Final score: Kansas City 25, San Francisco 22 , Taylor Swift cutaways 10,000 . But this was more than that. Three Super Bowl wins puts Mahomes in rare quarterback company — Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman and Tom Brady . That's it. That's the club. It's now joined by Mahomes, who, at 28, would seem to have plenty more in him.
"It means a ton," he said. "The adversity we've dealt with this year. ... The guys never faltered."
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Chiefs' 25-22 overtime win in Super Bowl 58 on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas.
Well, that's not true. "Falter "means to hesitate, to waver, to lose your drive, and that happened numerous times this season (the Chiefs had six losses). It even happened several times Sunday night. K.C. trailed 10-0 in the first half, 19-16 with under 2 minutes left in regulation, and 22-19 in overtime.
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But time after time, Mahomes was the life-preserver, riding the resilience of Kansas City 's defense which kept it close enough for him to pull the rabbit out of the hat.
Never was his wizardry more evident than on that final OT drive.
When KC faced fourth-and-1, the possible last play of the game, it was Mahomes who kept the ball and ran for a huge first down.
When the Chiefs faced third-and-6 near midfield, Mahomes found Rashee Rice for a 13-yard completion.
On a critical third-and-1 inside 49er territory, Mahomes kept it again, running up the middle for 19 yards, a play that likely broke the spirit of the gutsy San Francisco defense.
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And finally, on first-and-goal from the 3, Mahomes found Hardman on a misdirection play and it was as simple as a pitch and catch to win it all. Mahomes rushed to embrace his receiver, the team swarmed the field, confetti shot into the air, and Taylor Swift was buried by her fabulous friends. All was well in Chiefs Kingdom.
"I blacked out when I caught the ball, though," Hardman told CBS.
That's OK. The referees didn't.
Bet on three.
Roles reversed to start
It was a game that saw promising drives halted by fumbles, and a new record set for longest Super Bowl field goals, twice. It had a lot of three-and-out drives, a missed extra point, and way too many shots of Swift swaying or high-fiving in a luxury suite.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is hit as he throws by 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa during the second half of the Chiefs' 25-22 overtime win in Super Bowl 58 on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas.
But every Super Bowl has a larger storyline, and we all knew coming in here what that was. With a championship last year and another four years ago, Kansas City was trying to cement a dynasty. San Francisco, nearly 30 years from its glory years, was trying to rediscover one.
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The Chiefs were obviously stellar at quarterback, with the omnipresent Mahomes trying for his third ring. The 49ers were stellar everywhere else — with Christian McCaffrey rushing, George Kittle catching and blocking, and Deebo Samuel doing all of the above.
We also had the tangential storylines: Taylor Swift in the luxury box, cheering on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce . And of course, Brock Purdy , still not earning a million dollars a year, trying to become the first man to go from Mr. Irrelevant to Super Bowl champion.
Even the coaches displayed novel-like caricatures. Andy Reid, 65, who's been to five Super Bowls and has never had a losing season in 11 years with the Chiefs, was nonetheless asked about his retirement plans last week (he replied "Today's not the day.")
Meanwhile the 49ers' Kyle Shanahan, who boasts the second-best win percentage in playoff history (behind only Vince Lombardi) was still looking for his first Super Bowl title to join his dad, Mike, as the first father-son tandem to ever accomplish that.
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So storylines were as abundant as yard markers at Allegiant Field on Sunday. But once the game began, the spotlight fell quickly on the two men behind center. And — surprise! It was Purdy who came out slinging, drew first blood, and who looked and acted, as the coaches always tell you, like he'd been here before.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) throws the ball as Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal (54) tries to block during the first quarter during Super Bowl 58 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024.
Purdy, just 24 years old and in his second season, hit his first six passes (one came back for a penalty) and threw so many crossing patterns over the middle, it felt like he was trying to stitch the field. He was 8-for-10 in the first quarter for 105 yards, and before the half was over, saw his most effective pass be a lateral to Jauan Jennings , who threw it back across the field to McCaffrey, who ran 21 yards for the half's only touchdown. Just like you draw it up in the dirt, right?
Nerves? What nerves?
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Meanwhile Mahomes, early on, looked like a guppy being chased by sharks.
The San Francisco defense swarmed him regularly, chased him from the pocket, and either sacked him or kept his runs from turning potent. The Chiefs trotted to the locker room trailing 10-3, with no touchdowns, a single 1-yard completion to Kelce, and a halftime to figure it out.
You just can't give him a chance
But that's the thing about Mahomes. You think you've got him, and then you don't. Rarely has there been a quarterback who seems to comprehend how long four quarters really is. Despite his empty bank account in the first half, and despite throwing an interception on the third play of the third quarter (there's that 3 again!) when it mattered most, Mahomes sprung to life like a marionette yanked by the strings.
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He led the Chiefs to points on four of their last five drives of regulation, including an instant lethal strike after a San Francisco fumble (a 16-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling ) and a game-tying field goal in the final seconds of the fourth quarter to ensure just the second overtime Super Bowl in history.
"That guy's got magic in his right arm," Kelce said of his quarterback.
And when the 49ers' opening OT drive stalled at the Kansas City 9-yard line, and they had to kick a field goal, everybody knew what destiny looked like.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes runs against the 49ers during overtime of the Chiefs' 25-22 overtime win in Super Bowl 58 on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas.
"When they kicked the field goal, it was on us," Kelce said. "We got the best quarterback in the league. ... He said, 'Let's go win this thing."
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They did.
Now, a word here about the 49ers. They played hard and tough, their defense was great ( despite losing star linebacker Dre Greenlaw early ) and Purdy was exceptional for much of the game. If you expected him to vomit, shiver or quake in his sneakers, well, it never happened. He finished with 255 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.
But when his last pass, in the shadow of the Chiefs' goal line, fell limply to the ground, you almost knew it was over. The 49ers would kick a field goal. The Chiefs would score a touchdown. Three doesn't beat seven. Never has.
"How badly does this hurt?" someone asked Jennings, the San Francisco wide receiver.
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"Anybody got a nail that he can step on?" he replied, glumly. "Probably about that much."
It's not a beauty contest
Meanwhile, what more can you say about Mahomes? He's not consistently perfect, but when it comes to the biggest games, he's perfectly consistent. He's the guy you have to stop, but can't. He's the guy you need to bring down when he escapes, but you don't. He's the guy you need to make a mistake at the biggest moment, but he doesn't.
He may have taken a ribbing this week for having a "dad bod ," but nobody won a Super Bowl by flexing. Flab or not, Mahomes now has three, along with a message for those who favored the 49ers by a couple of points before this game.
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"Just know that the Kansas City Chiefs are never underdogs," he declared. "Know that."
Message received.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes celebrates after the Chiefs' 25-22 overtime win in Super Bowl 58 on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas.
Thus ends the NFL season, with the same champion as last year, and with next year offering the chance to see something even more rare than a casino dedicated to charitable giving:
A threepeat.
Which brings us to a final thought on Detroit . It was admittedly tough to watch the enormous fuss, profiles, and accolades showered on the 49ers and not recall that the Lions had them down 24-7 at halftime in the NFC championship . And if not for a fumble, a couple of failed gambles and a ball bouncing off a helmet into the wrong man's hands, the Lions could have been here trying to beat the Chiefs for a second time this season.
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But as the 49ers discovered, getting close is meaningless. It would be something if Detroit was the team next year to try and stop the Chiefs from history. That thought should be tantalizing enough to carry us to September .
Until then, the takeaway from this Super Bowl is clear. When you push your chips to the middle of the table, push them on Mahomes.
"Is this a dynasty now?" he was asked by CBS.
"It's the start of one," he said. "But we're not done yet."
Viva la Patrick.
Good luck, everybody else.
Contact Mitch Albom: malbom@freepress.com . Check out the latest updates with his charities, books and events at MitchAlbom.com . Follow him @mitchalbom .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Patrick Mahomes reaches rare air with 3rd Super Bowl win in thriller
