Super Bowl 54 Final Score: Patrick Mahomes rallies Chiefs past 49ers for thrilling 31-20 win

At long last, Andy Reid has his crowning achievement.

The Kansas City Chiefs rallied from 20-10 down in the 4th quarter to beat the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 31-20 to win their first Super Bowl in 50 years. Andy Reid, who last won a Super Bowl as an assistant coach with the Green Bay Packers in the 1996 season, finally gets his ring in his 21st season as a head coach.

It was the 49ers who scored first on a Robbie Gould field goal. The Chiefs answered with a one-yard Patrick Mahomes option play touchdown run on a very lengthy drive. A bad Jimmy Garoppolo interception was cashed in with a Harrison Butker field goal to give KC a 10-3 advantage. Swiss-army knife fullback Kyle Juszczyk tied things up with a play-action touchdown catch of 15 yards, as the 49ers rushing attack flustered KC on that series. A George Kittle offensive pass interference took potential points off the board entering halftime, but it looked like the right call.

The third quarter saw San Francisco dominate the Chiefs, getting another Gould field goal and a one-yard touchdown run by Raheem Mostert. Garoppolo was hardly getting pressured and making good decisions. Mahomes threw a horrible interception to Fred Warner that led to the Mostert TD.

Mahomes struggled to deal with the 49ers defense for much of the evening, throwing two interceptions and fumbling twice (recovering one and having the other go out of bounds). But in a postseason in which they were down double digits in every game, they pulled off the comeback magic one more time. A huge 3rd and 15 conversion to Tyreek Hill kept the Chiefs’ hopes alive, then Travis Kelce pulled the Chiefs within three points on a one-yard touchdown pass.

On a day when the 49ers didn’t punt once through the first three quarters, Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco offense fell apart. A three-and-out that took little time off the clock gave Mahomes the ball again with plenty of time, and he made that vaunted Niners D pay.

The eventual Super Bowl MVP unleashed a long ball to Sammy Watkins, who torched Richard Sherman to get to the San Francisco 10.

Running back Damien Williams just barely crossed the plane on 3rd and goal to give Kansas City its first lead since the 2nd quarter.

Garoppolo had a chance to lead the 49ers to the promised land, and while he did cross into Kansas City territory, three straight incomplete passes and a 4th down sack by Frank Clark (who was a non-factor almost all game) forced a turnover on downs. There should’ve been a delay of game penalty but who are we to whine?

They still needed to get a first down to run the clock out, but they went for a touchdown instead on a dagger run by Williams.

Garoppolo’s desperation heave got picked off by Kendall Fuller to end things once and for all.

Mahomes is your Super Bowl MVP with a statline of 26/42 for 286 yards, 2 TDs, 1 rush TD, 2 INTs. Even on an off-day for much of the night in Miami, you are never out of a game with that man at quarterback.

San Francisco had a phenomenal 2019 season but it ends in heartbreak, and once again Kyle Shanahan has to deal with a blown 4th quarter lead. He’ll be questioned heavily for the odd decision to sit on his timeouts and not preserve some time for his two-minute drill before halftime.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs ran the damn table after they were 6-4 through ten games. They also lost Mahomes for two games and Matt Moore admirably filled in for a 1-1 split against the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers.

The offseason is officially underway for everyone, but the party has only just begun in Kansas City. What an achievement for Reid, Mahomes, and the rest of that team.

See you Tuesday for Enemy Reaction!