It was entertaining, sure, but not a classic. In cinematic terms, Super Bowl 58 wouldn't be up for an Oscar. It was more like an action flick, the predictable ones where the protagonist gets into all these predicaments that you know he’ll overcome. You know the ending. You keep watching anyway.
For more than four hours Sunday evening, that ending loomed. The San Francisco 49ers played a perfect antagonist. They did so much right, but they did just enough wrong. A muffed punt here. A blocked extra point there. Having to settle for a 27-yard field goal in overtime. Leaving the door cracked for the one player in today’s NFL who’s certain to take advantage.
For Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, this Super Sunday was only a sequel.
The Chiefs’ 25-22 overtime victory made three championships in six years for Mahomes, who has put together a stunning body of work before his 29th birthday. Mahomes’ Chiefs have won three of the past five Super Bowls. They’ve played in four of the past five. They’ve smirked alongside Jake from State Farm at the NFL’s ambitions of parity, winning back-to-back titles for the first time since the New England Patriots did it to close the 2004 season.
The Chiefs haven't gotten here solely because of one player. They’ve made solid offseason decisions. They haven't been afraid to make tough calls along the way (remember when they got rid of Tyreek Hill to save money?). They've drafted spectacularly.
If there’s a lesson the Tennessee Titans should jot down from this, it’s that seven starters on the Chiefs’ defense were drafted since 2020, according to The Athletic. That’s remarkable, considering Kansas City hasn’t picked higher than No. 21 overall since 2017 – when it took Mahomes at No. 10.
The Chiefs found cornerback L’Jarius Sneed in the fourth round in 2020. They got guard Trey Smith out of Tennessee in the sixth round a year later. Running back Isiah Pacheco was a seventh-rounder, 11 spots ahead of 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy in 2022.
By the way, Purdy wasn’t the reason San Francisco lost this Super Bowl, as many believed he would be. Purdy played well.
But Purdy, like every other NFL quarterback, isn’t Mahomes.
There are no comparisons for Mahomes unless you go back in time to Tom Brady or maybe Joe Montana. It's an exclusive list of quarterbacks with multiple rings and greatness that has shined brightest in the biggest, pressure-filled spotlight.
On Sunday, the Chiefs got six points from their first nine possessions – and then, when it mattered most, they scored on each of their final four possessions. They trailed when each of those drives started, too.
Mahomes finished his evening by leading Kansas City on marches of 12, 11 and 13 plays to twice tie with a field goal – and then win with an overtime touchdown. On those three drives, Mahomes threw for 151 of his 333 passing yards, completing 16 of 21 throws. With 66 yards, Mahomes was also the Chiefs’ leading rusher.
In overtime, Mahomes was 8-for-8 passing while scrambling for 8 yards on fourth-and-1 and then 19 yards on third-and-1. Then he found Mecole Hardman with the game-winner and the confetti fell and Mahomes promised television viewers in his CBS postgame interview that the Chiefs weren’t done with moments like this.
Brady won his third Super Bowl at 27. He’d go on to win four more.
The fact that we may still be somewhere in the first half of Mahomes’ NFL dominance is troubling for the many of us who've grown sick of the Chiefs. How cool they are, with the pop-star following and excruciating commercials we’ve been forced to endure on repeat.
No relief in sight on that one, huh, Jake?
We were so close this season, too. These Chiefs were on the ropes. Then the playoffs start, and here they are, winning in Buffalo and Baltimore. And while the 49ers were favored entering this Super Bowl, deep down, you knew better.
When the 49ers couldn’t close, you knew who would.
This Super Bowl was close to being about so many other things. Purdy telling his doubters to hush. Redemption for 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan after falling short before. A surprising breakout performance on the big stage for Murfreesboro’s Jauan Jennings, former University of Tennessee star and seventh-round draft pick of the 49ers.
Instead, it ended up being about the player we expected all along.
Same as ever, Patrick Mahomes was inevitable.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.
