Super Bowl 2024: 49ers go bust in Las Vegas

It took overtime, but the Kansas City Chiefs are back-to-back Super Bowl champions.

The San Francisco 49ers had the Kansas City Chiefs on the brink of defeat over and over and over again.

But Patrick Mahomes is a legend, and he’s one of the greatest players we have ever seen. He’s a three-time Super Bowl champion, a three-time Super Bowl MVP, and he’s an unofficial Seattle Seahawks legend courtesy of denying the 49ers the Lombardi Trophy for a second time in five seasons.

Down 19-16 in regulation, Mahomes engineered a heroic game-tying drive. His attempt at a winning touchdown in the closing seconds fell incomplete, but Harrison Butker was able to force overtime with a 29-yard field goal.

Under the new postseason OT rules, an opening possession touchdown no longer automatically wins the game. The 49ers received the ball first, and they were able to drive all the way deep into Kansas City territory. Brock Purdy couldn’t connect with Jauan Jennings, who threw for a touchdown and caught one earlier in the evening. Chris Jones had a clutch pressure that hurried Brock, and San Francisco settled for a field goal.

Enter Patrick Mahomes.

Either a field goal extends the game, or a touchdown wins it. Faced with 4th and 1, the Chiefs called No. 15’s number and he ran for a first down. He scrambled for another first on 3rd and 1 to the San Francisco 13. Then, he wrapped up victory with a toss to Mecole Hardman for the win.

The 49ers were 10-0 up early, seemingly dominating the Chiefs throughout the 1st half, but they made their own self-inflicted mistakes and only held a 10-3 halftime edge. It is the sixth loss for Kyle Shanahan as either a play-calling offensive coordinator and/or head coach in the postseason. His teams have blown 10+ point leads in five of them.

I’d say the turning point was this special teams gaffe by the 49ers, who’d just forced a three-and-out in the 3rd quarter.

The Chiefs scored 19 points on their final 4 possessions.

Thank you, Patrick Mahomes. The 49ers’ Super Bowl drought will extend to 30 years by the time 2025 rolls around. See y’all for Enemy Reaction.