Three Takeaways From Super Bowl LIV
Super Bowl LIV provided the NFL’s 100th season with a storybook ending but it was a weird outcome based on how the game went. The game hummed along quickly and was devoid of big moments, aside from 30 minutes of Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, which likely caused many young boys to experience weird feelings they’d never felt before. I predicted a few weeks ago that it would be Kansas City — which is most definitely in Missouri and not Kansas, as a certain US President wants you to believe — coming out on top. While the 31-20 Final Score wasn’t far off what I guessed, this definitely wasn’t how I expected it to go. Here’s what football fans should take away from the game.
Patrick Mahomes is the New Face of the NFL
For the first 50 minutes, San Francisco had played Kansas City to near perfection. Their pass rush had smothered quarterback Patrick Mahomes with four sacks, flushed him out of the pocket and forced him to make errant throws. Their secondary had stifled the Chiefs’ lethal passing attack, intercepting Mahomes twice. And to top it off, the 49ers’ offence had churned up chunk yardage on rushing plays and underneath passes, eliminating the chance for Kansas City to gain momentum.
Yet as badly as the Chiefs had played, I never once thought they were out of it because of their quarterback’s rare ability to strike like lightning at any moment. The Chiefs had already come back from at least 10 points twice in these playoffs, and when Mahomes connected with Tyreek Hill on 3rd and 15 for 44 yards mid-way through the fourth quarter, you could see it was bound to happen again. Down 20-10 with just over seven minutes remaining, and a mediocre stat line of 18/29 for 172 yards, zero passing touchdowns and two interceptions, Mahomes managed to flip the game on its head in the 4th quarter. The third-year QB out of Texas Tech went 8/13 for 114 yards and two touchdowns on two successive drives to give the Chiefs the lead and earn himself MVP honours. While some may question whether Mahomes actually deserved the MVP award over teammate Damien Williams, the reality is the only reason the Chiefs won this game was their one-of-a-kind quarterback.
Reid Finally Gets his Title; Shanahan Still Can’t Close
Coming into the Super Bowl LIV, you could make a strong case that Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was the greatest coach to never win the Super Bowl. Before Sunday’s game, Reid was the winningest coach in NFL history to have never won a Championship with 221 wins (6th all-time), but he managed to “get the monkey off his back” a la Steve Young 25 years ago for win 222, thanks to his team’s late offensive. After 21 seasons at the helm of an NFL franchise, Reid finally got the one he wanted.
Before Sunday, Reid had been 1-for-6 in Conference Title Games, and lost his lone Super Bowl appearance with the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX. He could never win the big one, and many people somewhat unfairly placed the blame on him due to his inability to manage the clock in big games. Now those critics have been silenced, or rather re-directed, to his adversary across the field, Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers head coach has actually had a similar career to Reid — a brilliant offensive mind who has managed to transform incompetent messes into juggernauts, but ultimately folds under pressure on the biggest stage.
This is now the second time in the last four Super Bowls that Shanahan’s offence has failed to close out the game with a 10+ point lead in the fourth quarter, the other being the infamous 28-3 collapse by the Falcons to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI where he was the offensive coordinator. The feat has only happened three times in history, and Shanahan has been made to look like the fool twice! But let’s not put all the blame on Shanahan, because while his offence sputtered, Jimmy Garoppolo was the one guiding the ship.
Before the Super Bowl, the 49ers had never really needed to rely on their quarterback to succeed so far this postseason. San Francisco’s defence had their way with Minnesota and the Eastern Illinois product only had to attempt eight passes in the 49ers dismantling of the Packers thanks to an all-time performance.
But with the season on the line, when San Francisco needed Garoppolo to step up and put the game away, he couldn’t deliver. The 49ers quarterback was wildly inaccurate, going 3/11 for 36 yards in the 4th quarter, the most notable miss being an overthrow on a deep pass to Emmanuel Sanders which would’ve allowed the 49ers to re-take the lead in its dying moments. Although technically Garoppolo is a two-time Super Bowl Champion, the question as to whether he (and his coach) are actually capable of leading a team to a title still remains unanswered.
The Chiefs’ Legacy is Still Unwritten
There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic if you are a Chiefs fan. For one, Mahomes is the youngest MVP and Super Bowl MVP in NFL history, and is currently on pace to obliterate every passing record in the process. The Chiefs also have key players Travis Kelce, Tyrann Mathieu and Hill locked up for at least the next two seasons. If you had to predict which team would become the NFL’s next great dynasty, it would be the Chiefs.
Die-hard Kansas City fans likely don’t need a lecture on taking this Super Bowl win for granted, as it had been 50 years since their last one; this was something they had waited their whole lives to experience. However, it’s important to heed these words of caution, because even with such an immensely talented Chiefs team, there is absolutely no guarantee they reach football’s summit again.
Peyton Manning despite all his success, only won one during the 12 seasons he played for the Colts. Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers only have one Super Bowl from their lone Super Bowl appearance. The Green Bay Packers have had two hall-of-famers at Quarterback for nearly 30 years now, and they’ve only come away with two Super Bowls in that entire span. It is EXTREMELY difficult to win the Super Bowl once, let alone build a dynasty.
There are many reasons for 31 other fanbases to hate the New England Patriots. Forgive me for bringing them up. But the true root cause as to why they are the most hated sports franchise in North America is they’re the only NFL team that’s been able to sustain such an unprecedented run of success in the 21st century. The Patriots are not the rule; they are the exception.
The Chiefs’ story is just beginning. They could become an even bigger Goliath than New England, but they could also fade away similar to recent contenders like the Seahawks, Broncos, Panthers and Falcons. Regardless of how it all unfolds, I can guarantee you one thing: It’s going to be a thrill to watch the magic of Patrick Mahomes for the next 15+ years.