By: Nick Sadowy

Nick Sadowy is from Toledo OH, and is a Bowling Green State University student majoring in Sport Management with a minor in Journalism. Nick has a passion for sports and writing about sports.

February 14, 2024

OVERVIEW

The 2023-2024 NFL season comes to an end with the Kansas City Chiefs edging out a victory over the San Francisco 49ers with a final score of 25-22. This game had a very slow start with a 0-0 score at the end of the 1st quarter but had an exciting finish with the final play happening in the final seconds of overtime.

Chiefs

Travis Kelce (R) vents to Coach Andy Reid (L)

Kansas City wins back-to-back Super Bowls and their 3rd Super Bowl in 5 years. This win cements them as a dynasty led by their superstar Quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Early on in the game, the Chiefs struggled heavily, barely able to get a first down. Star tight end Travis Kelce had one catch for only one yard, basically getting shut down the whole first half. He took out his frustrations on head coach Andy Reid yelling at him in frustration to get himself more involved in the big game. Coach Reid seemed to game plan more around Kelce in the second half leading to Travis’ to finish with 9 catches and 93 yards, which were a big factor in the Chief’s victory.

49ers

Dre Greenlaw’s injury came with 9:26 left in the 2nd quarter

The San Francisco 49ers once again lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl for the 2nd time in 5 years. The 49ers seemed to have the worst luck with injuries in prior seasons just trying to get to the Super Bowl, and that same luck followed them into this game. Star linebacker Dre Greenlaw tore Achilles just from running onto the field to play defense. Greenlaw was one of the 49er’s best defenders this season and was a key member of the 49er’s defense.

The Niner’s offense seemed to struggle for the most part all game, only scoring 2 touchdowns in the entire game. The main playmakers for the 49ers got shut down for most of the game, with Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Brandon Aiyuk essentially being nonfactors for a combined total yards of 94. The only weapons that the 49ers utilized were the NFL’s offensive player of the year Christian McCaffrey and the unlikely use of Jauan Jennings. These two had the only 49ers’ touchdowns and had a total of 202 all-purpose yards.

2nd Half and Overtime

The 2nd half and Overtime of the Super Bowl is really where the game picked up from the entertainment factor. Most of the scoring occurred in both the second half and overtime. This was only the 2nd time in NFL history that the Super Bowl has gone to overtime and the first time ever that it implemented the new overtime rules where both teams have an opportunity to score a touchdown.

Mecole Hardman scores winning TD pass in OT victory for Chiefs

The 2nd half ended with a score of 19-19 which allowed the game to continue into overtime. The 49ers only ended with a field goal which made the score 22-19. This gave Kansas City an opportunity to score a touchdown and win the game. This is exactly what happened, Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs down the field to score a touchdown to Meccole Hardman to make the final score 25-22, making Kansas City 3-time champions in the Mahomes era.

Conclusion

Super Bowl LVIII started off as a game that could have been forgettable but turned out to be quite the opposite. This Super Bowl had one of the most exciting finishes in NFL history. Most likely we will be seeing Kansas City in the future as they try to go for a three peat. However, we may see the San Francisco 49ers sooner rather than later because of the talent on their roster.