The Kansas City Chiefs won the Vince Lombardi Trophy from Super Bowl LVIII this Sunday in overtime after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in a vibrant game, played in Las Vegas for the first time in history.
The game went into regulation tied 19-19, thanks to a field goal by the Chiefs with
just 6 seconds left
on the clock.
It is the second time the Super Bowl has been extended beyond regular time.
For Patrick Mahomes it is his ring number three and turns his team into a dynasty.
For Brock Purdy, it was an almost impossible triumphant return after an injury that took him to the grand final.
The first Super Bowl in Las Vegas,
whose tickets reached historically high prices
, had everything an imaginary NFL writer would have wanted.
Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton (32) hits San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk (44) during the first half of Super Bowl LVIII.Associated Press
On the one hand, Mahomes and the Chiefs, who arrived with a 14-6 record, were looking to become the first team to repeat as champions in 19 years and thus cement their dynasty status with a third Super Bowl title in five years.
On the other, there was the return of
quarterback
Brock Purdy after an injury, putting his name alongside the legendary Joe Montana and Steve Young.
And of course, you couldn't ignore all the glitz and glamor of the city and the irony of a Super Bowl being played in the betting mecca, something that used to be taboo in the NFL.
Singer Taylor Swift (center) reacts to a play at the game in Las Vegas, Feb. 11, 2024. Associated Press
And we haven't mentioned Taylor Swift yet.
The pop superstar who
arrived in Las Vegas just in time to see her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, play
.
Swift traveled to Sunday's game at Allegiant Stadium from Japan after a concert on Saturday.
Kelce, the four-time All-Pro
tight end
, sought to limit distractions despite numerous questions over the past week about Swift and his relationship with her, which has captivated millions and attracted a new audience of fans to the sport.
“You have to be thinking about the present and not so much about the future,” Kelce said.
“You have to prepare for what you have in front of you, but not getting hung up on the past is the most important thing [...] I think we will never try to match what we did last year during this year.
Every year has another story.”
For the Chiefs, nothing short of hoisting another Vince Lombardi Trophy was going to be acceptable.
“That expectation has become a demand at this point,” Kelce acknowledged.
Mahomes, the two-time NFL and Super Bowl MVP, has begun to be compared to Tom Brady, who collected seven Super Bowl rings.
Brady won three in his first four seasons as a starter.
“
I'm not even halfway there
, so I don't think about it too much,” Mahomes said before the game.
“My goal is to be the best player possible.
“I know I am blessed to be surrounded by great players.”
For the 49ers it was revenge for the game the Chiefs won four years ago to give coach Andy Reid his first championship.
San Francisco quarterback Kyle Shanahan had come close twice, but each time his team squandered large leads.
He was Atlanta's offensive coordinator when Brady and the Patriots came back from a 28-3 deficit in the second half to win the 2017 Super Bowl. His 49ers led the Chiefs 20-10 to open the fourth quarter, but Mahomes lifted Kansas City to take the 31-20 victory in Miami in 2020.
“Both losses were heartbreaking,” Shanahan said.
“Those things last a long time.”
Shanahan's father, Mike, lost two Super Bowls as Denver's offensive coordinator before going to San Francisco and winning one in 1995. He won two more as the Broncos' head coach.
“I remember watching my dad after those Super Bowls being the coordinator in Denver when I was young, and how it hurt him,” Shanahan said.
“Every time you come so close and lose the last game, that's the one that hurts the most.”
Jimmy Garoppolo was the team's
quarterback
last time around.
Now it was Purdy's turn, a finalist for the MVP award who defied everything he had against him and made all his detractors look bad.
Purdy wastes no time shutting up mouths.
He is considered someone very mature for his 24 years
, which allows him to play with poise.
“It's about doing my job pretty well for three hours against the Kansas City Chiefs defense,” he said before the game.
Super Bowl ticket prices remained out of reach for many fans who had made plans for months to travel to Las Vegas this week and had to watch the game on television with millions of others.
Purchasing tickets for the Super Bowl days before is expensive.
This year they sold for $7,700 on average — although they were $2,000 cheaper than two weeks ago.
Historically, Super Bowl tickets have increased in price;
They went from $12 for the first edition at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1967 ($108 today) to more than $1,000 for the 2009 title game between the Steelers and Cardinals in Tampa.
This week, the average went from $9,815 on Tick Pick to $7,684 this Saturday.
With information from
The Associated Press