The big game! With so much red!

The 58th Super Bowl in NFL history was certainly one to remember, with many new twists and turns, but also many similar themes to recent years. The matchup itself is a rematch of the Super Bowl four years ago, where the Kansas City Chiefs took down the San Francisco 49ers in an exciting fourth quarter comeback. This year, the game ended similarly, with the Chiefs coming out on top in an overtime thriller.

The game started off slow, with the first quarter ending with both teams going scoreless. The game picked up in the second quarter, where the 49ers were able to score ten points with a touchdown coming off a trick play where wide receiver Jauan Jennings threw a touchdown to running back Christian McCaffrey. The Chiefs were able to respond with a field goal in the quarter as well, leaving the score at 10-3 going into halftime. 

The halftime in the Super Bowl is longer than a regular game’s halftime, so the teams have extra time to game plan and adjust for the second half. The extra time allows for elaborate Super Bowl performances, and this year the artist who performed was Usher. The performance was approximately 13 minutes long, and featured other big artists like Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Lil Jon, Ludacris, will.i.am, and Jermaine Dupri. 

The third quarter was owned by the Chiefs, as they were able to go up by three after scoring ten unanswered points in the quarter, including a touchdown pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes to receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling following a fumble by the 49ers on a punt return. The fourth quarter was when the game started to really pick up, with the 49ers following the Chiefs’ score with a touchdown of their own. But, the 49ers missed the PAT (Points After Touchdown) so they only went up by three. Three field goals followed, including a game tying kick by Kansas City’s kicker, Harrison Butker, with three seconds remaining in regulation, to send the game to overtime with a score of 19-19. This is only the second time in NFL history that a Super Bowl has gone to overtime (with the first being Super Bowl 51 between the Falcons and Patriots). This is also the first game that would feature the new NFL playoff overtime rules, where both teams get a chance with the ball no matter what. The 49ers got the ball first, and marched down the field but had to settle for a field goal in the redzone after being held to fourth down. They went up three points, and gave Kansas City a chance to win the game with a touchdown on their next drive. The Chiefs then marched down the field in an epic drive that even included a fourth down conversion before Mahomes capped off the drive with a touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman to win the Super Bowl.

It is the first time a team has won back to back Super Bowls since Tom Brady and the Patriots did it almost 20 years ago.  Patrick Mahomes joins an exclusive list of quarterbacks with three or more Super Bowl MVPs: Joe Montana (3) and Tom Brady (5). The Chiefs will be looking to repeat next year, in hopes to become the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in a row.