Patrick Mahomes led a thrilling late comeback as the Kansas City Chiefs ended a 50-year wait for a Super Bowl crown with a 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
The Chiefs quarterback Mahomes, later voted MVP, shrugged off an error-strewn start to the game to overturn a 20-10 fourth quarter deficit in a nail-biting contest at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
The Super Bowl win was Kansas’ first NFL Championship since the triumph over the Minnesota Vikings in 1970.
And it owed everything to the nerve of Mahomes, who for the third straight game led the Chiefs back from a double-digit deficit to seal victory. “We never lost faith. Everybody on this team, no one had their head down and we found a way to win in the end,” said Mahomes.
He had looked out of sorts through the first three quarters, throwing two interceptions in the face of fierce pressure from the magnificent San Francisco defence.
But with the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Mahomes led his team on two long drives to set up touchdowns for tight end Travis Kelce and running back Damien Williams. Those scores put the Chiefs into a 24-20 lead and City made the game safe when Williams danced up the sideline for a 38-yard rushing score with 1min 12sec remaining.