Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are back-to-back Super Bowl champions.
Mahomes threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman with three seconds left in overtime as the Chiefs rallied to beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 on Sunday (Monday AEDT).
Victory made Kansas City the first repeat Super Bowl champions in 19 years, and the ninth overall.
With pop star Taylor Swift watching boyfriend Kelce from a suite, the Chiefs captured their third title in five years and firmly established themselves as an American football dynasty.
The NFL’s first Super Bowl in Las Vegas was a sloppy, mistake-filled affair that lack excitement until the back-and-forth final quarter and overtime.
It was the second of 58 Super Bowls to be tied after regulation time, and the first played using the new overtime rules under which both teams got the ball.
The Chiefs trailed 22-19 after Jake Moody kicked a 27-yard field goal on the first possession of overtime, but Mahomes rallied his side as they completed another impressive comeback in a rematch of the 2020 Super Bowl.
Mahomes ran eight yards on fourth-and-one to keep the Chiefs’ chances alive and then scrambled 19 yards to set up the winning score.
After he connected with a wide-open Hardman, the Chiefs ran on the field as red-and-yellow confetti fell on the turf.
The most excitement in the first half came when a frustrated Kelce bumped Andy Reid on the sideline, knocking the Chiefs’ 65-year-old coach a few steps back after teammate Isiah Pacheco fumbled inside the red zone during the second quarter.
The action picked up after a crucial blunder by San Francisco’s special teams set up Mahomes’ 16-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a 13-10 lead.
Brock Purdy and the 49ers answered but they couldn’t make enough plays, denying ‘Mr Irrelevant’ an opportunity to go from last pick in the 2022 NFL draft to Super Bowl champion.
Mahomes and Reid are now halfway to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, who won six championships in 20 years together with the New England Patriots – the most recent team to go back-to-back following the 2003-04 seasons.
The 28-year-old Mahomes becomes the fifth starting quarterback to win three Super Bowls – joining Brady, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw and Troy Aikman.
Niners wide receiver Jauan Jennings threw a touchdown pass and caught one, joining Eagles quarterback Nick Foles six years ago as the only players to do both in the Super Bowl.
After Moody’s 53-yard field goal gave the 49ers a 19-16 lead with one minute and 53 seconds remaining, Mahomes and Kelce went to work.
Mahomes connected with Kelce for a 22-yard gain to set up Harrison Butker’s tying kick, a 29-yarder with three seconds left.
A holding call on Kansas City’s Trent McDuffie extended San Francisco’s opening drive of overtime and Purdy made key throws to drive the 49ers to the Chiefs nine.
But San Francisco settled for a field goal.
