Another year, another Super Bowl ring for the Kansas City Chiefs. In a hard-fought match against the San Francisco 49ers, the Chiefs pulled out late in overtime to clinch their third title in the last five seasons. The Super Bowl MVP was awarded to none other than the perennial superstar Patrick Mahomes, earning his third and tying him with Joe Montana for second most Super Bowl MVPs. 

While the Chiefs and 49ers may have seemed dominant in the playoffs, both teams had roller-coaster regular seasons with uncertainty as contenders. Coming off a disappointing end to their season last year, the 49ers were poised to begin 2023. Many analysts and fans doubted the last pick in the 2022 draft, dubbed “Mr. Irrelevant,” could bring the franchise anywhere close to a championship, but no one could deny the great offensive weapons Purdy had around him. After trading for star running back Christian McCaffrey the year prior, San Francisco looked to finally bring home a championship with this core. The 49ers started the season with an impressive 5-0 record, but started to slip in the standings after losing three straight games (footballreference.com). To prevent this skid from continuing, the 49ers front office acquired defensive end Chase Young from the Washington Commanders to pair up with their 2022 defensive player of the year, Nick Bosa. The 49ers then equipped themselves as one of the best defensive and offensive teams in the league and went on to only lose two more games during the regular season. 

Expectations were high for the Chiefs after a dominant playoff run the year prior. In the season opener the Chiefs were upset by the up-and-coming Detroit Lions, a concerning beginning for their back-to-back Championship hopes. After this disappointing loss, Kansas City won six straight games and looked like the best team in the AFC. Nearing the middle of the season, the Chiefs began to lose more frequently and analysts started to question the strength of their receiving core. Everyone agreed the Chiefs didn’t look like their championship team of the prior year, but when the playoffs arrived the defense stepped up, covering receivers tightly and helping the Chiefs win the AFC title for the 4th time in five years (footballreference.com). Mahomes again reminded fans that this was his league. 

To begin the Super Bowl the 49ers started strong with Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffery carving up the Chief’s defense early in the first quarter. On the other end, the Chiefs opened the game slowly with a quick three and out which set the tone for the rest of the game as the first quarter ended 0-0. The second quarter picked up offensively with a 55-yard field goal from 49ers kicker Jake Moody within the first 12 seconds. San Francisco kept rolling and scored off a clever play call with receiver Juwan Jennings throwing across the field to McCaffery for the game’s first touchdown. However, the 49ers lost a key member of their defense when pro-bowler Dre Greenlaw injured his achilles when running onto the field. Desperately needing to score, Mahomes closed out the half with a quick drive down the field to set up kicker Harrison Butker for an easy field goal for the Chief’s first points of the game. Going into halftime the 49ers felt comfortable as they were completely shutting down Kansas City thanks to their defensive powerhouse loaded with pro-bowl talent (footballreference.com).

 Beginning the third quarter, both teams played tight receiving defense which forced Mahomes to rush multiple times in the quarter and set up Butker for a Super Bowl record-setting 57-yard field goal to cut the lead to four points. Then nearing the end of the third quarter, the 49ers special teams made a game-changing mistake that would place the Chiefs at their 20-yard line. The next play Mahomes wasted no time and threw a 16-yard pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a touchdown and their first lead of the night. To answer 13 unanswered points by the Chiefs, 49ers quarterback and pro-bowler Brock Purdy made several crucial passes that gave Juwan Jennings his first receiving touchdown on the night. Throughout the fourth quarter, both teams exchanged field goals to place the 49ers up three with two minutes left to play. Mahomes quickly advanced up the field with several clutch rushing plays and a connection to future hall-of-famer Travis Kelce. After missing a chance to end the game with a touchdown at the goal line, the Chiefs settled and made a 29-yard field goal with six seconds left. For the second time in NFL history, the Super Bowl was going into overtime.

The 49ers won the coin toss and elected to start on offense in overtime. Brock Purdy came out strong with several completions to will the 49ers to the Chiefs’ eight-yard line, but the Chief’s defense forced another field goal from the 49ers to put San Francisco up three. Needing to score a touchdown to win the Super Bowl, Mahomes made key rushing and passing plays throughout their seven-minute drive to give the Chiefs a shot at the four-yard line. With the championship on the line and eight seconds left to play, Mahomes flung a short pass to Mecole Hardman Jr. for the win and to add more hardware to his extensive collection (footballreference.com). 

While many fans may have been upset over the Super Bowl outcome, the Chiefs have firmly established themselves as one of the best franchises in the history of the NFL. Ramapo’s math teacher, Mr. Gaccione had this to say about the game, “I think the Chiefs deserved to win. Shanan’s (49ers coach) decision to receive the ball was not why they lost. The Chiefs won because Mahomes is a way better quarterback than Purdy and they are way more experienced.” Although Mr. G was satisfied with Mahomes winning once again, Ramapo senior Gavin Taylor thought, “I feel like the Chiefs winning it again is frustrating for a lot of NFL fans that want parity. With this year’s win, I feel they’re entering the Patriots’ level of dynasty and hatred.” Unfortunately, whether anyone likes it or not, the Chiefs are now officially a dynasty.