49ers fall to Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV, 31-20
The comeback Chiefs did it again and are Super Bowl champions.
Patrick Mahomes threw for a pair of touchdowns in the game’s final 6:13, helping the Kansas City Chiefs erase a 10-point deficit and beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl 54.
The go-ahead score: A 5-yard touchdown pass to Damien Williams with 2:44 left. Williams is a former Miami Dolphins running back and returned to his former field — Hard Rock Stadium — to enjoy the most significant night of his career.
Williams finished off the title march with a touchdown run with 1:12 left, a 38-yarder around the left end to seal the outcome.
It’s the first Super Bowl crown for Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who’ll no longer wear the distinction of being the winningest coach in NFL history without a championship.
The Chiefs had a comeback flair throughout the playoffs, getting down 24-0 to Houston in the divisional round and then rallying from deficits of 10-0 and 17-7 to beat Tennessee in the AFC championship game.
They did it one more time, on football’s biggest stage, and are Super Bowl champions for the second time. The Chiefs lost the first Super Bowl, then won Super Bowl 4 — some 50 years ago.
San Francisco was in the Super Bowl for the seventh time and fell just short of winning what would have been a record-tying sixth championship. Only New England and Pittsburgh have six titles, and the 49ers were about six minutes away from joining their club.
And then they collapsed, giving up three touchdowns in a span of about five minutes. Mahomes finished 26 of 42 passing for 286 yards, his last pass intentionally going incomplete on the final play — a heave downfield to erase the final 5 seconds of Kansas City’s 50-year wait.
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10:05 p.m.
Damien Williams has scored again, a 38-yard run with 1:12 left and the Kansas City Chiefs are about to end their 50-year wait for another Super Bowl title.
They lead San Francisco 31-20, after ripping off 21 points in a span of about five minutes.
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9:50 p.m.
Just like that, the Kansas City Chiefs have taken the lead in Super Bowl 54.
Patrick Mahomes connected with Damien Williams on a 5-yard scoring pass with 2:44 left, and the Chiefs now lead the San Francisco 49ers 24-20. Mahomes connected with Sammy Watkins for a 38-yard gain down the right sideline, the biggest blow on the drive.
Williams is a former member of the Miami Dolphins, and now has a go-ahead score in the Super Bowl in his former home stadium. The play to the right pylon held up after a lengthy replay review.
The Chiefs have been masters of comebacks throughout this postseason, erasing double-digit deficits to beat Houston and Tennessee.
And now they’re on the cusp of doing it again for a Super Bowl title.
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9:40 p.m.
The Chiefs are about to get the ball back in Super Bowl 54, down by just three.
San Francisco went three-and-out on the possession following Patrick Mahomes’ touchdown pass to Travis Kelce. The 49ers’ drive took only about a minute off the clock.
The 49ers still lead, 20-17. Kansas City is taking over at its own 35 with 5:10 remaining in the game.
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9:35 p.m.
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are not done yet in Super Bowl 54.
Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce for a 1-yard touchdown pass with 6:13 left, pulling the Chiefs within 20-17 of the San Francisco 49ers. The score snapped a run of 17 unanswered points by the 49ers.
Facing third-and-15 from his own 35 with about 7 minutes left, Mahomes spun away from heavy pressure and heaved the ball toward Tyreek Hill for what became a 44-yard gain down to the San Francisco 21 and essentially kept the Chiefs’ hopes alive.
They got some help on the next third down. Mahomes’ pass on third-and-10 toward Kelce in the end zone led to the 49ers getting flagged for pass interference. On the next snap, Mahomes and Kelce connected for the 1-yard touchdown pass.
Mahomes is now 21 of 36 passing for 226 yards.
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9:25 p.m.
Attendance for the Super Bowl was 62,417.
In terms of official numbers, that is the second-lowest attendance in the game’s history behind only Super Bowl 1 — which drew 61,946 fans and didn’t even sell out.
Sunday’s game at Hard Rock Stadium was a sellout, though was much lower than the 74,059 who came to the game the last time it was at the Miami Dolphins’ home stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross spent more than $500 million refurbishing and remodeling the stadium since, and one of the things he did was lower the capacity considerably.
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9:15 p.m.
San Francisco is in control, and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes has been intercepted for the second time this half.
Mahomes’ giveaway with 11:57 left in the game ended a drive where the Chiefs were in position to get at least three points and cut into San Francisco’s 20-10 lead.
But on third-and-6 from the 49ers’ 23, the Chiefs simply couldn’t deliver. Mahomes’ pass was thrown a tiny bit behind Tyreek Hill, who couldn’t secure the catch. The ball bounced off his hands and landed in the arms of San Francisco’s Tarvarius Moore, who returned it seven yards to the 49ers’ 20.
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9 p.m.
The 49ers cashed in on Patrick Mahomes’ interception.
Raheem Mostert went in from a yard out, and San Francisco took a 20-10 lead over Kansas City with 2:35 left in the third quarter.
The 49ers needed just under three minutes to go 55 yards in six plays, with Jimmy Garoppolo connecting with Kendrick Bourne on a big 11-yard gain while facing 3rd-and-eight to keep things going.
That’s now 17 unanswered points for the 49ers. They’re outgaining the Chiefs 292-185.
8:50 p.m.
Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes nearly fumbled the ball away.
On the next snap, he turned it over anyway.
Mahomes was picked off by San Francisco’s Fred Warner with 5:23 left in the third quarter, giving the 49ers the ball back with a three-point lead.
Mahomes had the ball knocked loose by Nick Bosa for a nine-yard loss on the preceding snap, then tried to force a ball on third-and-12 and wound up throwing it right to Warner.
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8:40 p.m.
Robbie Gould connected again on the opening drive of the third quarter, and San Francisco has jumped out to a 13-10 lead over Kansas City.
The 49ers took the second-half kickoff and went 60 yards in nine plays, chewing up 5:31 of clock. Gould hit from 42 yards out.
Meanwhile, there were no shortage of reactions to the Super Bowl halftime show starring Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.
Reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks said the show “almost got me in trouble.” Florida Sen. Rick Scott tweeted that he thought Pitbull should have been part of the show — “America was robbed” — he said.
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8 p.m.
It’s halftime at Super Bowl 54, with San Francisco and Kansas City tied 10-10.
The 49ers have outgained the Chiefs 177-155 and seemed poised to take the lead when Jimmy Garoppolo connected with tight end George Kittle on a 42-yard play that would have gotten San Francisco inside the Kansas City 15 with 6 seconds left.
But Kittle was called for offensive pass interference to nullify the big play, the 49ers took a knee on the ensuing snap to run out the clock, and off to halftime they went.
This is the first time the Super Bowl was tied at the half since 2015, when Seattle and New England went into the break knotted at 14.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is 12 for 18 passing for 104 yards. Garoppolo is 9 for 11 for 89 yards and the game’s lone passing touchdown.
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7:45 p.m.
Tom Brady ran a Super Bowl trick play without putting on a uniform.
The 42-year-old longtime Patriots quarterback can become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career when his contract ends in March, and he gave New England a fright in a commercial during the first half of Sunday’s game.
“They say all good things must come to an end, that the best just know when to walk away,” Brady said in the ad, walking through an empty football stadium and hinting at a possible retirement.
Brady says he has a major announcement, the music cuts out — and then he reveals he’s reading a script for Hulu.
“Me,” Brady adds, “I’m not going anywhere.”
Brady attended Sunday’s Super Bowl and appeared on the field along with Patriots coach Bill Belichick and former teammates Rob Gronkowski, Randy Moss and Adam Vinatieri.
7:40 p.m.
Jimmy Garoppolo connected with Kyle Juszczyk on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 5:05 left in the first half, and Super Bowl 54 between San Francisco and Kansas City is tied at 10-10.
Garoppolo is now 8 for 10 for 69 yards and a score. He had been picked off on San Francisco’s preceding drive, which strangely means good things are going to happen: He’s now 39 for 42 for 461 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions this season in the drive immediately following an interception.
The scoreboard inside Hard Rock Stadium briefly said San Francisco 13, Kansas City 10 after that touchdown. It was corrected after a few moments.
7:30 p.m.
Another fourth-and-1 call by Chiefs coach Andy Reid has paid off.
Harrison Butker’s 31-yard field goal with 9:32 left in the first half was good, and Kansas City has pushed its lead over San Francisco to 10-3.
Damien Williams got three yards on fourth-and-1 from the San Francisco 19 to keep the drive going.
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7:20 p.m.
A woman has apparently tried to get onto the field at Super Bowl 54.
Security personnel stopped the woman’s bid during the first quarter. An Associated Press photographer captured images of the woman being tackled by security before she made it onto the playing surface.
It was not immediately clear if the woman would be facing charges.
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7:10 p.m.
The Chiefs took a risk and wound up with a touchdown.
After Damien Williams got four yards on fourth-and-1 from the San Francisco 5, quarterback Patrick Mahomes ran it in for the game’s first TD with 31 seconds left in the opening quarter as Kansas City took a 7-3 lead over the 49ers in the Super Bowl.
The 49ers were stuffed on first and goal, and then Mahomes went to his right before finding a crease and getting into the end zone.
49ers safety Jimmie Ward was shaken up on a third-down play where Mahomes scrambled near the right sideline and came close to picking up a first down. Ward came in at full speed to dislodge the ball from Mahomes’ hands and it caromed out of bounds, but he remained down for about a minute after making the big hit.
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6:55 p.m.
The 49ers have struck first in Super Bowl 54.
Robbie Gould kicked a 38-yard field goal with 7:57 left in the opening quarter, and San Francisco has taken a quick 3-0 lead over Kansas City.
The Chiefs have now given up the first score in all three of their playoff games this season.
Kansas City took the game’s opening kickoff and went three-and-out, with Patrick Mahomes throwing a pair of incompletions. The 49ers avoided disaster when returner Richie James Jr. muffed the Chiefs’ ensuing punt but recovered.
The 49ers coolly went 58 yards in 10 plays, the big blow being a 32-yard run by Deebo Samuel.
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6:35 p.m.
It’s time for football, and Demi Lovato got the Super Bowl off to a perfect start.
Lovato’s voice was flawless for “The Star-Spangled Banner,” during which U.S. soldiers currently serving in Qatar were shown on the stadium screens and a performance punctuated by a flyover of a military fighter jet. Gospel singer Yolanda Adams, assisted by the Children’s Voice Chorus of Miami, preceded Lovato by performing “God Bless America.”
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson handled the pregame introductions, with the 49ers coming out first and then the Chiefs -- with their fans making the “tomahawk chop” gesture typically seen once every two years at Hard Rock Stadium when the Miami Hurricanes play host to Florida State.
Calais Campbell of the Jacksonville Jaguars was recognized for winning the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, one of the honors presented by the NFL on Saturday night.
The 49ers won the coin toss by calling “tails,” which might be a good omen for the Chiefs. The last five Super Bowl winners all lost the pregame coin flip.
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5:55 p.m.
On football’s biggest day, they took time to remember a basketball legend.
The Chiefs and 49ers finished their warmups before the Super Bowl and lined up at their respective 24-yard lines -- a tribute to Kobe Bryant, the five-time NBA champion who died along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26.
Bryant wore No. 24 in his final 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers.
San Francisco’s Richard Sherman showed up for the Super Bowl in a Bryant jersey and appeared on Fox’s pregame show to read a poem called “Dear Football.” It largely copied “Dear Basketball,” the poem Bryant wrote in 2015 to announce that he was playing his final season.
Sherman ended his poem with “We love you, Kobe. We love you, Gianna. Love always, Richard.”
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5:40 p.m.
The Chiefs and 49ers both started the season in Florida, and now ended the season in Florida.
Kansas City opened with a Week 1 win at Jacksonville. San Francisco’s run to the Super Bowl started with a Week 1 win at Tampa Bay.
The Chiefs are headed back to Florida twice next season, with games at both Miami and Tampa Bay. The 49ers have three very long cross-country trips on next season’s schedule — at the New York Giants, the New York Jets and the New England Patriots — but no return appearances in Florida set for 2020.
Dates of the 2020 games won’t be known for a few more months.
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5:10 p.m.
Running back LeSean McCoy is inactive for the Kansas City Chiefs as they play the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.
The veteran joined the team earlier this season, but he fell out of favor down the stretch and was inactive for a series of late-season games. That leaves the Chiefs with only Damien Williams and sixth-round pick Darwin Thompson at the position.
The 49ers are dressing four running backs for the first time this postseason with Jeff Wilson Jr. active as insurance because Tevin Coleman is nursing a shoulder injury. Raheem Mostert and Matt Breida are the other two running backs.
Chad Henne is inactive for Kansas City, which means Matt Moore will back up quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The other inactives for the Chiefs are linebacker Darron Lee, cornerback Morris Claiborne and offensive linemen Ryan Hunter, Andrew Wylie and Jackson Barton. Wylie started earlier this season before an injury pushed him to the bench.
The inactive players for the 49ers are quarterback C.J. Beathard, receiver Dante Pettis, cornerback Dontae Johnson, tight end Daniel Helm, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, receiver Jordan Matthews and defensive lineman Kevin Givens.
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5:10 p.m.
Running back LeSean McCoy is inactive for the Kansas City Chiefs as they play the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl.
The veteran joined the team earlier this season, but he fell out of favor down the stretch and was inactive for a series of late-season games. That leaves the Chiefs with only Damien Williams and sixth-round pick Darwin Thompson at the position.
The 49ers are dressing four running backs for the first time this postseason with Jeff Wilson Jr. active as insurance because Tevin Coleman is nursing a shoulder injury. Raheem Mostert and Matt Breida are the other two running backs.
Chad Henne is inactive for Kansas City, which means Matt Moore will back up quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The other inactives for the Chiefs are linebacker Darron Lee, cornerback Morris Claiborne and offensive linemen Ryan Hunter, Andrew Wylie and Jackson Barton. Wylie started earlier this season before an injury pushed him to the bench.
The inactive players for the 49ers are quarterback C.J. Beathard, receiver Dante Pettis, cornerback Dontae Johnson, tight end Daniel Helm, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, receiver Jordan Matthews and defensive lineman Kevin Givens.
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4:55 p.m. eastern standard time
Chiefs defensive line coach Brendan Daly has a tradition of running the stairs inside the stadium before games, and not even fans trickling into Hard Rock Stadium or the perplexed Super Bowl security staff was stopping him Sunday.
About 3-1/2 hours before kickoff, Daly emerged from the tunnel to dutifully get his exercise in.
Daly started the routine with Patriots assistants Chad O’Shea and Brian Flores — now coach of the Miami Dolphins — when the trio was in New England. And when they reached the Super Bowl each of the past two seasons, they continued to run the stairs before the game.
Daly left the Patriots after last season to join coach Andy Reid’s staff in Kansas City. The tradition continues with the Chiefs.
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4:40 p.m.
This is the 11th time that the Miami area has played host to the Super Bowl. The first five were at the now-demolished Orange Bowl in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, and the other six have been in Miami Gardens — inside the building now called Hard Rock Stadium.
Scroll through the list of Super Bowl sites, though, and it might seem like South Florida has a lot of stadiums.
It’s not true, but the confusion can be understandable. Each of the last five Super Bowls in Miami Gardens have been with the stadium bearing a different name: Joe Robbie Stadium in 1995, then Pro Player Stadium in 1999, Dolphin Stadium in 2007, Sun Life Stadium in 2010 and now, Hard Rock.
The stadium has had nine different names in all since opening in 1987. In addition to the five names that it had as a Super Bowl host, there was Pro Player Park, Dolphins Stadium (which immediately preceded Dolphin Stadium), Land Shark Stadium and, for a six-month stretch of 2016, it was called New Miami Stadium.
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4:25 p.m.
It was five years ago that the Royals brought home a championship to Kansas City, and now the players who were part of the 2015 World Series team are pulling for the Chiefs to deliver another parade.
“I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it,” longtime outfielder Alex Gordon said. “It’s like looking in a mirror from 2014 and 2015, the way they’ve gone about the playoffs, the way they compete together on the field, having fun, coming from behind in almost every game. It just reminds me what we went through.”
Left-hander Danny Duffy grew up a fan of the Broncos, one of the Chiefs’ bitter enemies. His uncles like them so Duffy just joined the crowd. But he’s gotten to know some of the Chiefs players and he’ll be rooting for them Sunday night.
“They carry the same passion we have for this city. It’s not really something you can articulate,” Duffy said. “If they win it’s going to be really cool to have a different view of how the parade is going to be. I barely got to soak in the parade. It was like, ‘Holy crud!’ Did I just say, ‘Crud’? It would be cool. I think they’re going to win, and I’ll be excited for the parade.”
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3 p.m.
Game day has arrived, and the caravans carrying the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs have pulled into Hard Rock Stadium.
Kickoff of Super Bowl 54 is 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
Weather for the NFL’s biggest game is expected to be perfect. There is a cloudless blue sky in Miami Gardens, Florida. Forecasters say it’ll be around 61 degrees at kickoff, cooling into the upper 50s as the night goes along.
That’s a few degrees below normal for Miami this time of year. But those conditions almost mirror what the weather was 10 years ago when the game was last played at the Miami Dolphins’ home field.
