Super Bowl 2023: Chiefs Edge 49ers For Title In Overtime Thriller
The Kansas City Chiefs captured their second straight Super Bowl title with a 25-22 win over the San Francisco 49ers in overtime of Super Bowl LVII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday. The Chiefs rallied from a 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter and forced overtime with a field goal with three seconds remaining. Kansas City won the coin toss in overtime and quarterback Patrick Mahomes guided the Chiefs on a 75-yard drive that was capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman to seal the win. The 49ers took their first lead of the game with 1:53 remaining in regulation on a touchdown pass from Brock Purdy to Jauan Jennings to make it 16-13, but couldn't stop the Chiefs on their game-winning drive. Mahomes completed a pass to Travis Kelce on fourth-and-7 from the Kansas City 49 that set up the game-winning drive. Kelce finished with five catches for 77 yards and was named the Super Bowl MVP for the second year in a row.
49ers quarterback Purdy, who was making his first career start in the Super Bowl, completed 16 of 29 passes for 232 yards with one touchdown and one interception. San Francisco outgained Kansas City in total yardage, 339-314. The 49ers forced a Kansas City punt with less than two minutes to play in regulation, but couldn't move the ball and were forced to punt it back to the Chiefs with one minute to play.
Kansas City drove down the field and tied the game at 13-13 on a 44-yard field goal by Harrison Butker with three seconds remaining in regulation. The Chiefs tied the game again in overtime on a 25-yard field goal by Butker. San Francisco took its first lead of the game earlier in overtime on a 39-yard field goal by Jake Moody to make it 19-17. The 49ers forced the Chiefs to punt on the first possession of overtime, but couldn't move the ball and punted it back to Kansas City. The Chiefs scored the game-winning touchdown on their ensuing possession to secure the Super Bowl title.
It was the third Super Bowl victory for the Chiefs in the last five years under head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Mahomes, who was named the Super Bowl MVP for the second time in his career. The Chiefs became the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the New England Patriots in 2003-04 and the ninth overall to accomplish the feat. The 49ers were looking to become the first team to win three Super Bowls in a four-year span. Instead, they suffered their second straight heart-breaking loss in the Super Bowl. San Francisco also lost the Super Bowl to the Baltimore Ravens in the 2012 season.
The game drew a record average viewership of 166.5 million, eclipsing the previous record of 161.7 million for Super Bowl LI in 2017, according to the NFL. The game was also the most live-streamed Super Bowl ever with nearly 118 million viewers. The NFL reported that there were more than 15 billion social media impressions during the game.
The halftime show was headlined by hip-hop legend Dr. Dre, who was joined by Eminem, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar, as well as a surprise appearance by Eminem's mom, Debbie.