Patrick Mahomes obviously. How could it be otherwise at such a crucial moment? With three seconds remaining in the overtime of the Super Bowl, Sunday February 11, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback delivered his entire team by throwing a touchdown pass to receiver Mecole Hardman to beat the 49ers to the wire. San Francisco at the end of a breathtaking final (25-22) in Las Vegas (Nevada).
With this success, the Missouri franchise retains its title acquired already in the final moments of the match last year against the Philadelphia Eagles. Because Patrick Mahomes is the type of quarterback who doesn’t back down when the void approaches and the fate of a match, and in this case a title, hangs by a thread.
This is the 22nd time in his career that the 28-year-old has won a game by reversing the score in the fourth quarter or overtime. But, this Sunday, in the final of the championship of the National American Football League (NFL), the feat resonates all the more strongly because it commands respect and fuels a debate already fueled several days before this decisive meeting: Will Mahomes topple Tom Brady from his status as the best quarterback in history with his seven titles won?
“We’re not done yet.”
The road is still long, Mahomes himself admitted this week, but with this third ring acquired before his 30th birthday – the Chiefs were also champions in 2020, again against San Francisco – he is posting impressive passing times. By being named Best Player of the Final (MVP for Most Valuable Player) on Sunday for the third time in his career, he is doing even better at his age than his illustrious elder.
“This team is still young, we are not finished yet,” he proclaimed loudly at the end of this suspenseful meeting, which saw a Super Bowl award its winner in overtime for only the second time in 58 editions (after the success of the New England Patriots over the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 thanks to a certain… Tom Brady).
In addition to his successful passes (34 out of 46 for 333 yards gained), Patrick Mahomes finished as the best runner on his team with 66 yards gleaned. New proof of his formidable versatility, like this race made during overtime to gain the missing yard which, without success, would have offered the title to the San Francisco players.
Because for the 49ers, fate is cruel. Already beaten in 2020 by Mahomes in the final minutes of the match, the Californian franchise suffered another disappointment and suffered a third defeat in a row at the Super Bowl after having experienced the peaks in the 1980s and 1990s during which it pocketed five titles.
The young quarterback Brock Purdy, his 24 years old and his second professional season under his belt, could have written a historical page in the NFL, nicknamed “Mr. Irrelevant”, as is the tradition of players selected last in the draft. the draft (262nd in 2022). At the end of a decent match but without a stroke of genius, he was subjected to the law of Patrick Mahomes and must say to himself that there is still work to be done to keep these Chiefs out of the horizon.
San Francisco missed its chance
In a final locked by defenses, San Francisco nevertheless had its chance by striking first – 10-0 in the second quarter, thanks in particular to a touchdown from the hyperdynamic Christian McCaffrey, who finished with 80 yards gained. But Kansas City came back in the second half and the two teams played cat and mouse on the scoreboard. With 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs tied the game at 19 on a field goal (a kick worth three points).
During overtime, the 49ers scored again (22-19) but suffered the decisive comeback from the Chiefs until the coup de grace of the Mahomes-Hardman duo. “I had a black hole,” explained the latter, whose reaction seemed surprisingly calm after its historic reception. I didn’t realize we won the match! »
“I threw a decisive touchdown pass to this guy and he looks at me,” Mahomes laughed. He had no idea what was happening. I told him, “Dude, we just won the Super Bowl.” He didn’t know it, he didn’t even celebrate. »
Travis Kelce wants more
On the other hand, Travis Kelce, the star receiver of the Chiefs, immediately understood and celebrated the feat as it should be. “I never had the slightest doubt,” he said. We have the best quarterback in the league, we have the best offensive line in the league and we have the most determination of any team in the NFL and you saw all of that tonight. »
The number 87 of the Chiefs, who ultimately had a solid match despite a transparent first period, will be able to add a new championship ring to his fingers, as he had promised to his girlfriend, the singer Taylor Swift. The global pop star, whose express trip from Japan, where she was still in concert on Saturday, fueled all the speculation, was very present in the dressing rooms of the spectacular Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
“Incredible,” she whispered into Travis Kelce’s ear as she joined him on the pitch after the match. “And now we can even try to win three in a row,” Kelce said on the microphone. Yes, these Chiefs are incredible, and yet very real.
