LAS VEGAS – On Feb. 11, the San Francisco 49ers faced off against the Kansas Chiefs at the first Super Bowl hosted in Las Vegas.
Mr. Irrelevant, now not so, against Mr. I’ve-been-relevant-since-I-was-drafted made for an interesting Super Bowl.
The former overall last pick in the 2022 draft, Brock Purdy, had somewhat of a Cinderella story. As a rookie, Purdy got the starting job following an injury to Jimmy Garoppolo. Sound familiar? A similar situation occurred in 2001 when Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe suffered an injury, and the starting job was then given to Tom Brady. Just like Bledsoe, Garoppolo never got the starting quarterback spot back. In the same way, Purdy led his team to the Superbowl his first year as a starter, as Brady did.
As for Patrick Mahomes, he came into the league with high expectations. When he was drafted in 2017, he was already the second-string quarterback, behind starter Alex Smith. In 2018, his first starting season, he threw for 5,097 yards, the second-highest of his career. In addition, he threw for 50 touchdowns, the highest in his career.
Throughout these stories, one thing connects them, standout years for a first-year starter quarterback.
While Mahomes has continued to give a standout performance throughout his career, no one can tell what the future will hold for Purdy’s career. Overall, these two star quarterbacks made for a very competitive Superbowl.
In the first quarter, the 49ers defense was electric. Rendering one sack in the first quarter and two overall, their defense was fun to watch. Other than this electric defense the Chiefs and 49ers combined to make an uneventful first quarter.
Between the first and second quarters, I enjoyed the BMW commercial starring Chris Walker and Usher. It was entertaining, not cheesy, and a little funny. I also thought the State Farm commercial starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito was well done and funny.
In the second quarter, Jake Moody, number four on the 49ers, made a 55-yard field goal to put San Francisco up 3-0. This was the longest field goal in Super Bowl history, yet this record would be broken again later in the game. Later on in the quarter, Chiefs running back Isaiah Pacheco fumbled the ball, turning it over to the 49ers.
“The Chiefs are losing their composure,” said my dad.
Also in the second quarter, L’Jarius Sneed of the Cheifs slapped Brandon Aiyuk of the 49ers in the face resulting in a 15-yard penalty, advancing the 49ers who had possession of the ball.
After this slap, the commercial break did not disappoint. I loved the Dunkin’ commercial with Jennifer Lopez and Tom Brady. It hit very close to home. This was because it was set in Boston and because Dunkin’ is a very New England centralized company.
When the game came back, there was a camera shot of the box where Taylor Swift, Ice Spice, and Lana Del Rey were sitting. I was so thrown off by Ice Spice and Lana Del Rey being there. My only question is, Why?
The first touchdown of the game was thrown by a wide receiver. His name is Jauan Jennings. He threw to Christian McCaffery to score the touchdown.
The Chiefs semi-bounced back by scoring a field goal, executed by their kicker Harrison Butker.
At the end of the half, the score was 10-3 with a 49ers lead.
I was very excited about Usher’s halftime performance. It was very well advertised, so the anticipation was high.
Once the performance started I thought it had such a good intro. I was very happy when he started to sing “You Don’t Have To Call” as that is my favorite song of his. Overall, the production of the performance was amazing. In my opinion, Usher’s performance topped Rhiana’s from last year.
Usher kept really good stamina and energy throughout the performance which kept both the audience in person and at home engaged.
I was surprised by Alicia Keys being a surprise guest. I loved that though, because she has a great voice. It was a good choice because the two artists blend well together, and I don’t think anyone was expecting her as a surprise guest.
As for the stage, the graphics displayed during the performance were a cool detail.
I did not like when Usher took off his shirt towards the middle of the performance. It just seemed unnecessary. However, at that same time, H.E.R. came out to play guitar with him. I thought that was cool.
Towards the end, Usher and his backup dancers were performing on rollerskates. That was awesome and unique to any other Superbowl performance we’ve seen before.
When “Turn Down For What” started playing, I knew Lil John was there. I loved the aspect of him being in the crowd performing that song, it just added an element of depth to the overall performance.
The transition from ‘Turn Down For What’ to “Yeah!” was nice and smooth. When Ludacris came out, even though I expected it, he just added the perfect element for ending the show with a bang.
I also thought the marching band playing along to “Yeah!” was an awesome element. I loved that they spelled out Usher while playing.
In between the halftime performance and the start of the third quarter, there was an NFL commercial starring Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings and Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants. I loved this commercial because it was so well done, had a great message, and brought some of the best players in the sport together for a production.
Right off the bat to start the third quarter, the 49ers Ji’Ayir Brown intercepted Mahomes, giving them possession of the ball.
Unfortunately, nothing came from this possession. However, Purdy successfully escaped a sac, which I thought was very impressive.
Throughout this quarter, the 49ers defense started to fall apart. They kept leaving huge holes open for the Chiefs to make completions. It was very bizarre.
In another bizarre occurrence, there was a streaker on the field. Referred to as a “Half Streaker” by the on-air commentators, he was not shown on TV and was removed from the field fairly quickly.
Advancing through the third quarter, Chief’s kicker Harrison Butker took the record for longest field goal in Superbowl history from 49ers’ Jake Moody. The kick was 57 yards and brought the score up to 10-6 49ers.
With two minutes and 28 seconds left in the third quarter, the Chiefs came back to score a touchdown. The touchdown was scored by Marquez Valdes-Scantling, on a 16-yard pass from Mahomes. Harrison Butker made the extra point, bringing the score to 13-10 Chiefs.
This shift in score brought a drastic turn in the mood of the game and how it was being played.
One thing that was a constant throughout the game was random refs dressed in all black, all carrying duffle bags. I’m not sure if this was some kind of Mandela Effect, but no one in my family, nor anyone on social media knew who these people were. These refs led people to speculate about the ongoing debate of whether the NFL is scripted or not, and these people were here to make sure things went by the script.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the 49ers scored a touchdown. However, the field goal attempt by Jake Moody was blocked by the Chiefs defense. This brought the score to 16-13 49ers. This blocked field goal created a difference between a field goal lead and a touchdown lead. Arguably one of the most decisive moments of the game.
With one minute and 53 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Moody makes a decisive 53-yard field goal to regain the lead for the 49ers. The score was now 19-16, with the 49ers only having to make four stops before a first down to be Super Bowl LVIII champions.
In an unfortunate occurrence, the 49ers started to lose steam. Leaving holes for completions by the Chiefs.
The Chiefs can advance far enough down the field, where they can kick a field goal to tie the game. Butker, having one of his best games, makes the 29-yard field goal, and the game heads to overtime.
The 49ers win the coin toss in overtime, gaining possession first. They had a very sloppy offense, making them not look like a winning team.
A massive help for the 49ers was a holding penalty called on number 15, Trent McDuffie of the Chiefs. This helps the 49ers advance far enough down the field to kick a field goal resulting in a 22-19 score.
Now, all the Chiefs had to do was score a touchdown, and the game was theirs.
This is exactly what happened. Mahomes lit a fire under his team and blazed down that field. With three seconds left in Super Bowl LVIII Mahomes threw a three-yard pass to Mecole Hardman.
The final score was 25-22 Kansas City Chiefs.
The controversy about how the Chiefs have become more of a commercial football team and a marketing tool for the NFL profiting off of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship led fans to speculate that the game was fixed for a ‘fairytale ending’.
In the end, I found this Super Bowl quite boring, up until the fourth quarter and overtime play.
However, I do wonder, is the NFL rigged?
