The Lombardi trophy is heading back to Chief’s Kingdom

It took five decades, but the Kansas City Chiefs are champions of the football world once again. The Chiefs 31-20 win over the 49ers was a tension-filled fistfight from the opening kickoff until the final whistle.

Andy Reid’s first (and long overdue) Super Bowl win as head coach was defined by aggressiveness, and not flinching when the game seemed to be slipping away.

The first big call by Reid came late in the first quarter. Facing a 4th and one from the San Francisco five, Reid kept his offense on the field.

Chiefs offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy, took a page of a book from the 1948 Rose Bowl between Michigan and USC. Patrick Mahomes stood a yard back from the center with wide receivers Mecole Hardman and Sammy Watkins standing a yard back on either side of him and running back Damien Williams completing the diamond formation behind all of them.

The four players all did a full spin to the left as the ball was snapped directly to Williams who charged ahead for a first down. Two plays later Mahomes scrambled into the end zone from one yard out to give Kansas City and early 7-3 lead.

Just five minutes later Reid rolled the dice again. Sitting at the 49ers’ 19-yard line, Reid decided to forgo a chip shot field goal on 4th and one, with Williams again toting the rock for a big first down. The drive ended in a field goal anyway, but it was clear the Chiefs were not going to leave anything out on the field.

The same might not be said for Kyle Shanahan and the Niners.

The score was tied at 10 apiece with just under two minutes left in the first half. A short pass to Williams on third and long for the Chiefs would force them to punt, but instead of using one of his three timeouts, Shanahan let the clock wind all the way down with only one minute left.

San Francisco general manager John Lynch could be seen signaling for a timeout from the booth, but Shanahan “(Felt) good 10-10” with the 49ers getting the ball to start the second half.

Who knows if the 49ers would have scored, but regardless, the decision brought into question Shanahan’s faith in quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

Despite the questionable clock management, San Francisco came out in the 2nd half ready to play. After a field goal on the opening drive, the 49ers’ relentless finally started to shake Mahomes.

Stud rookie Nick Bosa was able to force a Mahomes fumble, but the Chiefs quarterback was able to bounce back on top of it. Now facing a third and long on the very next play, Mahomes rolled out in the pocket and tried to force a throw deep to Tyreek Hill that fell into the waiting arms of linebacker Fred Warner.

San Francisco quickly marched down the field to score and go up 20-10 just before the 3rd quarter ended.

On the ensuing drive, Mahomes led the Chiefs down into 49er territory. Mahomes then tried to find Hill again on third down, but the pass was behind him and picked off again., this time by Tarvarius Moore.

Kansas City was now staring at 10 point deficit with just 11 minutes to go and had an offense that was being completely discombobulated by the 49ers front seven.

The Chiefs defense needed to step up, and step up they did. Kansas City was able to force a quick punt, and now it was points or bust for the Chiefs offense.

With Mahomes still running for his life, Kansas City faced a third and 15 from their own 35. The Super Bowl felt like it was starting to slip away for Chiefs fans.

Then Patrick Mahomes caught fire.

Mahomes took the snap and took 11 steps straight back, launched a missile downfield to a wide-open Tyreek Hill. Hill took the ball deep into 49er territory.

A defensive pass interference that occurred a few plays later put the ball at the one. Travis Kelce then scored on the first of two fourth-quarter touchdown passes from Mahomes.

The Chiefs defense came up huge again to force a three and out, giving the Chiefs the ball with a shot to take the lead.

Mahomes completed all five passes on the drive, the final one coming on third and goal when he found Williams in the flat who scored the go-ahead touchdown.

With time winding down, Garoppolo the 49ers to mid-field. Down 24-20 and needing a touchdown, a streaking Emanuel Sanders got a step behind the Chiefs defense. Garoppolo overthrew Sanders in what would have been a sure touchdown, and a sack on the next play turned the ball back over to the Chiefs.

A 38-yard touchdown run by Williams a little over a minute left was the dagger, as the Chiefs secured their first championship in 50 years.

This was an absolute gut-punch for the 49ers. Blowing a 10 point lead in the 4th quarter with the leagues best defense are losses that teams and fans never get over.

History has shown how hard it is to get back to this game. And despite San Francisco’s blindly bright future, nothing is guaranteed.

Mahomes took home the MVP for the Chiefs. The all-world quarterback kept his composure after a brutal fourth-quarter and took Kansas City to the promised land.

The only question is if the Chiefs are the dawning of a new NFL dynasty. With the best player in the league coupled with the one if the best offensive coaches the NFL has ever had, there is no limit to what ‘Chiefs Kingdom’ can accomplish.

As for football, it will be missed. Dearly. Everyone should take a week to be sad that football is over. After that, have some fun and talk yourself into a Super Bowl run for your own team next season.