Super Bowl 58 is officially in the books. And in my opinion, it was one of the best that we've seen in recent years. I'll explain why, give my thoughts on the action, and provide my takeaways in the aftermath of the final football game of the 2023-24 NFL season.
I'll be honest, it wasn't the most scintillating Super Bowl ever in the first half. Both teams got out to very slow starts with some miscues on each side. But the defenses shone bright through much of the game until later on, when both units clearly began to tire. But we'll touch more on that later.
Game Recap
After a scoreless opening quarter, San Francisco got the ball rolling with a Super Bowl record 55-yard field goal from Jake Moody. That record would last for less than a quarter, as Harrison Butker split the uprights from 57 yards out to put the Chiefs on the board going into halftime. Prior to that, however, the 49ers converted a double pass from receiver Jauan Jennings to Christian McCaffrey for a 21-yard TD. Butker's field goal cut a 10-0 deficit to 10-3 at the half. The Chiefs opened the second half with an interception on their first drive. After three straight punts, Kansas City regained possession and marched down for another field goal to cut it to 10-6. Two more three-and-outs later, the Chiefs punted back to the Niners. But the ball bounced off a 49er and was recovered by Kansas City at the 16-yard line. It only took the Chiefs one play to score from there, as Patrick Mahomes hit a wide open Marquez Valdes-Scantling down the seam for the score to give KC their first lead of the game at 13-10. The Niners answered with a touchdown of their own, again with Jauan Jennings. But this time, he was on the receiving end. However, Jake Moody's PAT was blocked, which ended up being extremely costly for San Francisco as it gave them just a three-point lead as opposed to four. The teams swapped field goals on their next drives, and Moody's 53-yard kick gave the Niners a 3-point lead again with under two minutes to play. And then, Patrick Mahomes took over the game. The Chiefs marched down the field with ease and threatened to put the ball in the end zone with barely any time remaining in regulation. But they ran out of time and elected to send the game to overtime with another Harrison Butker field goal. The only real controversial decision of the game occurred when the 49ers won the overtime coin toss and chose to take the ball first instead of starting on defense. Due to the new playoff overtime rules, both teams are guaranteed at least one possession, even if the first team scores a touchdown. San Francisco marched down the field and nearly put it in the end zone, but failed to convert a third and four inside the red zone, forcing a field goal. Moody knocked another one through, but unfortunately for the 49ers, it was time for Mahomes to take the field again. Like at the end of the regulation, what followed felt like it was inevitably going to happen. Patrick Mahomes orchestrated a 13 play, 75 yard drive, capped off by a 3-yard pass to Mecole Hartman to win Super Bowl 58 by a score of 25-22. âTakeaways New Goat on the Blockâ My first thought while watching the game is that Patrick Mahomes has already surpassed Tom Brady as the greatest quarterback we've ever seen play the game. He's continued to win at an elite level no matter who is around him on offense. Despite how bad the Chiefs looked at times this year, they turned it around when it mattered most in the postseason. And I think that's largely attributed to Mahomes willing his team to a victory time after time. The level of confidence I have that Mahomes is going to lead his team on a game winning drive when he gets that opportunity is unmatched. I've never seen anyone, not even Tom Brady, who I truly believe will get the job done each time he needs it. I know Mahomes still has a long way to go to get the amount of rings that Brady has, but he's now won three times and he's only 28 years old. He still has at least a good 12 years or more to add to that total. And the Chiefs are definitely a dynasty at this point. The only question for me is how many more Super Bowls than Brady will Mahomes win? Defense Still Wins Championships It was clear that this game was going to be a defensive battle from the start, and Kansas City made the plays on defense throughout the playoffs to secure this Super Bowl title. As amazing as Mahomes was and is, Kansas City's defense was incredible for the entirety of the season. And they helped take the pressure off the offense - something that hasn't really been the case in past seasons. All levels of Steve Spagnuolo's defense deserve praise for their performance this year, especially in the postseason. Like Andy Reid said, "how bout that D, baby?" New OT Rule Conundrum Reports surfaced after the game that the 49ers players were not aware of the new playoff overtime rules that were instated this season. I find that hard to believe, especially considering the head ref announced the rules prior to the start of OT. But I'm more concerned with Kyle Shanahan's decision after his team won the toss. I thought about this a lot after the game, and I'm not sure what the "right" decision actually is. You would definitely like to see what your offense needs after going on defense first. That makes decisions such as going for it on fourth down much easier if you know you have to get points to extend the game. On the other hand, though, if both teams score the same amount on their first drives, then the team with the third possession has a massive advantage. So I can understand the appeal to want to take the ball first. Ultimately, in today's NFL, I'm sure there were tons of analytics that went into Shanahan's decision. And I've come to appreciate that just because a decision doesn't work out in the end, that doesn't mean it was necessarily a bad or wrong decision. I'm not sure that will help ease the pain of 49ers players, coaches, or fans, but it's the truth. San FrancisOHNO You had to feel a little sadness watching the 49ers lose the way they did. They led nearly the whole game, and kind of dominated for the first half. They dealt with some big injuries throughout the game and appeared to be in the driver's seat at multiple times, but could never seal the deal. There are always so many "what ifs" in big games like this, and it's no different for the Niners. The muffed punt, missed extra point, and a handful of penalties, to name a few, are going to haunt them for a while. Kyle Shanahan is now 0-3 in Super Bowls. And he's led by double digits in all of them. He's also been on the losing side of both of the only two overtime games in Super Bowl history. Their roster and coaching staff are too good to fall off anytime soon, but you have to wonder if they'll ever get over the hump. Their only real weakness was that they didn't have Patrick Mahomes at quarterback. Credit to Brock Purdy, who honestly played well enough for San Francisco to win. But I do wonder if he'll still be the guy long term for the 49ers. I know he gets a lot of hate because he was the last pick of the draft and kind of came out of nowhere, but I'm not super confident in his ability to get over the Super Bowl hump. Final Thoughts I thoroughly enjoyed the game on Sunday despite not having a dog in the fight. But I do appreciate greatness, which made it fun to see Mahomes go to work in the late stages of the game. I know some people are already off sick of seeing the Chiefs win everything, but it doesn't bother me. They deserved it, and it was a relatively clean game without much officiating controversy, thankfully. It's always sad to see football season come to an end, and now we have to wait six-plus months until football returns in the fall. Until then, we'll start by turning our attention to basketball. And you could profit by entering the third annual BSSR NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge when March Madness tips off in about a month. So be sure to check back to the NCAA basketball section of this site to claim your shot at free money. âI'll be back at the beginning of next football season to bring my opinions, predictions, and analysis on all things NFL. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Super Bowl 58 as well, so sound off in the comments about what you thought about it. âWritten by Nick Swatson
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