KANSAS CITY, Mo. — After San Francisco took the lead with under two minutes remaining Sunday in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, it unquestionably became a Patrick Mahomes legacy game.
As he has through his seven NFL seasons, including the last six as the Kansas City Chiefs' starter, Mahomes delivered.
All Mahomes did in the final two minutes and overtime was go 13 of 16 for 100 yards, adding four carries for 33 yards and tossing the game-winning touchdown to Mecole Hardman Jr. with 3 seconds left in overtime of a 25-22 victory.
THE CHIEFS ARE BACK-TO-BACK SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS! pic.twitter.com/ZzfhTyUXg9
— NFL (@NFL) February 12, 2024
“We knew what would happen if we could get the ball back in 15’s hands," safety Justin Reid said. "Once you do that, the rest is history."
Mahomes finished the game 34 of 46 for 333 yards with two touchdowns and an interception while also leading Kansas City with 66 yards on nine carries en route to his third Super Bowl MVP, which is tied with Joe Montana for the second-most in NFL history.
It was Mahomes' first 300-yard passing performance in a Super Bowl and his second-most productive rushing performance, trailing only the 69 yards he ran for in "The 13-Second Game" — a wild, 2021 AFC Divisional win against Buffalo.
3X SUPER BOWL MVP: @PATRICKMAHOMES #SBLVIII pic.twitter.com/KoSkMTM4Hn
— NFL (@NFL) February 12, 2024
“Pat Mahomes, man — he’s the man,” linebacker Willie Gay Jr., who had four tackles, said.
Only Tom Brady, a five-time Super Bowl MVP, has more than Mahomes, who is the eighth quarterback in league history to lead his team to back-to-back Super Bowl victories.
Mahomes is the first quarterback since Brady in 2003-04 to win consecutive Super Bowl titles.
No quarterback has ever won three straight Super Bowls.
With the win, Mahomes tied with former Dallas star Troy Aikman and former Miami QB Earl Morrall with his third career Super Bowl title. Only Tom Brady (seven), Joe Montana (four) and Terry Bradshaw (four) have won more Super Bowls as a QB.
Kansas City has won three Super Bowls in five seasons and appeared in another. The other two seasons with Mahomes as a starter, the Chiefs lost in overtime of the AFC Championship Game.
“I got brought into this culture,” Mahomes said. “Alex Smith was leading this team. They had the pieces in place and Coach Reid was the ultimate leader. I got brought in and just tried to exemplify that and keep getting better.”
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