Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers at the Super Bowl on Sunday, securing the NFL’s first back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 20 years with a game that went into overtime for only the second time in Super Bowl history.
In the end, Kansas City won 25-22. The 49ers took the lead early on but the lead turned over several times during regulation play. The first half ended with San Francisco up 10-3. The Chiefs came back to take the lead early on in the third quarter, until the 49ers answered back with a touchdown by wide receiver Jauan Jennings. Halfway through the fourth quarter, the score was tied 16-16. San Francisco pulled ahead again, 19-16, but with three seconds to go, the Chiefs tied it up.
The only other Super Bowl to go into overtime came in 2017 when the New England Patriots mounted a stunning comeback to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28.
The 49ers entered the Super Bowl as 2.5-point favorites over the Chiefs when the betting line opened on ESPN, and it dipped to -1.5 by Monday. Led by quarterback Brock Purdy and star running back Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers powered to a 12-5 record this season. The Chiefs, last year’s Super Bowl champions, had an 11-6 record on the talents of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce.
This year’s Super Bowl was a rematch of the 2020 contest, in which the Chiefs beat the 49ers with a final score of 31-20. Sunday’s game was the fourth Super Bowl appearance for the Chiefs in five seasons; it was the 49ers’ second in that time span. The Chiefs had previously won in 2023 against the Philadelphia Eagles, lost to Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021 and beat the 49ers in 2020. Before the 2020 Super Bowl against the Chiefs, the 49ers had also appeared in the 2013 game, losing to the Baltimore Ravens.
The Chiefs are the first back-to-back NFL champions since Brady’s New England Patriots won in 2004 and 2005.
Historically, the 49ers have more Super Bowl championship than the Chiefs, at five wins to three. The 49ers won in 1982, 1985, 1989, 1990 and 1995. The Chiefs won their first Super Bowl back in 1970.
This year’s Super Bowl and the Chiefs’ season were nearly overshadowed by Taylor Swift, who began dating the Chiefs’ star player Kelce last year. Her appearances at games have made national news, blew up ratings and inspired countless memes online, much to the delight of her fans and dismay of some football fans.
