Chiefs repeat victory and everything else you need to know about Super Bowl LVIII

In case you missed it, on Sunday, February 11, 2024, Super Bowl LVIII (58) was won by the Kansas City Chiefs. They beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime. The Super Bowl was a repeat of Super Bowl LIV, when Patrick Mahomes won his first Super Bowl in a 31-20 victory over the then Jimmy Garoppolo-led San Francisco 49ers. It is projected that the Super Bowl was viewed by 123.4 million people. That is seven million more people than last year’s record. It is one of the most-watched programs in television history, second only to the Apollo 11 moon landing.

The game got out to a whopping 0-0 1st quarter score after multiple fumbles. The score was a lowly 10-3 at halftime, with the 49ers in the lead. There was a huge momentum shift after the Chiefs recovered a muffed punt return by the 49ers. The teams kept the game within 1 score all through regulation. The game went into overtime tied at 19-19. This game was the second Super Bowl to go ever to overtime, and the first playoff game to ever use the new playoff rules, enacted two seasons ago. The 49ers were held to just a field goal while Mahomes and the Chiefs broke San Francisco’s prevent defense to score the game-winning touchdown. 

Patrick Mahomes led the passing attack, completing 33 of his 46 passes for 333 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Christian McCaffrey was the only skill player with over 100 yards having 80 yards both rushing and receiving. Chiefs Coach Andy Reid, gave huge credit to Steve Spagnuolo, Chris Jones, Trent McDuffie and the rest of the Chiefs defense in the post game.

This Super Bowl was held in Las Vegas for the first time. The state of the art Allegiant Stadium opened in 2020 as the second most expensive stadium in the world with a cost of $1.9 Billion. The 65,000 seat stadium has some unique features such as a fully-enclosed translucent roof, the end-zone nightclub, Wynn Field Club and the Al Davis Memorial Torch which is the largest 3D printed sculpture in the world. It also has a 90,000-foot retractable Bermuda Grass field that lives outside the south side of the stadium. On game day, 100 1 horsepower engines roll in the 10,000 ton tray of ½ inch grass.

Tickets to the game cost between $20K and $60K. Suites cost between $300K to $2.5 million. 

According to GQ Magazine these are the numbers of food consumed on Sunday’s game:

• 15,000 Hot Dogs
• 800 lbs of crab
• 1,500 lbs of brisket
• 1,500 meatballs
• 2,000 hamburgers

The game was played between two of the most historic and successful franchises in the league. The Kansas City Chiefs are 4-2 all time with wins in Super Bowls IV, LIV, LVII, and LVIII and losing Super Bowls I and LV. The San Francisco 49ers are 5-3 all time with wins in Super Bowls XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIV, XXIX and loses in Super Bowls XLVII, LIV, and LVIII. 

The Chiefs came into the 11-6 in the regular season and earned the 3rd seed in the AFC. They then won their three playoff games; 26-7 versus the Miami Dolphins, 27-24 over the Buffalo Bills and 17-10 against the Baltimore Ravens. They were led by 25-year veteran Heach Coach Andy Reid. It is his 11th season in Kansas City where he has already won Super Bowls LIV and LVII.

They had five pro-bowlers on their roster:

• 6x Pro Bowler Quarterback Patrick Mahomes (Texas Tech)
• 9x Pro Bowler Tight End Travis Kelce (Cincinnati)
• 2x Pro Bowler Center Creed Humphrey (Oklahoma)
• 2x Pro Bowler Left Guard Joe Thuney (North Carolina State), out due to torn Pectoral
• 5x Pro Bowler Defensive Tackle Chris Jones (Mississippi State)

The San Francisco 49ers were 12-4 during the regular season and earned the top seed in the NFC, meaning they got a first-round bye. They won two home playoff games to get to Super Bowl LXVIII; a 24-21 win over the Green Bay Packers and 34-31 over the Detroit Lions. They are led by 44-year-old Kyle Shanahan. He is in his 7th season in San Francisco and he has one prior Super Bowl appearance, a loss to Kansas City in Super Bowl LIV. They had a league leading nine pro-bowlers on their roster:

• 1x Pro Bowler Quarterback Brock Purdy (Iowa State)
• 3x Pro Bowler Running Back Christian McCaffrey (Stanford), also won Offensive Player of the Year
• 8x Pro Bowler Fullback Kyle Juszczyk (Harvard)
• 5x Pro Bowler Tight End George Kittle (Iowa)
• 11x Pro Bowler Left Tackle Trent Williams (Oklahoma)
• 4x Pro Bowler Defensive End Nick Bosa (Ohio State)
• 2x Pro Bowler Defensive Tackle Javon Hargrave (South Carolina State)
• 3x Pro Bowler Middle Linebacker Fred Warner (Brigham Young)
• 1x Pro Bowler Cornerback Charvarius Ward (Middle Tennessee State)

The Chiefs are the 9th franchise to repeat as back-to-back Super Bowl champions:

• 1966-67 Green Bay Packers
• 1972-73 Miami Dolphins
• 1974-75 Pittsburgh Steelers
• 1978-79 Pittsburgh Steelers
• 1988-89 San Francisco 49ers
• 1992-93 Dallas Cowboys 
• 1997-98 Denver Broncos
• 2003-04 New England Patriots
• 2023-24 Kansas City Chiefs

Following the win, 28-year-old Patrick Mahomes joins an elite club of only five Quarterbacks to have won three or more Super Bowls; Tom Brady (seven with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Terry Bradshaw (four with the Pittsburgh Steelers), Joe Montana (four with the San Francisco 49ers) and Troy Aikman (three with the Dallas Cowboys). Mahomes has earned the Super Bowl MVP in all three Super Bowls, tying Joe Montana for the second most Super Bowl MVPs ever. 

The Chiefs are already thinking of becoming the first team to ever win three in a row. Travis Kelce said in an interview earlier this week with Jim Nantz that coming into this week the team already had their minds on it, but knew they needed to win back-to-back to get the three-peat. Following the on-field celebration post-game he said, “The Chiefs are still the Chiefs. And you gotta fight for your right to party.”