For only the second time in NFL history, the Super Bowl will be decided in overtime. The Kansas City Chiefs are looking to become the first back-to-back Super Bowl champion in two decades as they take on the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas. In a back-and-forth affair, the two teams were tied at 19 at the end of regulation. But the Niners took a 22-19 lead in overtime off a Jake Moody field goal.
The Niners struck first, taking a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter on a 55-yard field goal from kicker Jake Moody, setting what was briefly the record for the longest field goal in Super Bowl history.
They increased their lead to 10-0 thanks to a double-pass trick play With under five minutes to play in the second quarter. Niners quarterback Brock Purdy pitched the ball back to wide receiver Jauan Jennings, who then threw it across the field to Christian McCaffrey, who sprinted 21-yards for the score.
Jennings became the first wide receiver to throw a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl since Antwaan Randle El did it in Super Bowl XL in 2006 for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who defeated the Seattle Seahawks.
The Chiefs finally got on the board thanks to a 28-yard Harrison Butker field goal before halftime.
Turnovers were the story of the game, with both sides making backbreaking mistakes. The running backs struggling to hold onto the football.
McCaffrey fumbled on the game’s opening drive. Then, with the Chiefs still without points and set up with a promising first-and-goal from the Niners nine-yard line early in the second quarter, running back Isaiah Pacheco also had the ball knocked out, and the Niners recovered.
The Niners defense repeatedly confounded Mahomes. He came out after halftime and immediately threw an interception to rookie safety Ji’Ayir Brown, marking Mahomes’ first pick in his last 218 postseason pass attempts, and ending the third longest such streak in NFL history.
Midway through the third quarter, Butker broke Moody’s record, hitting his own 57-yard field goal to cut the Niners lead to 10-6.
With under three minutes to go in the third quarter, Niners’ returner Ray-Ray McCloud fumbled a punt, the Chiefs recovered, and on the very next play, Mahomes connected with Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a 16-yard touchdown pass to give the Chiefs a 13-10 lead.
The Niners answered early in the fourth, with Purdy connecting with Jennings on a six-yard touchdown. But Moody missed the extra point, leaving the Niners with a slim 16-13 lead.
Butker’s 24-yard field goal with under six minutes to go tied the score at 16.
However, Moody redeemed himself for his earlier miss, nailing a 53-yard field goal with under two minutes to play to give the Niners the 19-16 lead.
But as he has done so many times before, Mahomes drove the Chiefs down the field, setting up a 29-yard tying field goal with three seconds left to send the game to overtime.
The only other Super Bowl to go to overtime was Super Bowl LI in 2017, when Tom Brady and the New England Patriots came back from 28-3 down to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28.
Super Bowl LVIII serves as a rematch of Super Bowl LIV in 2020, when the Chiefs and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes felled the Niners 31-20 to bring Kansas City its first Super Bowl in a half-century. Super Bowl LVIII is airing on CBS and Nickelodeon and streaming on Paramount+ from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Our colleagues at CBS Sports are also covering tonight’s game.
We’re writing throughout the evening about what we see online and the top moments from the game.