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Yahoo Sports Super Bowl LIV live blog: San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Chris Cwik and Shalise Manza Young
·21-min read

Welcome to the Yahoo Sports live blog of Super Bowl LIV. Throughout the night, we’ll be talking all things Super Bowl. That includes the pregame festivities, awesome plays and game updates, funny — or terrible — commercials, the halftime show and anything else associated with the game.

Join us — Chris Cwik and Shalise Manza Young — as we break down all the action as the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers go at it. As usual, the Yahoo Sports NFL team will also be covering the game and writing off some of its biggest moments, so don’t forget to check out the NFL home page for more excellent analysis and commentary about Super Bowl LIV.

Postgame

SMY: Closing thoughts from me: Andy Reid seems like a genuinely good guy, his players love him, and he’s certainly had consistent success. If you get your team to the playoffs year after year, at some point things are finally going to tip in your favor, and he gets to raise the Lombardi Trophy at long last.

But Kyle Shanahan will have to answer the questions again about his late-game play-calling. As offensive coordinator of the Falcons three years ago he couldn’t just close out the game despite a 28-3 lead, and on Sunday night it was the same - the 49ers were up by 10 points with 12 minutes to play, got the ball on an interception and didn’t go for the clock-killing drive they so needed, especially when it seemed Kansas City was having trouble containing Mostert on sweeps. They also got away from the runs with Deebo Samuel that had been so effective.

The 100th NFL season is in the books. Let the speculation over Tom Brady’s future begin! Or continue as the case may be.

CC: Couple closing thoughts from me. Overall, it was an enjoyable game. As a football fan, it was pretty awesome to see Mahomes take his place as “The Guy.” With him and Reid back next year, the Chiefs will once again be a formidable team.

I feel the same way about the 49ers. That defense is too good, and Kyle Shanahan is a good coach. There are going to be questions about Jimmy Garoppolo following his fourth quarter performance, but I think he’s good enough to keep the 49ers in contention.

And now, the offseason begins. There could be some significant movement with both Tom Brady and Drew Brees technically set to hit the market. There’s also Marcus Mariota, Ryan Tannehill and Jameis Winston, so a number of teams could look a lot different next season. It should be exciting.

In the meantime, I’ll allow baseball to consume my life for the next couple months. Once July rolls around, I’ll be making my fantasy football rankings way too early. Can’t wait.

SMY: Part of Andy Reid’s appeal is his everyman stature. He’s not svelte, he has a walrus-like mustache, and he likes to talk about food.

On set with NFL Network, Deion Sanders implored Reid to take some time and enjoy his first Super Bowl win. “I give him like three days,” Patrick Mahomes quipped. Reid put his arm around his star quarterback and said, “I’m going to get the biggest cheeseburger you’ve ever seen. And it might be a double!” he said.

CC: Damien Williams with a really cool gesture. After the game, he chased down Raheem Mostert in the 49ers’ tunnel. After sharing some words of encouragement, the two swapped jerseys.

CC: OK, here’s another one. Travis Kelce celebrates with his dad after winning the Super Bowl.

CC: Might as well add two more pictures since that’s what we’re doing right now. This one is really great. If you didn’t know, Patrick Mahomes’ dad was a pitcher for a number of teams, including the Minnesota Twins.

And ... sorry, Bears fans, but you’re not allowed to ever forget this.

SMY: The Detroit Tigers tweeted this shortly after the announcement of the MVP, congratulating their “2014 37th-round pick Patrick Mahomes on winning MVP of his football game.” They tried I guess.

SMY: These pictures are always fun. Here’s second-year Chiefs defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi, who started every game this season, doing a confetti angel on the field:

SMY: LeBron James is apparently a fan of Andy Reid. He tweeted he’s “happy as hell for the big guy!! Congrats coach!!!” Talk about a high-profile member of your fan club.

CC: Speaking of Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles, the Eagles sent out a pretty neat tweet congratulating Reid on the Super Bowl win.

SMY: He got to say it! But it wasn’t really too enthusiastic, at least not on stage with Terry Bradshaw. Anyway, Patrick Mahomes is Super Bowl LIV MVP. He was 26-for-42 for 286 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Mahomes also scored a rushing touchdown.

That 44-yard pass to Tyreek Hill on third-and-15 was the turning point.

SMY: Check the date on this Patrick Mahomes tweet. Will he get the chance to find out? We’ll know soon with the announcement of the game’s MVP.

CC: Expect to hear this one a lot in the coming hours, but this game was officially the passing the torch moment for Patrick Mahomes. He’s no longer the future of the league, he’s the present. Sure, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson are still around, but this is now Mahomes’ league.

SMY: Whew. Remember that earlier entry about teams being up by double digits at the end of the third quarter? That number is now 0-3 for the team leading over the last five years.

Chiefs players made it clear as soon as they landed in Miami that they were going to win for Andy Reid — they came off the plane wearing Hawaiian shirts, like Reid favors, and also they saw their Super Bowl Opening Night footwear, Nike Air Force 1s, as a sign too, since they’re Reid’s favorite sneaker.

This was Reid’s first Super Bowl win as a head coach in his second try; he led the Philadelphia Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIX but lost to New England.

“I’m so happy and grateful for coach Reid,” Tyrann Mathieu said after the game.

Fourth quarter

CC: And that’s officially going to do it for Super Bowl LIV. Kendall Fuller picks off Garoppolo with 57 seconds left. The Chiefs will kneel and win the game. Andy Reid has already gotten the Gatorade shower.

After a slow start, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs overcame a 10-point deficit to come back and win this one 31-20. Things looked dicey in the third quarter, but this wound up being a pretty great finish.

Congrats to the Chiefs. Congrats to Chiefs fans.

SMY: Welp, game over. The San Francisco defense, so strong all season, just gave up a 38 yard rushing touchdown to Damien Williams. A great lead block by fullback Anthony Sherman, Williams found the sizable hole, stayed inbounds and got the score. Chiefs up 31-20 and starting to celebrate.

SMY: The 49ers just turned the ball over on downs with 1:25 to play. Garoppolo overthrew Emmanuel Sanders on a deep ball on third down (Sanders had created separation), and then was sacked by Frank Clark on fourth down. San Francisco does have two timeouts.

SMY: Kansas City has taken the lead, 24-20, with 2:44 to play. Damien Williams’ 5-yard touchdown stood up on review, as he quite literally put the ball juuuuust on the inside on the pylon as he ran out of bounds.

CC: We’re set up for quite the finish here. San Francisco punts with just over 5 minutes left. Chiefs trail by 3 points. It’s been a rough night for Mahomes overall, but he showed signs of life on the last drive. Let’s see if he can bring the Chiefs back and make up for his early struggles. It would make for one heck of a turnaround.

SMY: Here’s a weird one: Super Bowl LIV is a sellout as you’d expect but because Hard Rock Stadium is one of the small NFL stadiums in terms of capacity since its facelift a couple of years ago, plus there are a number of seats set aside for overflow media. So the official attendance for the game is 62,417. That’s the second-smallest number in Super Bowl history, behind only Super Bowl I, which drew 61,946 and wasn’t a sellout.

SMY: The Chiefs just took a big bite out of the 49ers’ lead and have closed the score to 20-17 on a Travis Kelce touchdown. After a successful challenge by Kyle Shanahan took a 16-yard pass to Tyreek Hill off the board, Kansas City was in third-and-15 and for the first time all night we saw the Patrick Mahomes we’re used to seeing - he completed a 44-yard bomb to Hill, who just blew past Jimmie Ward and was open for the catch.

Add in a pass interference call on Tarvarius Moore in the end zone that gave KC a first down at the 1, and the table was set for the score.

CC: Since all my predictions have been garbage today, I might as well make another. Mahomes and the Chiefs get a quick score on this drive to make this a dramatic last couple minutes. There’s absolutely no way this backfires.

CC: Bad news for the Chiefs. Mahomes just threw his second interception of the game. The ball was behind thrown Tyreek Hill, bounced off his arms and went right into Tarvarius Moore’s hands. That could be the dagger if the 49ers can put another score on the board.

Mahomes has really struggled. I don’t know if he’s nervous or what, but this is so uncharacteristic. He doesn’t have much time to get it together. This is the first time all season he’s had two interceptions in a game.

SMY: A fun note as we start the final quarter, courtesy of the amazing Pro Football Reference: teams leading the Super Bowl by double digits at the end of the third quarter were 29-0 through 2014, but in the last six years teams in that situation have gone 0-2. Both times, the team to overcome that deficit was the New England Patriots, in Super Bowl XLIX against Seattle and in LI against the Falcons.

Third quarter

SMY: Tyrann Mathieu is fired up. The Fox cameras caught the Kansas City All-Pro safety yelling on the sideline after the 49ers’ touchdown:

In his first season with the Chiefs, he’s been lauded for the leadership and passion he’s added to the defense and team.

CC: Hmm ... I’d like to delete my last comment about that field goal coming back to bite the 49ers. Don’t look now, but Jimmy G suddenly has some real solid numbers tonight. He’s 17 of 20 for 183 yards and a score. That early interception and Kyle Shanahan’s cautious play before halftime hid the fact that Garoppolo has been pretty decent tonight. As of right now, he’s out dueling Mahomes, and I didn’t think there was any way that was going to happen tonight. The Chiefs can definitely put points on the board quickly, but a 10-point lead against the 49ers defense feels big.

SMY: There’s a lotta ballgame left, but given how close this game has been thus far, the 49ers taking a 20-10 lead thanks to that interception seems significant. San Francisco made quick work of things with the short field, with a 26-yard pass to Kendrick Bourne getting the offense well inside the red zone. After Kyle Juszczyk fell just short of the touchdown on first down, Everyone’s Favorite Underdog (TM) Raheem Mostert got the ball on second-and-1 for the TD.

SMY: Each quarterback has now thrown a pick. On back-to-back plays Patrick Mahomes had the ball knocked out of his hand by Joey Bosa —Mahomes was able to fall on the fumble — and then on third-and-12 his pass for Tyreek Hill was intercepted by linebacker Fred Warner. San Francisco took over at its own 45.

On the not-so-great side for the Niners, left tackle Joe Staley is questionable to return with a hand injury.

CC: San Francisco comes out of halftime looking better on offense, but can’t get the job done once they get in close. The drive stalled on fourth and 2, and Kyle Shanahan pulled an anti-Reid and settled for a field goal. The 49ers lead 13-10 with 9:29 to go in the third quarter. Good on them pulling ahead, but you need touchdowns if you want to beat the Chiefs, especially with Reid being aggressive. We’ll see if that decision comes back to bite the 49ers later.

Halftime

CC: If I may give my completely amateur critique, that halftime show started slow, but rebounded well and gave us a strong finish. I’m a curmudgeon with this stuff, though. The last Super Bowl halftime show I enjoyed was Prince and that was 15ish years ago.

However, the Shakira-JLo halftime show gave us this gif, and that’s something, right?

SMY: Concert time. Shakira and her dancers are all dressed in red and has become custom, she’s breezing through her catalog, singing snippets of a few songs. “Hips Don’t Lie,” gets a slightly longer treatment.

Then J. Lo appeared. “Jenny from the Block,” is her opener. The future Mrs. Alex Rodriguez did the same as Shakira, hitting on three of her hits before an instant outfit change and quick pole dance before “Waiting for Tonight.”

During “Let’s Get Loud,” Shakira and a gaggle of little girls join J. Lo. At one point she donned a fluffy vest that had the American flag on the outside and the Puerto Rican flag on the inside when she opened it.

Second quarter

CC: And I almost eat my words as the 49ers threaten to score before halftime. Garoppolo completed a huge, deep pass to George Kittle that would have put the 49ers in the red zone, but Kittle pushed off. That basically ended the half.

We move on to the halftime show with the game tied 10-10. Time for Shakira and JLo.

CC: Some curious clock management at the end of the second half. After stopping the Chiefs with under two minutes to play, the 49ers elected to save their timeouts. The team then ran the ball a couple times and ... kept all their timeouts for some reason. That’s a horrible decision. Give your team time at the end of the half. As of right now, only one of these coaches — Reid — is trying to win this game.

CC: Mr. Peanut is not dead. He was brought back to life by the Kool-Aid Man’s tears. I really hate that I had to type those two sentences.

SMY: The 49ers have bounced back. The defense made a great stop off the interception to force a Chiefs field goal, and the offense got the ground game going when it got the ball back. A seven play, 80 yard possession saw Raheem Mostert, hero of the NFC title game, had three carries for 21 yards, and Tevin Coleman picked up 17 on his attempt. On first down from the San Francisco 15, Jimmy Garoppolo passed to fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who got the touchdown. Juszczyk is the first fullback to score in a Super Bowl since Mike Alstott in Super Bowl XXXVII. Juszczyk also becomes the first player from Harvard to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl.

As we approach the 2-minute warning of the first half, the game is tied 10-10.

CC: We should probably talk about Deebo Samuel, who looks like a Swiss Army Knife-type weapon for Kyle Shanahan. He’s already carried the ball twice for 39 yards and caught 4 passes for 23 yards. On a team with some really strong receivers, the fact that he’s been Shanahan and Jimmy G’s guy in this game says a lot. His future is so bright, and I’m going to definitely overdraft him in fantasy leagues next year.

CC: Another gutsy fourth-down call for Andy Reid. The analytics will always support going for it on fourth and short, so kudos to Reid for adapting and getting aggressive when it matters. If you aren’t going to let Mahomes and this offense go for it on fourth down in the Super Bowl, what are you doing?

That conversion led to another field goal, putting the Chiefs up 10-3 with 9:32 to go in the second quarter.

SMY: The second quarter got off to a bad start for the 49ers. A pass to Deebo Samuel lost two yards, and on second-and-12 Jimmy Garoppolo got hit but let the ball go as he did. It wasn’t his best decision: the ball was intercepted by Bashaud Breeland. He didn’t get a return, but the Chiefs started from their own 44.

First quarter

CC: Seems premature to say that’s the play of the game, especially considering that both of these teams can score at will when they are on, but if that’s how Andy Reid is going to coach all game, I’m fully on board with my pregame pick of Kansas City.

On a completely different note, that ambiguous Tom Brady photo on Twitter turned out to be ... an ad. We probably should have seen this coming. At least we get to make a couple, “Tom Brady is in the Super Bowl after all” jokes.

SMY: As Bruce Arians would say, “No risk it, not biscuit.” After first appearing to send his kicking team out on fourth-and-1 from the San Francisco 5, Andy Reid let the offense go for it. According to the Fox broadcast, the Chiefs had only gone for it on fourth down 10 times during the regular season, fewest attempts in the league. The fourth-down play was a direct snap to Damien Williams for a gain of four, giving Kansas City first down at the 1. Darwin Thompson was stopped on first down, but Patrick Mahomes took it in on second down for the game’s first touchdown. The extra point was good. Kansas City is up 7-3 with :31 to go in the quarter.

CC: Chiefs look much better on this drive. With the team deep in the red zone, Mahomes took a huge hit on a scramble on 3rd and 11. Mahomes seemed fine after the play, but 49ers safety Jimmie Ward looked dinged. While it looked like Mahomes got the first down, they ruled him down short. After some deliberation, it looks like the Chiefs are going for it on 4th and 1.

CC: Based on that drive and the 49ers’ returner nearly giving the ball back with a fumble, I was going to say both teams seem way too amped up. But the 49ers responded with a solid drive that led to a field goal. San Francisco is up 3-0 with 7:57 to play in the first quarter. We’ll see if Mahomes and the Chiefs settle down on this drive.

SMY: The Chiefs went three-and-out to open the game. First down was a 7-yard pickup by Damien Williams, but Defensive Rookie of the Year Nick Bosa got Patrick Mahomes on the hand as he attempted a screen on second down, and the third-down pass for Williams to the opposite side fell short.

Pregame

CC: I’ve had zero interest in watching the live-action Disney movies, but “Mulan” looks kinda fantastic based on the trailers. You not only get my thoughts on the Super Bowl, but you get my thoughts on “Mulan.” This is what you signed up for by clicking on this link.

It’s also a good opportunity to mention Jay Busbee and Liz Roscher are breaking down every Super Bowl commercial tonight. You can find their post here.

CC: Dwayne Johnson reprised his role as “The Rock” to introduce both teams before the game. It was fantastic. If The Rock narrated the process of paint drying, I would watch it.

CC: I’m going with the Chiefs too. I agree that it’s going to be close, so I’m going with the best quarterback in the game. Apologies to Jimmy Garoppolo, but I saw Patrick Mahomes go into unbeatable mode against the Houston Texans. I’ll take the Chiefs 31-28.

SMY: Alright, Cwik: prediction time. For our official Yahoo Sports post I went with Chiefs, 25-24. For whatever reason I have this idea in my mind of Kansas City scoring in the last minute and then getting the two-point conversion for the win. Patrick Mahomes is my MVP pick. Who you got amigo?

CC: Pretty cool on-field presentation for the NFL 100 all-time team. The crowd erupted when Jerry Rice appeared on the scoreboard. The booed the ever living crap out of Bill Belichick, who didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he took the moment as an opportunity to show off some of his Super Bowl rings.

The presentation also featured Rob Gronkowski in a bowtie, so that was neat.

SMY: It’s just after 5 p.m. ET, which means the inactives for the game have been set. The biggest surprise of the 14 total is Chiefs running back LeSean McCoy. For all intents and purposes McCoy was Kansas City’s starter at the position: he’d played 13 games and started nine of those; he totaled 101 carries for 465 yards in the regular season, just behind the 111 carries and 498 yards by Damien Williams.

The rest of the inactives:

Kansas City

  • QB Chad Henne

  • OL Jackson Barton

  • OL Andrew Wylie

  • LB Darron Lee

  • CB Morris Claiborne

  • OL Ryan Hunter

San Francisco

  • QB C.J. Beathard

  • WR Dante Pettis

  • CB Dontae Johnson

  • TE Daniel Helm

  • LB Azeez Al-Shaair

  • WR Jordan Matthews

  • DL Kevin Givens

SMY: Stadium concession prices have been truly absurd for a while, and one of the reasons why some fans would rather watch games from home.

But in keeping with the high ticket costs, the prices inside Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday for food are only for those with a lot of disposable income. Check out this pic:

Popcorn is $15?!? For $1 more you can get a burger with fries, which is an actual meal.

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