It was far from a classic for the first three quarters, but there was both tremendous drama and lots of historical significance in the final quarter plus overtime of Sunday’s Super Bowl.
By spearheading both the tying field goal and game winning touchdown in the Kansas City Chiefs 25-22 victory, QB Patrick Mahomes forever ended any debate or doubt over whether he’s an all-time great QB.
He joins Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman and Terry Bradshaw as the only quarterbacks to win at least three Super Bowls. He also now is in select company with Brady and Montana as a three-time Super Bowl MVP.
Some 36 years after Doug Williams became the first Black QB to lead a team to a Super Bowl victory, Mahomes becomes the first to spearhead a team to consecutive titles. Kansas City also ended a 19-year drought for repeat Super Bowl winners, becoming the first since the 2003-04 Patriots.
If all that wasn’t enough history, it was the first Super Bowl played under the new overtime rules giving each time a chance at possession rather than a straight sudden death overtime where the first score wins. You’ve got to wonder how the 49ers feel about those new rules now, though the owners overwhelmingly pushed for that rule change in the name of fairness.
Had San Francisco won, the bit of history Murfreesboro native Jauan Jennings made might be getting more attention. He became only the second man to both throw and catch a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl.
But at 28, with his team now a three-time Super Bowl champion and being the holder of three Super Bowl and two NFL regular season MVP awards, there is no longer any question that Patrick Mahomes is among the greatest QBs to play the game. Just how great remains to be determined, but barring injury there is little doubt he will add more titles to his glittering legacy.
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