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Chiefs Get 31-20 Comeback Win Over 49ers for First Super Bowl Championship in 50 Years

By Entertainment News Feb 2, 2020 | 7:00 PM

THE GAME

The Kansas City Chiefs pulled off a 31-20 comeback win over the San Francisco 49ers last night (February 2nd), rallying from being down by 10 points with just under six-and-a-half minutes left to play at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, to nab the franchise's first Super Bowl championship in 50 years. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was named the game MVP, finally found his spark in the second half of the fourth quarter, leading the Chiefs to three touchdowns in five minutes for their third straight win this postseason after being behind by 10 points or more. The victory also gave Andy Reid his first Super Bowl ring in two decades as head coach, having previously won a championship as tight ends coach with the Green Bay Packers in 1996.

Teams Trade Lead Before 49ers Pull Ahead:

The 49ers got on the board first, getting a field goal midway through the first quarter, then the Chiefs scored a touchdown late in the frame to take the lead. Kansas City added a field goal in the second quarter, which was answered by a 49ers touchdown, sending the teams to halftime tied at 10-10. San Francisco did all the scoring in the third quarter, getting a field goal and a touchdown, but after they ended the quarter up 20-10, they wouldn't score again.

Chiefs' Fourth-Quarter Comeback:

The Chiefs began their comeback with a one-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce with 6:13 left in the game, which was set up by a 44-yard pass to Tyreek Hill, the first long pass of the game completed by Mahomes. That was followed three-and-a-half minutes later by a five-yard touchdown pass to Damien Williams with 2:44 left to give Kansas City the 24-20 lead, and then Williams had a 38-yard touchdown run a minute-and-a-half later, putting the Chiefs up 31-20, which would be the final score. The victory was sealed seconds later when 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garappolo's throw was intercepted by Kendall Fuller.

Stats:

  • The 24-year-old Mahomes is the youngest quarterback to be named Super Bowl MVP, and the third-youngest player overall, behind Marcus Allen and Lynn Swan.
  • The 49ers are just the third team in Super Bowl history to give up a 10-point lead in the second half.
  • The Chiefs' only other championship was in Super Bowl IV in 1970 over the Minnesota Vikings. In their one other Super Bowl appearance, they lost the very first one in 1967 to the Green Bay Packers.
  • 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Braves three years ago when they suffered their own Super Bowl collapse and lost to the New England Patriots in overtime after having been up 28-3 midway through the third quarter.

Kobe Bryant Tribute:

The teams paid tribute to L.A. Lakers great Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash one week earlier along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people. The Chiefs and 49ers players lined up for a moment of silence, standing on their respective 24-yard lines in tribute to Bryant's Number 24 jersey. Several players also wore cleats during warmups with tributes to Bryant, and during Fox's pre-game show, the 49ers' Richard Sherman read a poem called, “Dear Football,” adapting most of it from “Dear Basketball,” the poem Kobe wrote as a way of announcing that he'd be retiring after the 2015-16 NBA season. Sherman ended by saying, “We love you Kobe. We love you Gianna. Love always, Richard.”

Trump Mistakenly Congratulates 'Great State of Kansas'

President Trump posted a congratulatory tweet after the Chiefs' victory, but he mistakenly placed the team's home in Kansas instead of Missouri. Trump tweeted: “Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs on a great game, and a fantastic comeback, under immense pressure. You represented the Great State of Kansas, and, in fact, the entire USA, so very well. Our Country is PROUD OF YOU!” The tweet was deleted a few minutes later and replaced with a version with a corrected second sentence that said, “We are proud of you and the Great State of Missouri. You are true champions!”

MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT

“AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL”

Renowned gospel singer Yolanda Adams performed a riveting rendition of “America the Beautiful” before the game. Standing atop a giant white football, the Texas legend was joined by the Children’s Choir of Miami for the pregame exhibition.

NATIONAL ANTHEM

Demi Lovato crushed her performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” continuing her big music comeback after taking a year-and- a-half hiatus following a drug overdose. Many applauded Lovato’s rendition of the U.S. National Anthem, which earned massive applause at Hard Rock Stadium and praise from the online community.

THE HALFTIME SHOW

Shakira and Jennifer Lopez took to the stage during the halftime show and belted out some of their best known hits. The set included “Whenever, Wherever” and “Waka Waka” by Shakira and “Waiting for Tonight” and “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” by Lopez, among a slew of their other club anthems. The singers performed on a circular stage that was elaborately lit as fireworks erupted from the top of the Hard Rock Stadium.

During the performance, Shakira, dressed in a red sequin outfit, performed a belly dance with a rope that led into her iconic song “Hips Don’t Lie.” Then Lopez took to the stage in black leather while holding on to the antenna of a mock skyscraper and sang her thumping hit about her Bronx beginnings, “Jenny from the Block.” She then ran through a medley of her classic tunes as leather-donned backup dancers performed complex routines.

Lopez commanded the stage in a perfectly choreographed rendition of “Get Right,” joined Shakira in a salsa number and welcomed her daughter Emme on the field for a duet of “Let’s Get Loud” and “Born in the USA” — while donning a cape with both the Puerto Rican and American flags. She had five outfit changes and props, including a pole, in a tribute to her Hustlers character. At points J Balvin and Bad Bunny took the stage, continuing the celebration of Latin musicians.

THE COMMERCIALS

Advertisers paid up to $5.6 million for a 30-second Super Bowl ad this year. Celebrities, as always, were everywhere, and advertisers kept things funny and playful, steering away from some of the more political or social cause-focused ads of the last few years. The most notable exceptions were the two campaign ads from President Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg. Both featured African-American women, Bloomberg's a mother whose son was lost to gun violence, and Trump's Alice Johnson, who was freed from prison after being granted clemency. Here are some of the commercials your listeners may be talking about today:

Ads with Sound provided:

Hulu – Tom Brady at first makes it seem like he's going to make a career announcement, but then touts Hulu and says at end, “I'm not going anywhere.”

Mountain Dew Zero Sugar – Bryan Cranston in sendup of the hacking into the bathroom with an ax scene from The Shining, with him in the Jack Nicholson role and Tracee Ellis Ross in the Shelley Duvall role as his wife.

Hyundai Sonata – Chris Evans, John Krasinski and Rachel Dratch do Boston accents.

Pringles – Adult Swim characters Rick and Morty in a spot for stacking Pringles to make new flavor combos. Morty bots come in as they get “trapped in a Pringles commercial.”

Mr. Peanut – Mr. Peanut, who Planters killed off in a pre-Super Bowl marketing stunt, comes back to life at his funeral as a baby peanut, in front of mourners including Mr. Clean and Kool-Aid Man.

Pepsi Zero Sugar – H.E.R. and Missy Elliott sing the Rolling Stones' “Paint It Black,” in nod to Pepsi Zero Sugar's black can.

Bud Light Seltzer – People fight inside Post Malone's head, sending him careening around a store, over whether to get Bud Light or Bud Light Seltzer, before they decide to get both.

Little Caesar's – Customer getting a Little Caesar's pizza calls its delivery the best thing since sliced bread, sending a company called “Sliced Bread” into a panic as they try to come up with new ideas.

T-Mobile – Anthony Anderson gives his mother T-Mobile service, and his real-life mom, who stars in the ad, keeps calling him from all different places and all hours to tell him the service works there.

Jeep Gladiator – Bill Murray reprises his Groundhog Day role, but this time things are different, because when he wakes up every day there's a Jeep Gladiator he gets to drive, taking a groundhog on his adventures with him.

Other Memorable Ads:

Rocket Mortgage – Jason Momoa says he can relax and be himself at home and starts taking off fake big arms and big chest, and long hair wig to show him balding on top. He can't lift a weight, even as wife Lisa Bonet tries to help.

Cheetos – Man has Cheeto dust on his hands so can't do a whole bunch of things or he'll turn things orange, while MC Hammer pops up and sings, “Can't Touch This.”

Avocados from Mexico – Avocados from Mexico shopping network where you can buy things for your avocados, like a baby holder, a pool float, luggage and a bike helmet.

Hard Rock International – Jennifer Lopez chases after a thief who stole her bling cup through Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, with help from Pitbull and Steven Van Zandt. When she catches him and pulls of his mask, it's her real-life finance Alex Rodriguez. But that's a mask too that's pulled off to show DJ Khaled.

Genesis – Husband and wife John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are at a mansion party. Teigen tells guests to say goodbye to “old luxury” and welcome “new luxury.” Legend is late pulling up in the Genesis SUV when she says that, and then only lets her in if she says the magic words: “Sexiest Man Alive.”

Coca-Cola Energy – Martin Scorsese, looking lost alone at a costume party, texts Jonah Hill asking why he's not there yet. Hill forgot and is home and doesn't really want to go. But he drinks Coca-Cola Energy and is ready to go, meeting up with Scorsese at the party

Doritos Cool Ranch – Little Nas X and Sam Elliott have an Old West dance-off to Nas X's “Old Town Road.”

Reese's Take 5 – After a man tells his co-worker he's never heard of Reese's Take 5 candy bar, she starts spouting cliches asking where's he's been that come to life, like, “under a rock,” “raised by wolves,” “born yesterday,” “from another planet,” etc.

Alexa – Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi wonder what people did before Alexa, leading to funny scenes from past eras, like a man on a wagon train who wants to hear a song has the man next to him whistle into a jug, and a message is put in a bird's beak to send, but it gets eaten by a bigger bird and then a dragon.

Michelob Ultra – Jimmy Fallon works out with John Cena but struggles to keep up.

Microsoft – Features San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers, the first woman to coach in a Super Bowl game.

Google – An elderly man asks Google Assistant to display stored memories of his late wife, Loretta.

BESTS & WORSTS

'USA Today' Ad Meter: USA Today held its annual Ad Meter review of the Super Bowl commercials in which people register online and vote on the ads. The full results, including the most popular and least popular ads, will be available today as of 8:15 a.m. ET at: http://bit.ly/2D9ryfV

Here is what some news outlets thought were the best and worst ads:

CONTACTS WHO CAN TALK ABOUT THE ADS:

Tim Calkins – Marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management who has written about Super Bowl ads and viewed and rated them with his students in the past – 847-467-3209 or Email him at t-calkins@kellogg.northwestern.edu

Kelly O'Keefe – Marketing professor at Virginia Commonwealth University – 808-828-8384 or email him at kokeefe@vcu.edu

Charles R. Taylor – Villanova University marketing professor – Email him at raymond.taylor@villanova.edu

Edward W. Russell – Associate professor of advertising at Syracuse University – 315-443-4045 or Email him at edrussel@syr.edu

Kimberly Whitler — University of Virginia marketing professor — 434-924-3271 or email her at WhitlerK@darden.virginia.edu