Patrick Mahomes II became the first Red Raider in school history to win his third Super Bowl title Sunday as the Kansas City star and former Texas Tech gunslinger powered the Chiefs to a 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
It was the second-straight Super Bowl title for the Chiefs, who became the first NFL franchise since the New England Patriots in 2004 to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in consecutive seasons. Kansas City has now won three of the past five Super Bowls, only the "start of a dynasty" Mahomes said postgame.
For Mahomes, at only 28 years of age, he joined a prestigious list of quarterback now with three Super Bowl titles, a list that includes current or future Hall of Famers in Tom Brady, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana and Troy Aikman.
"It means a ton," Mahomes said in his postgame interview with CBS when asked what a third title means to him. "I'm proud of my guys, man, this is awesome. It's legendary.
The victory followed a similar script to Kansas City's two other Super Bowl titles as the Chiefs rallied from a 10-point deficit, not scoring their first touchdown till Mahomes found Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a 16-yard strike with 2:28 remaining in the third quarter. The touchdown followed a muffed punt from San Francisco with Mahomes capitalizing on the next play to take a 13-10 lead.
The Chiefs wouldn't find the end zone again until Mahomes rolled right to connect with Mecole Hardman on a 3-yard touchdown in overtime. The game-winner capped a stellar 69-yard scoring drive where Mahomes converted a 4th-and-1 with a 7-yard scamper and then used his legs again for a crucial 22-yard gain to move into the red zone.
"I am going to celebrate tonight, celebrate at the parade and then work my way to get back in this game next year," Mahomes said. "I am going to do whatever I can to be back in this game next year. Three-peat."
In the first Super Bowl ever hosted at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Mahomes previously pushed the Chiefs to overtime with a final two-minute drill in the closing moments of regulation, settling for a Harrison Butker 29-yard field goal with only three seconds remaining. It was the fourth field goal of the night for Butker, who also found the uprights from 28, 57 and 24 yards out in the win.
Mahomes finished 34-of-46 overall for 333 yards and two touchdowns to earn Most Valuable Player honors for the third time in his career. He matched Montana for the second-most Super Bowl MVP honors all-time, trailing only Brady by two now with plenty of time remaining in his career.
While Mahomes had to rally from double-digit deficits in Kansas City's two other Super Bowl titles, this one was different by the path the Chiefs got to the Super Bowl. They topped the Dolphins in frigid conditions in the Wild Card round before going on the road to top both the Bills and top-seeded Ravens for their fourth Super Bowl appearance in the past five years.
"With all the adversity we've been through this season to come through tonight. ... I'm proud of the guys," said Mahomes. "This is awesome. Legendary."
Mahomes, who entered the week as the first Red Raider to appear in four Super Bowls, is now 3-1 in the big game, improving his playoff record to an astounding 15-3 mark. His .833 winning percentage is easily the highest among NFL quarterbacks with at least 10 career victories.
The victory pushed Mahomes ahead of a quartet of Red Raider greats in Danny Amendola, Donny Anderson, Anthony Lynn and LaAdrian Waddle for the most Super Bowl wins in school history. All four had two Super Bowl titles during their respective NFL careers.
Lynn was on the opposite sideline of Mahomes as San Francisco's assistant head coach and running backs coach. He was one of three Red Raiders on the 49ers staff along with defensive line coach Kris Kocurek and athletic trainer Katie Carden.
