MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Nearly 150 million people worldwide tuned in at some point on Sunday, Feb. 2 to watch the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium.
Inside the stadium, just more than 62,000 fans and media members from across the world crammed into the home of the Miami Dolphins to watch as the Chiefs rallied from a 20-10 deficit to win and secure their second ever Super Bowl championship.
“To the Chiefs Kingdom, you are world champions once again,” Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt shouted in the postgame press conference as confetti fluttered within the stadium.
You can point to a lot of factors in the Chiefs ascension back to the top of the NFL. Patrick Mahomes has improved to 5-0 when trailing by double digits in a game before. He led the Chiefs back from at least 10 points down in the past three games — the only team in NFL history with three such wins in a single postseason.
“That’s just from day one, coach (Andy Reid) pushes us to be the best people we can be and we never give up,” said Mahomes, who became the third youngest Super Bowl MVP. “I think those guys around this – the leaders that we have on this team – they have that mindset that we never give up and we’re going to fight until the end.”
Mahomes improved to 28-8 as a starter with the Chiefs, after winning only 16 games in three years at Texas Tech. He became the youngest quarterback to throw 10 or more touchdowns in a postseason and is only the fifth quarterback to do so, joining the likes of Joe Montana, Kurt Warner, Joe Flacco and Tom Brady.
The 10-point rally was the second largest in Super Bowl history, only behind New England’s 25-point rally against Atlanta in Super Bowl LI. Incidentally, current 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was at the losing end of both, as a coordinator then and now head coach.
“You know it’s possible because you’ve done it, but you know it’s possible because you have Pat as your quarterback,” fullback Anthony Sherman added. “Are you kidding me? Anything is possible with him.”
Damien Williams, who played at that stadium as a member of the Dolphins, became the first running back to rush for 100 yards or more and have a rushing and receiving touchdown in a Super Bowl. The former Oklahoma product tied the Super Bowl record with two touchdowns in a quarter, while the Chiefs’ 21 points in the fourth are tied for the most ever.
The offensive line struggled at times to contain the 49ers front line, which entered as the best in the NFL, but Mahomes’ right side was always secure as tackle Mitchell Swartz didn’t give up a sack and yielded only two quarterback hurries in 100 pass blocking snaps during the past three games.
The line also came up big when it mattered as Kansas City converted on two fourth downs – both runs – to tie a Super Bowl record.
On Monday, the NFL released numbers from the game that showed 102.1 million people watched the game and 148.5 million watched all or part of the game, the 11th Super Bowl to be hosted in Miami. In the final 15 minutes of the contest, 103.5 million were tuned in, while Kansas City had the best Super Bowl ratings since 2014
It was the fourth-most watched show ever on FOX network history and 11th most watched U.S. telecast history.
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A Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl banner hangs from Union Station on Monday in Kansas City. The Chiefs will hold their Super Bowl parade today to celebrate their second championship and first since 1970.