The end of the 58th Super Bowl on Feb. 11 left, as Usher sang during his halftime performance, “fifty thousand fans screaming in a rage.”
The Kansas City Chiefs had a solid regular season, dominating the AFC West as its number one seed, but falling short of the first and second seed in the AFC Playoffs. Despite their stiffer competition, the Chiefs blew past the Miami Dolphins (seeded sixth) and then eked out a win against the number-one-seeded Ravens in the AFC Championships. This bought them a hard-won ticket to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row, placing them right back on the turf where they had just won Super Bowl 57. The Chiefs are no stranger to the playoff spotlight; they have made it all the way to the finals four out of the last five seasons.
The San Francisco 49ers had an arguably more stand-out season, however. They had a 12-5 season and nailed the first seed in the NFC conference. Following a bye round and narrowly won over the Detroit Lions. Despite their stellar regular season, however, making it to the Super Bowl against the Chiefs must have left them with a mix of anticipation and nerves; the 49ers fell to the Chiefs in a stunning upset in 2020’s Super Bowl, and the bitterness of that defeat — which came at the very end of the game last time around — must have been in the back of every 49er’s mind when they faced off on the 11th.
The game was precluded by performances by Reba McEntire, Post Malone and Andra Day; an odd collection of acts that somehow managed to capture the spirit of a classic American tradition. The Chiefs won the coin toss, but deferred, and the 49ers started with the ball. Thus began one of the lowest scoring first halves in Superbowl history; the first quarter ended in a 0-0 score, as both teams showed off the impressive defensive skills they had been honing all regular season. However, history was made immediately following the start of the second quarter. 49ers kicker and new recruit Jake Moody punted a 54-yard field goal — an impressive and record-breaking kick — to bring the score up to 3-0. Moody has proved to be an asset for the 49ers all season, after being drafted in the third round of the 2023 draft. Christian McCaffery scored the first touchdown for the 49ers later that quarter, and the Chiefs answered with a field goal to bring the game up to 10-3.
As the players left the field, the setup began for Usher’s halftime performance. Despite fans’ hopes for a surprise appearance by Justin Bieber, there were still some knockout performances. Alicia Keys stunned on the piano, while H.E.R. showed off her guitar affinity as Usher flew around on, inexplicably, roller skates. Will.i.am, Lil Jon and Ludacris joined for a few performances as well, throwing us all back into old 2000’s nostalgia. And if any fans happened to be cruising the web during the performance, they probably noticed Beyoncé showing her appreciation for football by casually dropping two new singles from her upcoming country album: “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages.” The game didn’t lack any stars in the stands either. The camera couldn’t stay away from Taylor Swift, Ice Spice, Travis Scott and Jay-Z, as well as many other celebrities, as they watched the game unfold. It’s up to everyone to decide who really stole the show.
The second half started off with yet another record-breaker, with Kansas City’s Harrison Butker stealing the thunder of Moody’s impressive kick by breaking the record again, and beating Moody’s yardage by two points. With the score now to 10-6, the Chiefs kept the momentum up by scoring again, with a pass from Patrick Mahomes to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, bringing the score up to 13-10. And the tit-for-tat scoring only continued, with a Brock Purdy connection to Jauan Jennings bringing the score up to 16-13 for San Francisco, but a blocked punt keeping the 49ers from an extra point. Jake Moody then kicked another field goal, bringing the score to 19-13 with under three minutes left in the game. But the Chiefs were not to be deterred, kicking another field goal before time ran out and sending the 58th Super Bowl into overtime — the second time in history this has happened.
Perhaps the most pivotal point in overtime happened before the game even started. The coin toss was won by the 49ers, and Kyle Shanahan chose first possession — an error that may have cost his team the game. Operating by regular season rules, if a team scores a touchdown when overtime starts, the game is automatically over; if it is a field goal, the other team can then try to score. However, Super Bowl rules allow each team a chance at possession, despite a score from the starting team. So when the 49ers took the ball first, they allowed the Chiefs to strategize and see how far they had to push to win, despite Shanahan having the chance to give his O-line a break and his team a moment to regroup. Instead, the 49ers scored a field goal, the Chiefs answered with a touchdown, and Kansas City took home the Lombardi. It was a fight of the returning champs and the regular season-hopefuls, but in the end, both teams put their all into the field; turns out the Chiefs just had a little more to give.