Chris and Kyle pick up the pieces after the 49ers’ loss in Super Bowl 54.
The nature of the 49ers’ Super Bowl loss sparked a slew of various hot takes across the sports-talk landscape.
Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee and Kyle Madson attempt to put together a Super Bowl recap that gets past the ludicrous, sweeping statements and get down to what went wrong for San Francisco. They also use Sunday’s events to start looking ahead to the future and what lies ahead for the 49ers in the offseason.
The Kansas City Chiefs won their first Super Bowl title in 50 years with Sunday’s comeback win over the 49ers. It was a championship that many Chiefs fans had waited literally their entire lives to experience, and Wednesday was the opportunity to celebrate with the team.
The Chiefs held their championship parade in downtown Kansas City with a route that led to a rally at Union Station. While some city officials expected close to a million fans at Wednesday’s festivities, photos and videos from the parade had fans of other teams underwhelmed by the turnout from Chiefs Kingdom.
When the Royals won the 2015 World Series, for example, the crowd filled the entire hill in front of Union Station with an estimated 800,000 people in attendance, according to the Associated Press.
View from my office today: Some of the 800,000 who came to the Royals World Series rally at Union Station 🙂 pic.twitter.com/nx4ntQ4VNs
An hour before the Chiefs made their way to Union Station for the rally, the turnout was considerably worse than what the Royals drew in 2015. This was what the Chiefs’ Twitter account posted on Wednesday morning.
And wire photos showed that the crowd did fill in as the players made their way to the podium, but the attendance was still visibly behind what the Royals drew in 2015.
AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
On its face, that result is shocking. The Chiefs have one of the most loyal (and loudest) fanbases in the league. Football dwarfs baseball in terms of popularity. And the Chiefs had been waiting 50 years for that second Super Bowl title. All of those should have resulted in a bigger turnout.
But it is important to note that the Royals’ parade took place on a perfect, 70-degree day and was the city’s first major championship since 1985. With weather like that, those 800,000 people were more than willing to show up for the parade. On Wednesday, Kansas City was dealing with gloomy weather in the 20s. That — along with bad experiences and logistical issues from the Royals’ parade — could have kept fans away to watch on TV at home. Championship parades are kind of a headache after all.
Really expected the Chiefs to lap the Royals in parade attendance. Had to be because of weather. Right?
I'm sorry…this is just sad. I actually feel bad for the @Chiefs. After 50 years of waiting to goto the Super Bowl, they finally get there and win it and this is the turnout? Just sad…Here is a shot I took from the very beginning of the Patriots' last parade after winning six: https://t.co/6aHoRKBYkcpic.twitter.com/OzjRIXklnD
The Kansas City Chiefs pulled off an epic fourth quarter comeback to win Super Bowl 54 against the 49ers on Sunday. It was Kansas City’s first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years, but let’s not forget that the Chiefs were one offsides penalty away from this being their second straight trip to the Super Bowl.
Travis Kelce certainly didn’t forget.
During last year’s AFC Championship Game against the Patriots, the would-be, game-sealing interception by Kansas City was negated when Dee Ford was called for an offsides penalty. Replays would show that he was indeed lined up in the neutral zone.
On Wednesday, Kelce took a shot at Ford — now with the 49ers — while introducing Frank Clark at the Super Bowl parade (1:07 mark of video).
As it would be for any player, a Super Bowl win is an emotional milestone in an NFL career. These players have been working their entire lives for that moment, and it’s awesome to see them share the celebration with their loved ones.
That was certainly on display when Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce found his dad amid the post-Super Bowl 54 crowd and shared an incredible on-field moment.
Once Kelce spotted his dad, Ed, he yelled, “Papa!” And went on to give his father a huge hug, but the moment was especially great when Kelce’s dad told him just how proud he was.
The Chiefs trailed the San Francisco 49ers by double digits in Super Bowl 54 — just as they had trailed by double digits in their playoff games against the Texans and Titans. Mahomes was unfazed.
As Kansas City started its fourth quarter comeback against the 49ers, the Chiefs quarterback could sense the game turning their way. A Travis Kelce touchdown catch brought the game back within three points with six minutes to play, and Mahomes had a message to his team: It’s gonna be special.
In NFL Films’ Super Bowl edition of Inside the NFL, a mic’d-up Mahomes could be heard motivating his teammates just before their go-ahead touchdown drive.
Mahomes said:
“Hey, it’s gonna be special. They’re gonna talk about this forever, baby. They’re gonna talk about this forever. It’s gonna be special. They’re gonna talk about it forever.”
It was a similar message to what he told the Chiefs while they trailed the Texans by 24 points in the Divisional round. Mahomes — now the Super Bowl MVP — was right both times.
Former Georgia football wide receiver Mecole Hardman wins Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs. Watch his rookie season highlights here.
Former Georgia wide receiver and now Super Bowl Champion Mecole Hardman had an unbelievable rookie season in the NFL.
Hardman was more than just a role player this year for the Kansas City Chiefs. He made many crucial and explosive plays, helping the Chiefs air raid offense get them a Lombardi Trophy.
Hardman had 538 yards and 6 touchdowns on the season, averaging 20.7 yards per reception.
Watch Mecole “JET” Hardman’s top 10 plays from his rookie season here:
“I will be back with a mother(expletive) vengeance.”
The San Francisco 49ers offense helplessly watched from the sidelines as the Chiefs took the final snaps to cap off a double-digit comeback and 31-20 win in Super Bowl 54.
It was a game that the 49ers thoroughly controlled for the first 50 minutes of game action, but they just couldn’t hold on once the prolific Chiefs offense gained momentum.
Instead of sulking, though, George Kittle took those final moments as motivation for next season. NFL Films aired its Super Bowl edition of Inside the NFL on Tuesday, and we could hear as Kittle vowed to get right back to the Super Bowl.
Speak it into existence king.
“I WILL be back here. I will be back here, and I will be back with a motherf***ing vengeance” pic.twitter.com/vKFF4JXchE
In the mic’d-up video, Kittle could be heard telling teammate Ahkello Witherspoon:
“I will be back here. I will be back here, and I will be back with a mother(expletive) vengeance.”
Kittle had four receptions for 36 yards in the frustrating loss. Despite being one of the league’s best tight ends, he didn’t find the end zone in the postseason and had just eight receptions. But 49ers fans will love to see that attitude from Kittle as the team heads into the offseason.
The New Orleans Saints picked Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. in the first post-Super Bowl 54 NFL mock draft from PFF.
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Wide receiver must be the highest priority for the New Orleans Saints to address this offseason. While Michael Thomas is an incredible talent and a first-team All-Pro, the Saints don’t have anyone they can count on behind him. Their second-best wide receiver, Ted Ginn Jr., is headed for free agency after seeing his production regress year over year. It’s paramount that the Saints inject new talent to the position group.
And that’s not an uncommon take. In the first post-Super Bowl LIV mock draft from Pro Football Focus, draft analyst Mike Renner connected the Saints with Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr.:
There are few coaches in the league who are better at scheming the ball into playmakers’ hands better than Sean Payton. Shenault is about as raw as it gets at the top of this wide receiver class, but he can do damage after the catch. His 29 broken tackles back in 2018 led the nation.
Shenault was one of college football’s fastest-rising stars after the 2018 season, but different usage, injuries, and inaccurate quarterback play hurt his draft stock. While he’s adept at running routes from just about any alignment, the Buffaloes made a curious decision to line him up predominately at tight end in 2019, and the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder didn’t respond well to being asked to chip in blocks against big defensive ends for extended stretches. Still, he did lead the team in receptions (56) and receiving yards (764) again.
Fortunately, he won’t (or at least shouldn’t) be asked to do that in the NFL. Shenault’s versatility is his best attribute, and he shouldn’t be limited to just one position. Saints coach Sean Payton values the mismatches that creative alignment creates more than many of his peers, and Shenault would be a terrific fit in his offense. The Saints could run just about any personnel package they like with a combination of Shenault, Alvin Kamara, Jared Cook, and Taysom Hill out on the field together. And that makes it easy for opposing defenses to overlook Thomas, the best of the group.
Hopefully the Steelers were taking notes during the Super Bowl.
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
If you are a typical NFL fan, you sat and watched Super Bowl 54 even without a rooting interest. This is the same for Pittsburgh Steelers fans who, despite being sour from missing the playoffs, likely tuned in to watch the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers.
If you were a Steelers fan watching the game, you had to look on with some envy at how both of these teams operate and wonder if Pittsburgh could learn anything as they attempt to come back in 2020 after a two-year playoff drought.
Here are three takeaways from the game for the Steelers to consider.
It’s OK to throw to the tight end
It is remarkable to me, in 2020 to understand why the Steelers have not embraced the idea of using the tight end position more in the passing game. But after watching how Travis Kelce and George Kittle impacted their respective teams all season and in the Super Bowl, you hope the Pittsburgh coaches can find a way to bring the Steelers offense into the present.
Patrick Mahomes is a legend in Kansas City after leading the Chiefs to a comeback win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 54 last Sunday night.
And rightly so, as his two TD passes in the fourth quarter helped save the day yet again for the Chiefs.
Mahomes, who made a legendary entrance into the team’s locker room after the game, shared a special moment with his dad right after the game. This new video, which was aired on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL” on Tuesday night, shows the QB finding his dad and telling him that he loved him.
