You expected the Chiefs to come out going thermonuclear with their passing game against the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV? Sure. We all did. And perhaps that was the plan, but through Kansas City’s first two drives, the run game — seen as Kansas City’s most predominant weakness — has been the difference in what is a 7-3 score at the end of the first quarter.
The Chiefs went three-and-out on their first drive, just as they did in the divisional round against the Texans, and in the AFC Championship game against the Titans. The most predominant play of their second drive was this 14-yard run by Damien Williams, which took the ball from the San Francisco 42-yard line to the 28.
Damien Williams gains 15! #ChiefsKingdom
📺: #SBLIV on FOX
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app pic.twitter.com/2X5gMLrIk7— NFL (@NFL) February 3, 2020
And after a 12-yard run later in the drive in which he fumbled out of bounds, quarterback Patrick Mahomes took it in for the first touchdown of the game.
MAHOMES. KEEPS IT.
Touchdown, Kansas City! #ChiefsKingdom @PatrickMahomes
📺: #SBLIV on FOX
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app pic.twitter.com/Qo8dtw12li— NFL (@NFL) February 3, 2020
It’s been a tight battle so far, but as we have seen, the Chiefs are more than able to put a boatload of points on the board in a big hurry. In the first quarter, Mahomes completed five of nine passes, and he’s had accuracy issues to either side of the field on shorter, horizontal throws.