It's becoming clear the Chiefs never panicked when they trailed late in the Super Bowl, and it was thanks to one reason: Patrick Mahomes
- Patrick Mahomes helped the Kansas City Chiefs come back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to win Super Bowl 2020.
- After the game, it was clear that none of the Chiefs players panicked while trailing because they believed in Mahomes' ability to lead them back.
- Teammates called Mahomes everything from "special" to the "golden child," praising him for his talent and poise at just 24 years old.
- Read more of Business Insider's Super Bowl 2020 coverage here.
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Many of the Kansas City Chiefs had the same explanation for how they didn't panic when they trailed 20-10 in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl 2020: Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs had been in that position before - they trailed by ten or more points in their previous two playoff games, only to mount epic comebacks to take the win. In scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter to win the Super Bowl on Sunday, they became the first team ever to mount three comebacks in the playoffs and win the championship.
Everyone on the team deserves credit, from Mahomes himself, to his receivers, to his offensive line, to a defense that was just as vital to the comeback as the offense.
Still, in the aftermath of the game, it became clear that the Chiefs never lost faith in Mahomes, who had struggled through three quarters of the game, throwing two interceptions and looking shaking in his accuracy. Mahomes' final stat line was below his normal standard - 26-of-42 passing, 286 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and a 78 passer rating. But he threw for 141 yards and 2 touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
"I never [doubt Mahomes]," Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told NBC Sports' Peter King. "I always think with him, keep firing. I've seen this before. Right when you don't think he's gonna do something, he rips your heart out with great plays. You saw that with Larry Bird. Larry Bird might've gone cold for a little bit but he kept shooting. That's what you do with the great ones. This kid's young, but he's great. He's gonna do nothing but get better."
The turning point in the game came with just over seven minutes remaining on the game. Coming off two straight interceptions, Mahomes and the Chiefs faced 3rd-and-15 from their own 35. Mahomes dropped back several yards, then threw a 44-yard rainbow to Tyreek Hill for the first down, completely shifting the momentum.
Four plays later, the Chiefs scored on a one-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce to cut the lead to 20-17.
After a critical stop on the 49ers, the Chiefs again got the ball, and Mahomes threw another haymaker at the 49ers, this time a 38-yard pass along the sideline to Sammy Watkins.
Three plays later, the Chiefs scored the go-ahead touchdown on a Damien Williams catch-and-run that came dangerously close to coming back.
"That's the golden child, man," Watkins said of Mahomes after the game. "When you got one of the best quarterbacks in the league, my job is easy. My job is to go out there, run routes, and be in the right place and let Pat do what he do."
There is standard, postgame praise that all teams give to their quarterback after a win. The tone of the Chiefs on Sunday suggested this was more than boilerplate compliments.
"We got MVPat on our side!" defensive tackle Chris Jones said (via King). "We don't care if he throws a damn interception. He always comes back."
Linebacker Terrell Suggs, a midseason addition, praised Mahomes in a postgame interview with Sportsnet.
"And boy, I tell you, that 15 and that offense is real special," Suggs said. "The game is just too slow for him. He can make any play he wants, he never panics, he never gets rattled. We were down 20-10 in the fourth quarter, and he rattled off 21 points. That kid is special."
Mahomes entered Sunday 4-0 in 2019 when trailing by double-digits. He is now 5-0.
"It's hard to come up with things to say about Pat," Schwartz told reporters, "because you all know how frickin' special he is."
- Read more:
- How Patrick Mahomes went from a high school baseball star to the most exciting player in the NFL and future of the league
- The Chiefs ran a trick play in the Super Bowl that they stole from a Rose Bowl game 70 years ago
- Andy Reid paused his Super Bowl celebration to compliment Randy Moss on his parenting and ask for his son to play for the Chiefs
- Chiefs Super Bowl hero Damien Williams paused his celebration to exchange jerseys with 49ers standout RB Raheem Mostert