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Super Bowl 2024: San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs — live updates and PFF analysis

By PFF.com

Las Vegas, Nev. —The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will go head-to-head in Super Bowl 58 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. EST.

PFF is thrilled to bring you live updates straight from the heart of the action, courtesy of our analysts stationed at the game. Stay tuned as we provide you with real-time insights, analysis and reactions from what should be an exhilarating matchup between two of the best teams in the NFL.

10:45 p.m. EST: In the end, after all the pressure that held him back in the first half, it's the inevitability of Patrick Mahomes once again. The superstar quarterback produced a key fourth-down run before the game-winning touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman. — Gordon McGuinness

10:18 p.m. EST: We were inches away from another classic Patrick Mahomes Super Bowl drive, but it fell short on the throw to Travis Kelce, who was being covered by linebacker Fred Warner.

We head to overtime, where for the first time in Super Bowl history, a touchdown on the opening drive wouldn't end the contest. — Gordon McGuinness

10:06 p.m. EST: Steve Spagnuolo is not going out without a fight. On that crucial third-down, he sent cornerback Trent McDuffie on a blitz to force the incompletion from Brock Purdy.

Jake Moody made no mistake on the field goal, however. San Francisco 49ers 19, Kansas City Chiefs 13.

10:05 p.m. EST: The time out that the Chiefs were forced to burn at the start of the second half could come in big here. The 49ers can get into position to score and leave no time on the clock for any Mahomes magic. — Gordon McGuinness

9:45 p.m. EST: Jauan Jennings, who at this point might be the Super Bowl MVP favorite, finished that drive by forcing a missed tackle on his way to his second touchdown of the night. The big decision on that drive was the 49ers going for it on fourth-and-3 within comfortable field-goal range, but they'll feel even more vindicated in that decision after the extra point was blocked. — Gordon McGuinness

9:28 p.m. EST: The defense kept the Chiefs in this when the offense couldn't get anything going, and they got their reward when the offense finally found the end zone. After a muffed punt by the 49ers, Mahomes fit the ball over the top of backup linebacker Oren Burks — who is in the game for the injured Dre Greenlaw — to Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the end zone.

The Chiefs take their first lead of the night. Chiefs 13, 49ers 10. — Gordon McGuinness

9:20 p.m. EST: There are a lot of complaints on X (formerly known as Twitter) about the lack of rushing attempts by the 49ers in the second half, but the reality is that they haven't really been successful when they have run the ball. Christian McCaffrey has just 33 yards on 10 attempts, and he's taken nine carries for 22 yards if you remove his longest run of the night. — Gordon McGuinness

9:14 p.m. EST: And just like that, Kansas City's Harrison Butker breaks a Super Bowl record for the longest field goal set only earlier tonight by 49ers kicker Jake Moody.

Butker converts a 57-yard kick, and suddenly the Chiefs are within four points. San Francisco 49ers 10, Kansas City Chiefs 6. — Gordon McGuinness

9:03 p.m. EST: Patrick Mahomes has just two completions on passes thrown 10-plus yards downfield so far today, with the Chiefs having little joy at finding chunk plays. — Gordon McGuinness

8:55 p.m. EST: We said before the game that Patrick Mahomes didn't have a single turnover-worthy throw this postseason. Well, there was his first — a straight miss — and now the 49ers have a chance to really crank up the pressure. — Gordon McGuinness

First-half recap: Three key stats from the first half

Pressure: The 49ers pressured Patrick Mahomes on eight of his 17 dropbacks in the first half.

The Chiefs got bigger in the second quarter: Kansas City didn't play a single snap of 13 personnel (1 back, three tight ends) in the first quarter. They utilized 13 personnel for four snaps in the second.

Everyone touching the ball for the 49ers except for George Kittle: Nine 49ers players have either carried the ball, seen a target or thrown a pass, but tight end George Kittle is not one of them, even though he has been on the field for 32 of their 33 offensive snaps.

7:55 p.m. EST: The Chiefs get the ball back to start the second half, so there's no need to be in panic mode, but the 49ers have given them so much trouble on both sides of the ball in the first half. Getting something here to end the first half could be key. — Gordon McGuinness

7:50 p.m. EST: Trick-play touchdown! Purdy laterals to Jauan Jennings, who then threw it all the way back across the field to Christian McCaffrey, who took it 21 yards for the score. If this play turns out to be the game-changer, Spencer Burford will deserve the credit for preventing what could have been an interception with a last-ditch block.

It's the sixth non-quarterback touchdown pass in Super Bowl history — 10-0 49ers.

7:45 p.m. EST: Patrick Mahomes has been pressured on over half his dropbacks. It's obviously still early and a limited sample, but flashbacks to Super Bowl 55 — when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pressured Mahomes all game — might be starting to haunt Chiefs fans. — Gordon McGuinness

7:43 p.m. EST: Both teams have converted just one third down so far, but the 49ers have had considerably more success moving the ball before they get to third down. San Francisco has five more first downs than Kansas City so far. — Sam Monson

7:36 p.m. EST: 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw went down at the end of that last drive and has since left the field on a cart. Oren Burks has been solid in relief at the position throughout the year, earning 65.0-plus PFF grades against the run and in coverage on a total of 326 snaps over the regular season and playoffs. — Gordon McGuinness

Oren Burks: Career PFF grades

7:35 p.m. EST: The Chiefs have put the ball on the ground with fumbles or muffed punts three times and have been lucky to get two of them back. That mistake-free football they discovered in the postseason seems to be evaporating. — Sam Monson

7:26 p.m. EST: The Chiefs got lucky on the Rashee Rice fumble earlier in the drive, but their second fumble of the drive gives the ball back to the 49ers right after a 52-yard completion from Mahomes to Mecole Hardman Jr. — Gordon McGuinness

7:21 p.m. EST: Jake Moody was highlighted as one of the potential weaknesses in this game relative to his opposite number, but making the longest kick in Super Bowl history to put the first points on the board is a good start. — Sam Monson

7:20 p.m. EST: Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie saves a touchdown with an excellent pass breakup in the end zone. Deebo Samuel had a step during the route, and the 49ers set the play up very well. McDuffie allowed three touchdowns this season, including the playoffs, but that play saved four points — Sam Monson

7:13 p.m. EST: The story for the 49ers coming into the game was the strength and depth of their skill-position players, and it's showing up early here. We're only at the end of the first quarter, and six different wide receivers and running backs have touched the ball. — Gordon McGuinness

7:05 p.m. EST: Mahomes has been given no time to throw early in the game. His average depth of target is behind the line of scrimmage, and his average time per attempt is under 2.0 seconds. The Chiefs need to find some answers for that 49ers defensive line. — Sam Monson

7:04 p.m. EST: Mahomes came into this game having been sacked on just 5.3% of his pressured dropbacks this postseason. The 49ers got him down on just his third dropback of the night. — Gordon McGuinness

6:59 p.m. EST: That's a bad drive by Trent Williams. The 49ers left tackle had accounted for only nine penalties heading into this game, but he drew two flags on that drive — false start, holding — that put the 49ers too far behind the chains to get it back and negated a big play improvised by Brock Purdy — Sam Monson

6:51 p.m. EST: The 49ers defense offers a strong response, forcing the Chiefs out of a manageable conversion on third down and then getting the stop. There was no room for Isiah Pacheco on that first-down run. Now we'll see how San Francisco responds to the fumble. — Gordon McGuinness

6:45 p.m. EST: Christian McCaffrey fumbles at the Chiefs' 29-yard line

One of the characteristics of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs this postseason has been a lack of mistakes. The 49ers need a clean game to win, and a first-drive fumble has the potential to be a huge play that gives the Chiefs an extra possession. San Francisco moved the ball at will until that play. — Sam Monson

6:37 p.m. EST: The Chiefs won the coin toss and elected to defer, ignoring the recent trend set by San Francisco's opponents to take the ball to start the game in an attempt to knock them out of their game-script comfort zone. — Sam Monson

6:25 p.m. EST: Get your bets in! 

Last chance to place your Super Bowl bets! Here are some of PFF's picks:

6:24 p.m. EST: As the stadium has filled up, the balance of the noise has swung toward Kansas City. Clearly, Chiefs fans have been here before, and they just took their time getting in the building from the tailgate. Game on. — Sam Monson

5:34 p.m. EST: Judging by the noise the crowd made when both teams came out to warm up, this will be very much a home game for the 49ers. Both teams have seemed very well represented in Las Vegas all week, but so far, the Niners fans seem to outnumber Chiefs supporters in the stadium — in terms of decibels, if nothing else — Sam Monson

5:30 p.m. EST: The predictions are in!

I'm taking the Kansas City Chiefs in a close, high-scoring game. It would be unwise to bet against Patrick Mahomes again — the Chiefs quarterback has earned a 92.5 PFF grade this postseason, and the connection between him and star tight end Travis Kelce has been borderline unstoppable. 

The rest of the NFL may have watched the Chiefs' offense struggle its way through the regular season, beset by mistakes and inefficiencies, but Mahomes to Kelce in the playoffs is inevitable. And they are paired with the best defense they have ever had on the other side of the ball. — Sam Monson

I fully get why the 49ers are the favorites here. They have a better overall roster than the Chiefs and can hurt them in various ways with a quartet of skill-position stars in wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, tight end George Kittle and running back Christian McCaffrey. If they can avoid the same trap the Ravens fell into — getting away from the run early —  they can really hurt Kansas City.

That being said, playoff Patrick Mahomes is different. He hasn't recorded a single turnover-worthy throw from 114 dropbacks this postseason, while San Francisco's Brock Purdy has four on 79 dropbacks.

I think Mahomes will get it done again. 31-24 Chiefs — Gordon McGuinness

 

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