Kansas City Chiefs: What will the legacy of Super Bowl LIV be?

By Leigh Oleszczak | Feb 16, 2020

MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 29: The Vince Lombardi Trophy is displayed before the Commissioners press conference with a San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs helmet on January 29, 2020 at the Hilton Downtown in Miami, FL. Photo taken with an iphone 11 Pro. (Photo by Rich Graessle/PPI/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

It’s been two weeks since the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV. What will this year’s Super Bowl be most remembered for by non-Chiefs fans?

Kansas City Chiefs fans are still living the dream and soaking up their team’s first Super Bowl title in five decades. Super Bowl LIV will always hold a special place in all of our hearts and – for the most part – will be ranked as the best ever Super Bowl for any Chiefs fan.

Right after the Super Bowl, I saw an article published on USA Today ranking every Super Bowl ever and it got me thinking: What will the Super Bowl LIV legacy be on a national level?

The article, written by Nate Davis, had Super Bowl LIV slotted in as the 18th best Super Bowl ever, putting it well in the top half of the 54 total games that have been played over time. What did Davis highlight about the game in his blurb?

"After 50 years in the wilderness, MVP Patrick Mahomes guided the Chiefs to the promised land, passing for a pair of TDs and running for another against the Niners’ vaunted “Gold Rush” defense. RB Damien Williams‘ 38-yard TD with 72 seconds left capped Kansas City’s 21-point fourth quarter and provided head coach Andy Reid with his 222nd career win – but first in a Super Bowl."

Judging from Davis’ blurb, he has the legacy of this game being Patrick Mahomes’ performance, Damien Williams’ late touchdown run, and Andy Reid finally getting a Super Bowl title to put on his resumé. Let’s dive in more though.

Mahomes just finished year three in the NFL, but he’s arguably the most popular player in the game. That’s why him getting to the Super Bowl was big because he puts eye balls on the television and he’s only 24 years old. Mahomes is going to get back to the Super Bowl again and football fans are all about that.

In this particular game, Mahomes didn’t play all that well and it could be argued that Super Bowl LIV was the worst performance of his entire career. Yet, when it mattered most, Mahomes made the big throw to Tyreek Hill to set the Chiefs up with good field position and when push came to shove, he won Super Bowl MVP.

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Speaking of Super Bowl MVP, will Damien Williams be a talking point from this game years down the road? After all, he did have 104 yards rushing and had two total touchdowns in the biggest game of the year. A strong case could have been made for Williams to have been the MVP, but due to Mahomes’ stardom, that’s likely why he was chosen instead.

Last, but not least, will Andy Reid be what people remember from this game decades from now? Will people be talking about how “It took 20 years, but Reid finally got his ring in Super Bowl LIV”? He was a big storyline coming into the game due to his lack of Super Bowl success, but he nipped those stories in the bud.

What I would think the lasting legacy of Super Bowl LIV would be is the comeback made by Mahomes and the Chiefs.

The game was tied at 10-10 at half time and it was looking like the 49ers had figured out a way to slow down that prolific Chiefs offense. They had been making Mahomes’ life a living hell and people on the social media scene were quick to crown them as the best defense of all-time as a result.

After Mahomes threw his second pick of the game, things weren’t looking great for the Chiefs, as the 49ers were dancing in the end zone and acting like the Super Bowl title was as good as theirs. No one would have really blamed them either, as there wasn’t a ton of time left on the clock and if their offense had gone down and scored, they probably would have won the game.

Well, then the Chiefs offense we know and love came to life.

With a little over eight minutes remaining, the Chiefs went on an offensive explosion, scoring three touchdowns on three consecutive drives, the final of which came via a long Damien Williams touchdown run to ice the game. After being held to ten points in the first three quarters, Mahomes and the Chiefs pumped up the volume and scored 21 points in just seven minutes of work. Crazy.

Super Bowl LIV will likely be known as Mahomes’ first (and maybe his only – we don’t know if he’ll get back there as often as we hope) championship win, but hopefully the 21 point explosion in the final seven minutes of the game is what non-Chiefs fans remember about it. It was a sight to behold – unless you were a 49ers fan, of course.

What about you, Chiefs fans? Aside from your team hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, what will you remember about Super Bowl LIV years down the road?

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