Demi Lovato got the Super Bowl off to a perfect start.
Lovato’s voice was flawless for “The Star-Spangled Banner,” during which U.S. soldiers currently serving in Qatar were shown on the stadium screens and a performance punctuated by a flyover of a military fighter jet. Gospel singer Yolanda Adams, assisted by the Children’s Voice Chorus of Miami, preceded Lovato by performing “God Bless America.”
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson handled the pregame introductions, with the 49ers coming out first and then the Chiefs -- with their fans making the “tomahawk chop” gesture typically seen once every two years at Hard Rock Stadium when the Miami Hurricanes play host to Florida State.
Calais Campbell of the Jacksonville Jaguars was recognized for winning the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, one of the honors presented by the NFL on Saturday night.
The 49ers won the coin toss by calling “tails," which might be a good omen for the Chiefs. The last five Super Bowl winners all lost the pregame coin flip.
San Francisco struck first in Super Bowl 54.
Robbie Gould kicked a 38-yard field goal with 7:57 left in the opening quarter, and San Francisco has taken a quick 3-0 lead over Kansas City.
The Chiefs have now given up the first score in all three of their playoff games this season.
Kansas City took the game’s opening kickoff and went three-and-out, with Patrick Mahomes throwing a pair of incompletions. The 49ers avoided disaster when returner Richie James Jr. muffed the Chiefs’ ensuing punt but recovered.
The 49ers coolly went 58 yards in 10 plays, the big blow being a 32-yard run by Deebo Samuel.
The Chiefs took a risk and wound up with a touchdown.
After Damien Williams got four yards on fourth-and-1 from the San Francisco 5, quarterback Patrick Mahomes ran it in for the game’s first TD with 31 seconds left in the opening quarter as Kansas City took a 7-3 lead over the 49ers in the Super Bowl.
The 49ers were stuffed on first and goal, and then Mahomes went to his right before finding a crease and getting into the end zone.
49ers safety Jimmie Ward was shaken up on a third-down play where Mahomes scrambled near the right sideline and came close to picking up a first down. Ward came in at full speed to dislodge the ball from Mahomes’ hands and it caromed out of bounds, but he remained down for about a minute after making the big hit.
Another fourth-and-1 call by Chiefs coach Andy Reid has paid off.
Harrison Butker's 31-yard field goal with 9:32 left in the first half was good, and Kansas City has pushed its lead over San Francisco to 10-3.
Damien Williams got three yards on fourth-and-1 from the San Francisco 19 to keep the drive going.
Jimmy Garoppolo connected with Kyle Juszczyk on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 5:05 left in the first half, and Super Bowl 54 between San Francisco and Kansas City is tied at 10-10.
Garoppolo is now 8 for 10 for 69 yards and a score. He had been picked off on San Francisco's preceding drive, which strangely means good things are going to happen: He's now 39 for 42 for 461 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions this season in the drive immediately following an interception.
Tom Brady ran a Super Bowl trick play without putting on a uniform.
The 42-year-old longtime Patriots quarterback can become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career when his contract ends in March, and he gave New England a fright in a commercial during the first half of Sunday’s game.
“They say all good things must come to an end, that the best just know when to walk away,” Brady said in the ad, walking through an empty football stadium and hinting at a possible retirement.
Brady says he has a major announcement, the music cuts out — and then he reveals he’s reading a script for Hulu.
“Me,” Brady adds, “I’m not going anywhere.”
Brady attended Sunday’s Super Bowl and appeared on the field along with Patriots coach Bill Belichick and former teammates Rob Gronkowski, Randy Moss and Adam Vinatieri.
By halftime at Super Bowl 54, with San Francisco and Kansas City tied 10-10.
The 49ers have outgained the Chiefs 177-155 and seemed poised to take the lead when Jimmy Garoppolo connected with tight end George Kittle on a 42-yard play that would have gotten San Francisco inside the Kansas City 15 with 6 seconds left.
But Kittle was called for offensive pass interference to nullify the big play, the 49ers took a knee on the ensuing snap to run out the clock, and off to halftime they went.
This is the first time the Super Bowl was tied at the half since 2015, when Seattle and New England went into the break knotted at 14.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is 12 for 18 passing for 104 yards. Garoppolo is 9 for 11 for 89 yards and the game’s lone passing touchdown.
Robbie Gould connected again on the opening drive of the third quarter, and San Francisco has jumped out to a 13-10 lead over Kansas City.
The 49ers took the second-half kickoff and went 60 yards in nine plays, chewing up 5:31 of clock. Gould hit from 42 yards out.
After San Francisco's successful field goal attempt, Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes nearly fumbled the ball away.
On the next snap, he turned it over anyway.
Mahomes was picked off by San Francisco's Fred Warner with 5:23 left in the third quarter, giving the 49ers the ball back with a three-point lead.
Mahomes had the ball knocked loose by Nick Bosa for a nine-yard loss on the preceding snap, then tried to force a ball on third-and-12 and wound up throwing it right to Warner.
The 49ers cashed in on Patrick Mahomes' interception.
Raheem Mostert went in from a yard out, and San Francisco took a 20-10 lead over Kansas City with 2:35 left in the third quarter.
The 49ers needed just under three minutes to go 55 yards in six plays, with Jimmy Garoppolo connecting with Kendrick Bourne on a big 11-yard gain while facing 3rd-and-eight to keep things going.
That's now 17 unanswered points for the 49ers. They're outgaining the Chiefs 292-185.
San Francisco is in control, and Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes has been intercepted for the second time this half.
Mahomes' giveaway with 11:57 left in the game ended a drive where the Chiefs were in position to get at least three points and cut into San Francisco's 20-10 lead.
But on third-and-6 from the 49ers' 23, the Chiefs simply couldn't deliver. Mahomes' pass was thrown a tiny bit behind Tyreek Hill, who couldn't secure the catch. The ball bounced off his hands and landed in the arms of San Francisco's Tarvarius Moore, who returned it seven yards to the 49ers' 20.
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are not done yet in Super Bowl 54.
Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce for a 1-yard touchdown pass with 6:13 left, pulling the Chiefs within 20-17 of the San Francisco 49ers. The score snapped a run of 17 unanswered points by the 49ers.
Facing third-and-15 from his own 35 with about 7 minutes left, Mahomes spun away from heavy pressure and heaved the ball toward Tyreek Hill for what became a 44-yard gain down to the San Francisco 21 and essentially kept the Chiefs’ hopes alive.
They got some help on the next third down. Mahomes’ pass on third-and-10 toward Kelce in the end zone led to the 49ers getting flagged for pass interference. On the next snap, Mahomes and Kelce connected for the 1-yard touchdown pass.
After The Chiefs got the ball back in Super Bowl 54, down by just three. San Francisco went three-and-out on the possession following Patrick Mahomes' touchdown pass to Travis Kelce. The 49ers' drive took only about a minute off the clock.
The 49ers still lead, 20-17. Kansas City is taking over at its own 35 with 5:10 remaining in the game.
Just like that, the Kansas City Chiefs have taken the lead in Super Bowl 54.
Patrick Mahomes connected with Damien Williams on a 5-yard scoring pass with 2:44 left, and the Chiefs now lead the San Francisco 49ers 24-20. Mahomes connected with Sammy Watkins for a 38-yard gain down the right sideline, the biggest blow on the drive.
Williams is a former member of the Miami Dolphins, and now has a go-ahead score in the Super Bowl in his former home stadium. The play to the right pylon held up after a lengthy replay review.
The Chiefs have been masters of comebacks throughout this postseason, erasing double-digit deficits to beat Houston and Tennessee.
And now they’re on the cusp of doing it again for a Super Bowl title.
Damien Williams has scored again, a 38-yard run with 1:12 left and the Kansas City Chiefs are about to end their 50-year wait for another Super Bowl title.
They lead San Francisco 31-20, after ripping off 21 points in a span of about five minutes.
The comeback Chiefs did it again and are Super Bowl champions.
Patrick Mahomes threw for a pair of touchdowns in the game’s final 6:13, helping the Kansas City Chiefs erase a 10-point deficit and beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl 54.
The go-ahead score: A 5-yard touchdown pass to Damien Williams with 2:44 left. Williams is a former Miami Dolphins running back and returned to his former field — Hard Rock Stadium — to enjoy the most significant night of his career.
Williams finished off the title march with a touchdown run with 1:12 left, a 38-yarder around the left end to seal the outcome.
It’s the first Super Bowl crown for Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who’ll no longer wear the distinction of being the winningest coach in NFL history without a championship.
The Chiefs had a comeback flair throughout the playoffs, getting down 24-0 to Houston in the divisional round and then rallying from deficits of 10-0 and 17-7 to beat Tennessee in the AFC championship game.
They did it one more time, on football’s biggest stage, and are Super Bowl champions for the second time. The Chiefs lost the first Super Bowl, then won Super Bowl 4 — some 50 years ago.
San Francisco was in the Super Bowl for the seventh time and fell just short of winning what would have been a record-tying sixth championship. Only New England and Pittsburgh have six titles, and the 49ers were about six minutes away from joining their club.
And then they collapsed, giving up three touchdowns in a span of about five minutes. Mahomes finished 26 of 42 passing for 286 yards, his last pass intentionally going incomplete on the final play — a heave downfield to erase the final 5 seconds of Kansas City's 50-year wait.