DeKALB — The Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV over the San Francisco 49ers after a heroic performance Sunday by Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the second half. 

The Chiefs, who hadn’t won a super bowl in 50 years, made a historic second-half comeback after being down by 10 early in the fourth quarter. Kansas City scored 21 unanswered points, most coming late in the fourth quarter, to seal the win for the Chiefs by a score of 31-20.

This win for the Chiefs puts two championships in Missouri within one year, paired with the St. Louis Blues winning the Stanley Cup in 2019. 

The quarterback duel between 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and Mahomes was one for the ages, with Garoppolo passing for 219 yards and Mahomes passing for 286 yards. 

Mahomes was also named the Super Bowl MVP. 

“This win was about never giving up,” Mahomes told ESPN. 

The former MVP is the 30th quarterback to be named Super Bowl MVP, and he joins a historical list with Drew Brees, Eli Manning and Tom Brady. 

Chiefs running back Damien Williams had a great night with 104 yards rushing, and 49ers running back Raheem Mostert had a disappointing night with only 58 yards after his great performance in the NFC Championship with 220 yards.  

A big surprise from the game was the amount of turnovers that each team had. The Chiefs had three fumbles and two interceptions with the 49ers having one fumble and two interceptions. 

In the end, the game was decided in crunch time. The Chiefs were able to find their rhythm offensively, while holding the 49ers offense scoreless.

Despite the loss, 49ers free safety and former NIU football star Jimmie Ward made an impact defensively. 

Ward’s eight solo tackles and 11 total tackles were each the highest of any 49er. The former Huskie also laid a monster hit on Mahomes in the first quarter.