As the confetti rained down on the Kansas City Chiefs in Sin City on Sunday, Feb. 11 superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes secured his third Super Bowl in his sixth year as a starter.
Mahomes was incredible in this game, going 33/46 for 333 yards and two touchdowns, and adding 66 rushing yards to secure his third Super Bowl MVP.
But the Chiefs did not control this game. The Chiefs’ mighty offense didn’t show up until the second half, and the 49ers offense was able to move the ball into scoring position multiple times in the first half before turnovers took points off the board.
Yet even during their sluggish start it never felt like the Chiefs were going to lose this game.
Why?
Because they had the superstar quarterback, and the 49ers did not.
When the Chiefs received the ball down three with a minute and fifty-three seconds left everyone in the stadium or at home watching knew what was going to happen. The superstar quarterback was going to do what superstar quarterbacks do.
Mahomes took his team down the field to set up a chip shot game-tying field goal.
Once overtime started, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy did well enough to move his team down the field and take the lead with a field goal. But once Mahomes got the ball he was great, not good.
Mahomes drove the Chiefs down the field to score a game-winning touchdown.
————————————–
The NFL has changed drastically over the past 20 years. The game has become more about offenses and quarterbacks have evolved to become the faces of the league.
In the past 20 years, only three times have a team won the Super Bowl without having a hall of fame or future hall of fame quarterback.
But it is just one position a quarterback can’t make that much of a difference right?
Wrong. The Chiefs had two all-pro players this season compared to the 49ers seven.
The 49ers have been incredible since Kyle Shanahan took over as their head coach. Posting a 72-55 record while making two Super Bowl appearances and four NFC championship game appearances.
Let’s take a look at who has been the 49ers Quarterback since Shanahan became the coach.
Brian Hoyer
CJ Beathard
Nick Mullens
Jimmy Garapalo
Trey Lance
Brock Purdy
Would you want any of these guys to lead your favorite team on a game-winning drive in the Super Bowl?
Some of the blame for the 49ers Quarterback struggles can be put on Shanahan.
Take the Rams for example, Jared Goff had been and still is a very good quarterback, having brought the Rams to a Super Bowl.
Yet Rams head coach Sean McVay understood that his incredibly talented team would never be able to get over the hump without a special quarterback. So he pressured the Rams front office into trading for Matthew Stafford, and the Rams won the Super Bowl the very next year.
Shanahan and the 49ers’ front office’s reluctance to face the music and make a move for a marquee quarterback may have cost them a couple of Lombardi Trophies.
Good teams have had bad quarterbacks, yet if the 49ers want to get out of the purgatory of being a good but not great team, they need a great quarterback.
In the NFL each year there are 31 losers and one winner. So an early congratulations to the only teams with true superstar quarterbacks, the Chiefs, Ravens, Bills, Bengals, Chargers, Rams, Texans, or Eagles on winning the 2025 Super Bowl.
