The 2023 NFL season has officially come to a close. The Kansas City Chiefs are your Super Bowl LVIII champions. It took nearly every second of the NFL’s second-ever overtime period in a Super Bowl, but the Chiefs have established themselves as a dynasty under head coach Andy Reid and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. In five quarters, Kansas City outdueled the NFC’s No. 1 seed 49ers two weeks after dispatching the AFC’s No. 1-seeded Ravens.
Defense featured heavily early in this year’s season finale with two drives ending in fumbles in the first half and the second half opening with Mahomes first postseason interception since the team’s 2021 AFC Championship Game loss to the Bengals. Both teams were able to shrug off the slow start of a 13-point first half by turning it on for a back-and-forth 25-point second half, leading to the league’s second overtime Super Bowl game in the NFL’s storied history.
In Super Bowl LVIII, we got to witness the league’s shiny new playoff overtime rules for the very first time. Following the efforts of Frank Reich and Jon Ferrari, among several others, the NFL changed their long-standing sudden-death overtime rules following a shootout playoff game including the Chiefs and Bills. After a back-and-forth Divisional Round matchup in 2021, the Chiefs drove down the field on the first overtime possession, scoring a touchdown and ending the game before Buffalo ever got a chance to touch the ball. The new rules allow for each team to possess the ball once, regardless of whether or not the first team scores a touchdown. The Chiefs wouldn’t need the benefit of that rule tonight, though, stopping the 49ers on the five-yard line and forcing a field goal.
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