3 Chiefs who were deserving of Super Bowl MVP other than Patrick Mahomes
3 Chiefs who were deserving of Super Bowl MVP other than Patrick Mahomes
When the red and yellow confetti rained at Allegiant Stadium following the Kansas City Chiefs’ third Super Bowl victory in five years,
people wondered who would receive Super Bowl MVP. Unsurprisingly,
Patrick Mahomes was awarded Super Bowl MVP for his game-winning drive in overtime that concluded in a walk-off touchdown for Mecole Hardman.
For the bulk of the game, Mahomes did not appear to be his usual self.
In fact, many people would have been fine with him not earning the award if the team had won the game,
but after he led the team down the field and won in a walk-off, the honor was all his.
Who would have won the Super Bowl MVP award if Mahomes had not been crowned?
During the Super Bowl, the entire Chiefs defense played well,
but Trent McDuffie stood out for his ability to knock balls away and confuse quarterbacks.
One of McDuffie’s most memorable moments of the game occurred when the 49ers had the ball on the Chiefs’ 35-yard line and faced a third-and-5.
Brock Purdy dropped back to pass, but was quickly interrupted by McDuffie, who got in his face and forced the incompletion.
He also had a crucial pass breakup against Deebo Samuel earlier in the game,
which would have given San Francisco a 7-0 lead instead of a 3-0 lead. Talk about clutch.
Jets great cornerback Sauce Gardner believes McDuffie should have earned Super Bowl MVP.
Kurt Warner agrees that McDuffie deserved to win.
If Mahomes had not been named Super Bowl MVP and McDuffie had, there would likely have been fewer complaints.
When analyzing the Super Bowl and evaluating which plays cost the 49ers the most, Leo Chenal was involved in two of them.
One was a fumble on the 49ers’ first drive of the game, while another was a blocked extra point try after the Niners scored and might have led 17-13.
On the first drive of the game, the 49ers ran roughshod over the Chiefs defense, doing anything they wanted.
It appeared that the drive would culminate with a touchdown, putting San Francisco up 7-0 right away.
Lee Corso responds, “Not so fast, my friend.” The Chiefs have Chenal, and he delivered in that moment.
Chenal’s pushing that ball out insured that the game would remain scoreless for at least a bit longer.
While the Chiefs went 3-and-out on the subsequent drive, the defense did its share to keep San Francisco from scoring.
Chenal was a force in the run game all night and was rated as the top run defender in the game by PFF.
He finished with a 94.5 run defense grade, ranking first among all defenders.
I cited the failed extra point as another key moment for Chenal, and boy was it!
The 49ers scored a touchdown to go up 16-13 and were one extra point away from a more safe four-point lead.
As we all know, Chenal blocked the extra point, keeping the game at three points,
allowing Patrick Mahomes and his team to move the length of the field in the final few minutes to tie things up.
Had Chenal not stopped the kick, the Chiefs would have required a touchdown rather than a field goal.
A watershed moment for the second-year linebacker.
Giving a linebacker Super Bowl MVP is not attractive, but Chenal deserved it.
Players have been named MVP in important games for less than stellar performances,
so no one who knows football would have been surprised to see Chenal win the title.
Rounding up probable MVP possibilities if Mahomes does not receive the award,
we shift our focus to the biggest name on this list thus far.
Chris Jones rarely disappoints in big circumstances, and he was in top form on Sunday night.
Jones made the most important play of the game at the perfect time.
The 49ers had marched the length of the field on the first overtime drive and were facing a third-and-four on the Chiefs’ 9-yard line.
Purdy dived back and was instantly covered by Jones,
causing the Niners quarterback to hurriedly throw the ball away. San Francisco had to settle for a field goal.
Without Jones getting in Purdy’s face right away,
Brandon Aiyuk was wide open for a score and Jauan Jennings was open for the first down.
Purdy could have kept the drive going with connections to either of those players, but Jones went unchallenged and forced a field goal.
He ended the game with four tackles and two quarterback hits,
but none of his plays were more significant than the pressure on 3rd-and-4 in overtime.
That alone would have been enough to earn him Super Bowl MVP honors,
and given Jones’ status as one of the team’s most well-known players, it would not have surprised anyone if he had won the title.
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