Patrick Mahomes lauded coach Andy Reid after the pair combined to guide the Kansas City Chiefs to a 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.
The Chiefs hit back from a 10-point deficit – the third time Mahomes has achieved this in the showpiece game – to become the first team since the 2004-05 New England Patriots to win successive Super Bowls.
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Mahomes engineered a 13-play, 75-yard drive which culminated in a three-yard pass to Mecole Hardman Jr with three seconds left in overtime to win it for the Chiefs.
Asked about his team’s relentlessness in adversity, Mahomes said: “It’s culture, man.
“I got brought into this culture. Alex Smith was leading the team. They had the pieces in place and coach Reid has been the ultimate leader and I got brought in and I’m just trying to exemplify that, and he keeps pushing to be even better.
“He brings out the best in me because he lets me be me. I think that’s important. He’s not trying to make me anyone else. I don’t think I’m the quarterback that I am if I didn’t have coach Reid as my coach. He wants you to be the best person you can be.”
Mahomes added: “I hope people remember not only the greatness that we have on the field, but the way that we’ve done it. I feel like we enjoy it every single day. We have fun, we play hard and it’s not always pretty, but we just continue to fight to the very end.
“I know [some fans] get fatigue sometimes of one team winning, but we try to enjoy it and just enjoy the moment that we have together and enjoy just kind of what we can do every single day to bring the best out of each other.”
Pure joy. pic.twitter.com/h5PkDjoqW4
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) February 12, 2024
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was effusive in his praise of Mahomes, who threw for 333 yards on 34-of-46 passing and ran for another 66 yards, including two key dashes in the final drive, to land the Super Bowl MVP award.
He said: ”I guess at this point, I take it for granted, but I know we’re in every single game I’ve ever played in with him, no matter what the score is, no matter how much time is left.
“That guy’s got magic in his right arm, man, and he can just – he found ways to propel us, even with his legs, as you saw today.”
