LAS VEGAS — Mecole Hardman says he didn’t realize he’d won the Super Bowl after catching the game-ending touchdown in overtime.
“I blacked out man,” he said. “I forgot we actually won the game.”
Patrick Mahomes sprinted after him in the end zone and shared the good news.
“I threw a touchdown to this dude to end the game, and he looked at me,” Mahomes said. “He had no idea. I said, ‘Dude, we just won the Super Bowl.’ He had no idea. He didn’t even celebrate at the beginning.”
“It’s time to celebrate now,” Hardman said.
Mahomes threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Hardman in overtime, and the Chiefs rallied to beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 on Sunday, becoming the first repeat Super Bowl champs in 19 years and ninth overall.
Mahomes celebrated by sprinting like mad into the end zone, then wheeling around and heading all the way back to Kansas City's sideline, where he collapsed on the yellow-painted turf in what seemed to be elation and a bit of disbelief.
Mahomes struggled for much of the game Sunday, especially as the 49ers refused to bring the blitz, which the two-time league MVP tears apart with ease. But he started to heat up in the fourth quarter, when he drove Kansas City for a field goal to tie it 16 with 5:46 left, then when he drove for another field goal that sent the game to overtime.
He finished with 333 yards passing and two touchdowns, an early interception long forgotten when he found Hardman wide open in the end zone to send red and yellow confetti raining down from the rafters of Allegiant Stadium.