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Brooke Pryor, ESPN Staff Writer
Don’t let the low score fool you: The first half of Super Bowl LVIII between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs was an exciting one. It had a little bit of everything: a 50-yard pass, fumbles, the longest field goal in Super Bowl history, a dropped Chiefs pass, an altercation between Taylor Swift’s boyfriend and his head coach and a 49ers double-pass trick-play touchdown.
Despite just a 10-3 lead, the 49ers largely dominated the first half with a defense that wreaked havoc on the Chiefs’ offense — including a massive sack of Patrick Mahomes by Arik Armstead on third down at the 10-yard line to force a field goal. The 49ers outgained the Chiefs 183-157 and had 12 first downs to Kansas City’s 7. Mahomes completed 11 of 13 attempts for 123 yards and was sacked twice, while Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy was poised as he completed 10 of 15 passes for 123 yards. Mahomes’ two sacks in the first half are as many as his prior four playoff games combined. All three teams that have defeated Mahomes in the playoffs have sacked him at least three times, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
But don’t write the Chiefs off yet. Mahomes has trailed by double digits in all four Super Bowls in his career. Twice, he mounted comebacks to rally his team for a Lombardi Trophy. Mahomes is also 4-2 in his playoff career when trailing by double digits, per Elias Sports Bureau.
Here are the biggest plays and top moments from Super Bowl LVIII:
