Super Bowl 2024 | Live score and updates for Chiefs vs. 49ers | AP News

For all the talk of stars Patrick Mahomes, Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey and Travis Kelce, it’s defenses that have had the edge early in the Super Bowl. The teams have combined for one score on the first six drives.

Kansas City looked to be on the verge of a breakthrough when Mahomes connected on a 53-yard pass to Mecole Hardman to get the Chiefs to the 9. But Isiah Pacheco lost a fumble on the next play with Javon Hargrave recovering.

Kansas City had gained only 16 yards in the first quarter and now has gone nine straight possessions in the postseason without a point, dating to the AFC title game.

San Francisco has had its own issues with McCaffrey losing a fumble on the opening drive and Trent Williams committing two penalties to stall the second possession.

The fumble came after a 53-yard pass to Mecole Hardman, who won a Super Bowl ring last year with Kansas City before signing in free agency with the Jets.

Hardman was traded back to Kansas City midway through the season when its wide receivers were dropping passes left and right.

Wondering what you saw on that last commercial break? Here’s a few that caught our eye:

PepsiCo

PepsiCo’s year-old lemon-lime soda’s debut Super Bowl ad features rapper Ice Spice dealing with a breakup by spending time with the Starry lemon and lime spokescharacters — the message: “It’s time to see other sodas.”

BMW

In a commercial for BMW, Christopher Walken deals with people impersonating him all day – including “Emily in Paris” star Ashley Park and even Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner Usher.

State Farm

In an ad for State Farm, Arnold Schwarzenegger is an action star for the insurance company – but he has a little trouble delivering the “like a good neighbor” tagline. In the end, his “Twins” costar Danny DeVito comes to save the day.

Jake Moody made a Super Bowl-record 55-yard field goal just 12 seconds into the second quarter to put the San Francisco 49ers on top 3-0.

Buffalo’s Steve Christie held the record with a 54-yarder against Dallas in Super Bowl 28.

This could be a confidence booster for Moody, who missed field goals in the past two playoff games.

Jake Moody kicks 55-yard field goal for San Francisco.

49ers 3, Chiefs 0

Kansas City gained just 16 yards in the first quarter. That’s the lowest total since the Denver Broncos had 11 yards against the Seattle Seahawks in 2014.

The first quarter ended scoreless for the first time in five years.

Lionel Messi’s Super Bowl debut shows off his soccer mastery and apparent loyalty to Michelob Ultra. In the ad, the soccer star also gets an assist from NFL legend Dan Marino and a nod from Jason Sudeikis of “Ted Lasso” fame.

There is already some chippiness between the Chiefs and 49ers, two franchises that met in the Super Bowl just four years ago in Miami.

Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie and 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk had to be separated after getting into a shoving match on the game’s opening possession. Later in the first quarter, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had to be dragged away from most of the San Francisco defensive line by the officials.

The 49ers have been their own worst enemies midway through the first quarter. Christian McCaffrey fumbled on their first drive, and then San Francisco lost yardage on three consecutive plays — two penalties and a run by Deebo Samuel.

Then as the 49ers were about to punt, they were penalized another 5 yards because of a false start.
That kept the game scoreless even though the Niners have outgained the Kansas City Chiefs 84-6 in yardage.

Taylor Swift danced as the Kansas City Chiefs won the coin toss to kick off the 2024 Super Bowl.

Tens of thousands of fans packed Allegiant Stadium ahead of the 2024 Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.

“He Gets Us” returned to the Super Bowl again this year.

The campaign, which is backed by a group of wealthy Christian donors, aired an ad with the message, “Jesus didn’t teach hate. He washed feet” in the first quarter of the game.

Hall of Famers Dan Marino, Bruce Smith and Terrell Owens never got a Super Bowl ring, but M&M’s and Scarlett Johansson present them with “Almost Champions” rings in a Super Bowl ad.

San Francisco opened the game with an impressive drive, but wasted the opportunity to score when Christian McCaffrey fumbled at Kansas City’s 27-yard line.

Leo Chenal knocked the ball out of McCaffrey’s hands, and fellow Chief George Karlaftis recovered.

The Chiefs had a turnover ratio of minus-11 in the regular season, among the NFL’s worst.

This is the fourth time since 2000 that the game’s opening drive ended in a turnover.

The Chiefs went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, ending a streak of eight straight playoff games in which Kansas City scored on its opening possession, an NFL record.

A huge roar went up when Kansas City won the toss. Either the Chiefs fans felt that was unusually crucial in this game — or a lot of people had bet on heads.

KC deferred its choice to the second half, meaning the 49ers get the ball first.

Reba McEntire made quick but majestic work of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The “Queen of Country” sang the national anthem moments before kickoff, backed by a recorded track of a country band with a horn section. Flag-bearing service members stood behind her, a huge U.S. flag covered most of the field, and military jets flew over Allegiant Stadium as she sang.

She got through the song in about 1 minute 40 seconds. That’s a good 10 seconds longer than the over-under from oddsmakers, but still the quickest version of the anthem at the Super Bowl since Kelly Clarkson sang it 12 years ago.

Grammy-nominated musician Post Malone sang “America the Beautiful,” bringing his unique vocal tone — most frequently paired with his idiosyncratic approach to pop-rock-rap — to the Super Bowl.

Wearing a bolo tie and playing acoustic guitar, Malone’s take on the song was twang-y, his Texas roots taking a front seat.

Mid-song, cameras cut to Taylor Swift and Blake Lively holding each other and enjoying the performance.

Earlier this week, Malone’s breakout hit, “Sunflower,” with Swae Lee — released for the “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” soundtrack — was named the first-ever double-diamond single in Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) history.

Captains of a Hawaii high school football team whose town was destroyed by a deadly wildfire are at the Super Bowl as guests of the NFL.

The four students and three of their coaches are serving as honorary coin toss captains before the game.

A little more than two months after the Aug. 8 fire, tickets for the Lahainaluna High School homecoming game sold out in minutes. That was an indication of how badly Lahaina residents needed a glimmer of hope amid a tragedy that claimed at least 100 lives. 

▶ Read more about the Lahainaluna High School football team.

Reba McEntire has been singing the “Star-Spangled Banner” for 50 years, including an anthem at the World Series.

But when she sings it at the Super Bowl in just a few minutes it will be for the biggest audience of her epic career. She said she’s got a few nerves, but if past performances are any indication, she could sing one of the quickest anthems in Super Bowl history.

Oddsmakers have put the over-under on her “Star-Spangled Banner” at 90.5 seconds. Last year Chris Stapleton went past the 2-minute mark.

Andra Day gave a stirring, gospel-flavored rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a song that has become known as the Black national Anthem, before kickoff.

Day, wearing a gray suit, was backed by a choreographed choir. Day told the AP during the week that she planned to calm her nerves with pregame prayers.

Hers was the first of three anthemic performances. After the teams take the field, Post Malone will perform “America the Beautiful” and Reba McEntire will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Brock Purdy is getting ready to start in the Super Bowl 11 months and one day after undergoing major elbow surgery. Purdy’s comeback from the injury to his throwing arm suffered in last season’s NFC championship loss to the Philadelphia Eagles has been part of the storybook start to his career that started as Mr. Irrelevant as the 262nd pick in the 2022 draft.

The 24-year-old Purdy is the third youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl, behind only 23-year-olds Dan Marino and Ben Roethlisberger.

With a win Sunday, Purdy would join Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Steve Young as the only QBs to lead the Niners to a title.

Elvis impersonators, showgirls and thousands of fans: This is the scene outside Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas ahead of the 2024 Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.

A gritty Team Ruff edged Team Fluff 72-69 at the last second and took home the Lombarky Trophy at 20th the Puppy Bowl.

A Siberian husky-pit bull mix called Cookie “kicked” the chaotic winning “field goal,” pawing a stuffed football toy across the goal line. An Australian shepherd named Moosh was named Most Valuable Pup.

The piece of Super Bowl counterprogramming that streamed on Max and was simulcast across several networks featured 125 rescue dogs between three and six months old. The game is filmed in the fall and most were adopted by game time.

There have not appeared to be any pregame incidents so far between Travis Kelce and the opposing team’s kicker.

Two weeks ago before the AFC championship game at Baltimore, the Chiefs tight end tossed Ravens kicker Justin Tucker’s helmet out of the way when Tucker was stretching close to where Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes was trying to warm up.

Jake Moody, San Francisco’s kicker, practiced at both ends of the field but was out of the way when many of the Chiefs were warming up near their end zone.

Former Raiders Super Bowl MVPs Fred Biletnikoff, Jim Plunkett and Marcus Allen “lit” the Al Davis Memorial Torch before the game.

It’s a Raiders tradition for someone of note to light the electronic torch during Las Vegas home games. Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and recording artist and actor Ice Cube were among those who turned on the torch this season.

The torch is 92 feet high, the world’s tallest three-dimensional printed structure.

Biletnikoff was the Super Bowl 11 MVP, leading the Oakland Raiders to a 32-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Plunkett quarterbacked the Raiders to a 27-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles four years later. Allen was the MVP of the Raiders’ lone championship when they were in Los Angeles. The Raiders defeated the Washington Redskins 38-9 in Super Bowl 18.

Running back Jerick McKinnon and wide receiver Skyy Moore were active for the Kansas City Chiefs for the first time in nearly two months for their Super Bowl showdown with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

McKinnon and Moore, who both played a crucial role in the Chiefs’ win over the Eagles in the Super Bowl last year, have not played since Dec. 17 in New England. McKinnon had surgery for a core injury in early January and was considered questionable to play against the 49ers, while Moore spent a stint on injured reserve with a lingering knee injury.
Wide receiver Kadarius Toney, who also had a TD against the Eagles, was not active on Sunday.

▶ Full story

Kristin Juszczyk arrived at the Super Bowl in a snazzy jacket that includes her husband Kyle’s 49ers jersey and his Harvard shield.

Kyle is a fullback out of Harvard who plays for San Francisco. Kristin has become a star after designing a coat worn by Taylor Swift that looked like a jersey of her boyfriend, Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce.

Taylor Swift’s arrival at Allegiant Stadium even drew the interest of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who visited her in a luxury suite before the game.
Goodell spoke glowingly Monday about the pop star’s effect on the NFL.

“Taylor is obviously a dynamo,” he said. “Everything she touches, there are people following. We count ourselves fortunate, and we welcome it.”

Kelce’s brother, Jason, hugged Swift in the suite, and Swift introduced him to Ice Spice. Jason Kelce plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, but has fully supported his brother during the playoffs. The two faced each other in last year’s Super Bowl.

The mother of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce arrived for the game wearing a jacket with “SUPER BOWL LVIII” and “MAMA KELCE” on the back. In last season’s Super Bowl, Travis Kelce’s Chiefs defeated his brother Jason Kelce’s team, the Philadelphia Eagles.

Instead of a matchup between two brothers, the Kelce family is in the spotlight this year because of Travis’ relationship with pop star Taylor Swift. Donna Kelce has appeared in a suite alongside Swift this season.

Taylor Swift finished her epic trek from the Tokyo Dome to Allegiant Stadium for the Super Bowl on Sunday. She arrived with Blake Lively and a few others wearing a black top with black pants and a red jacket slung over her shoulder.

Swift is on hand to watch Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, whom she has been dating since the first couple of weeks of the season.

She performed in Japan on Saturday night before a flight across nine time zones and the international date line to reach the U.S.

Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show from last year will be tough for Usher to top – and she did it (almost) all by herself.

She soared through a 13-minute medley of hits including “Diamond,” at one point hovering above the field at Arizona’s State Farm Stadium. And she skipped the long succession of guest stars and costume changes that have defined most halftime shows. She wore a puffy red jumpsuit left open to reveal what looked like a baby bump. Her rep confirmed after that she was expecting her second child.

See what it looks like outside and inside Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas ahead of the 2024 Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.

Travis Kelce played against Jason Kelce last year, when the Chiefs beat his big brothers’ Eagles in the Super Bowl in Arizona. But Jason was fully behind the Chiefs on Sunday, wearing red and yellow plaid overalls over a T-shirt that read, “Big Yeti,” his nickname for Travis.

The brothers host “New Heights,” one of the hottest podcasts in the country. And once the Eagles were knocked from the playoffs, Jason began following the Chiefs. He famously took off his shirt during a celebration in Buffalo, and he watched the Chiefs win the AFC title in Baltimore.

Before Taylor Swift grew into a global superstar and the talk of this Super Bowl, she got her singing career started by performing the national anthem at sporting events as a young child and teenager.

She sang the anthem before 45,900 fans at Game 3 of the 2008 World Series. The U.S. Open. NASCAR. The World Series. Yes, even the Double-A Reading Phillies.

Swift was an unsigned artist who looked for any kind of break by belting out the song about the land of the free and the home of the brave in front of as many packed crowds as she could find.

▶ Read more about Swift’s sports connections.

Super Bowl ticket prices remain out of reach for many fans who made travel reservations months ago to come to Las Vegas this week, so they’ll likely be watching on TV like millions of others.

To buy tickets days before the game can be costly. This year they’re going for roughly $7,700 — though that is about $2,000 less than they were two weeks ago.

Carl Bray, a Cincinnati fan, booked his trip to the Super Bowl two months ago and came even though the Bengals didn’t make it.

“I don’t have tickets yet, but I got the hotel, flight, and I thought ‘Welp, if I lock into something, I’ll go,’” Bray said. “If not, I’ll just go to MGM or someplace and watch it.”

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes paid homage to the team that calls Allegiant Stadium home when he showed up for the Super Bowl on Sunday wearing a jet-black suit and silver tie that made him look like a fan of the AFC West-rival Las Vegas Raiders.

Mahomes appeared to be all business behind his black shades as he wheeled along his matching black Louis Vuitton luggage through the corridors of the stadium. He is trying to move into a tie for fourth behind Tom Brady, Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw by picking up his third Super Bowl ring.

Dozens of Indigenous activists have traveled to Las Vegas to gather outside the Super Bowl and demand the Kansas City Chiefs change their name and ditch their logo and gametime rituals.

The Chiefs say the team was named after Kansas City Mayor H. Roe Bartle, who was nicknamed “The Chief” and helped lure the franchise from Dallas in 1963. They also say they have worked in recent years to eliminate offensive imagery.

But research has shown the use of Native American imagery and stereotypes in sports have negative psychological effects on Native youth and encourage non-Native children to discriminate against them.

“I’ve spent so much of my personal time and money on this issue. I really hoped that our kids wouldn’t have to deal with this,” said Rhonda LeValdo, who founded and leads a group called Not In Our Honor.

▶ Read more about the movement to ditch offensive sports rituals.

Gates to Allegiant Stadium opened just after 11 a.m. local time, unleashing a flood of fans in red. Five San Francisco 49ers fans were the first let through the gates.

“Woo!” They yelled. “First ones in! We’re the first ones!”

Tony and Susan Chiosso traveled to Las Vegas from the Bay Area to watch their first-ever Super Bowl and, they hope, witness their team defeat the Kansas City Chiefs.

They think their luck so far this morning is a good indicator of which team will come out on top.

“I’m only seeing good signs today,” Tony Chiosso said.

White House officials said last week they made the decision because Super Bowl fans want to watch the game, not the president.

Instead, Biden released a video on X, formerly Twitter, where he talked about how packaging for snacks for the big game are getting smaller and smaller while the costs were the same, and how he’s working with private companies to stop it.

The game will be broadcast on CBS this year. Last year it was Fox, and Biden didn’t do an interview after some back-and-forth.

One of the biggest fears when it comes to football’s biggest games is that a high-profile officiating mistake will play a role in the result.

So the seven on-field officials will get plenty of screen time when the Kansas City Chiefs face the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday’s Super Bowl.

The referee in charge of the crew in black-and-white unforms will be Bill Vinovich. He was also the referee when the Chiefs beat the 49ers in the Super Bowl four years ago — and when the Rams beat the Saints in the 2019 NFC championship game after an infamous missed call.

▶ For more:

• Read about some of the Super Bowl’s most memorable calls.
• How do officials prepare for the big game? Here’s a primer.

Reba McEntire walked into Allegiant Stadium for the Super Bowl about 3 1/2 hours before kickoff Sunday wearing a puffy, gray faux fur coat and holding hands with her partner, Rex Linn.

McEntire is due to perform the national anthem before the Kansas City Chiefs play the San Francisco 49ers in a rematch of the Super Bowl four years ago in Miami. She will have a lot to live up to after Chris Stapleton’s performance last year in Arizona received high praise.

Trent Williams’ accomplishments are already worthy of a Hall of Fame career with 11 Pro Bowl bids, three first-team All-Pro selections and near universal recognition as the best left tackle of his generation.

All that was missing for the San Francisco 49ers star was something he never envisioned would be possible as he spent the first decade of his career mired in the dysfunction and ineptitude in Washington.

Williams has gotten that missing piece with his first chance to play in the Super Bowl this week against Kansas City.

“For the first 10 years of my career, this seemed like it would be out of reach,” he added. “The way these last four years went for me, I’m super grateful.”

Merchandise commemorating the romance of pop superstar Taylor Swift and her star Chiefs tight end boyfriend Travis Kelce is flying off the shelves.

Prayer candles featuring the Grammy winner and Kelce are a hot seller. There are ignitable cakes that burn away a Chiefs logo to reveal Swift’s image underneath. Sweatshirts are emblazoned with “Kelce’s Best Catch” and “Go Kansas City Swiftie.”

▶ Read more on the so-called ‘Swift effect’.

The 49ers had Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs on the ropes four years ago in the Super Bowl before everything fell apart, leading to a 31-20 loss that still stings today.

The difference when the teams meet in the rematch on Sunday? This time, the 49ers will have a quarterback in Brock Purdy who is capable of making a big play down the stretch.

Purdy has gone from “Mr. Irrelevant” as the final pick in the 2022 draft to the franchise quarterback who has elevated coach Kyle Shanahan’s offense in less than two years. He led the NFL in passer rating (113) and yards per attempt (9.6), with his ability to throw deep and scramble adding new wrinkles to the offense.

Purdy also has a far better group of playmakers than the one that surrounded Jimmy Garoppolo four years ago.

▶ Read more about why the San Francisco 49ers could win.

If the Chiefs beat the 49ers for their third Super Bowl title in four trips over the past five years, it will be for one simple reason: experience.

The Chiefs can lean on what they learned and endured over a dominant six-year run with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback. In fact, when the Chiefs beat the 49ers in Miami for their first title during this run, San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and many others were still in college.

Throw in the fact that Chiefs coach Andy Reid will be in his fifth Super Bowl, the third most in NFL history, and has a chance to win a third ring, and the knowledge on the Kansas City sideline will be an advantage too big for the 49ers to overcome.

▶ Read more about why the Chiefs could win.

As long as they still have each other, they’re still going to go to every Super Bowl.

That’s the sentiment shared by three friends who say they are the final fans who can claim membership in the exclusive “never missed a Super Bowl” club. And they’re back again for number 58 — Super Bowl 58 — this year.

The three fans, all in their 80s, are Don Crisman of Maine, Gregory Eaton of Michigan and Tom Henschel, who splits time between Florida and Pennsylvania. The three are gathering this weekend in Las Vegas for the big game, and they’re hoping they can all make it to the sixtieth edition of the game two years from now.

▶ This is an excerpt from a longer story. Keep reading.

Advertisers will be pulling out all the stops on Super Bowl Sunday — enlisting the biggest actors, investing in the most dazzling special effects and, they hope, going for laughs as they seek to win over viewers.

Most companies appear to be doubling down on flights of fantasy or light humor, often with a dose of nostalgia and a lot of mini-reunions of TV characters.

Big names like Jennifer Anniston, Christopher Walken, Arnold Schwarzenneger, Ice Spice, Jenna Ortega, Lionel Messi, Tom Brady, “Judge Judy”  Judy Sheindlin, Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner Usher and more will appear during game breaks.

And as always, there will still be some gameday surprises.

▶ Read more about tonight’s Super Bowl commercials.

The San Francisco 49ers are back in the Super Bowl seeking their record-tying sixth championship.

The Niners haven’t won it all since the 1994 season, losing in their past two trips in the 2012 season and 2019 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Brock Purdy has gone from the last pick of the 2022 draft to becoming the third youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl and is seeking to join Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Steve Young as QBs to lead San Francisco to a title.

The Kansas City Chiefs are getting set for their fourth Super Bowl in five seasons. A win against the 49ers will make the Chiefs the first team to repeat since New England did it in 2003-04.

That’s the longest stretch without a repeat champion in NFL history.

With a win, Patrick Mahomes will become the fifth QB to win at least three Super Bowls and Andy Reid the fifth coach to win at least three Super Bowls

Will she make it in time? Intrepid flight trackers online seem to think so.

On social media, fans of Taylor Swift and aviation journalists believe they’ve identified Swift’s private jet, labeled “The Football Era.” It arrived from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to Los Angeles’ LAX airport just after 3:30 p.m. local time on Saturday.

Her transportation plans onward to Las Vegas, where her boyfriend, NFL star tight end Travis Kelce, will play in today’s Super Bowl, have yet to be revealed.

▶ Read more about Swift’s travel plans.

We know a lot of Super Bowl attention has been focused on Taylor Swift, but we want to take a moment to focus on the person performing at the half-time show: Usher. Between his new album and tour announcement, it’s been a busy week. AP’s Gary Hamilton has more.

Kickoff is shortly after 6:30 p.m. Eastern, but pregame shows begin at 11:30 a.m. Eastern.

CBS and Nickelodeon will broadcast the game.

Paramount+ will livestream the game. It can also be viewed on services such as YouTube TV, FuboTV and Hulu + Live TV if you have a subscription.

Millions of Americans will find something to be excited about when it comes to Super Bowl Sunday. That’s before even factoring in the influence of Taylor Swift.

That could be the game, commercials, halftime show or the Puppy Bowl, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.