The Kansas City Chiefs have become back-to-back Super Bowl winners for the first time in 20 years with a 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas.

Needing a field goal to extend the game or a touchdown to win, Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes orchestrated the match-winning drive to end the game with a touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman Jr.

The 49ers were leading by three in overtime after they opted for a field goal to go ahead 22-19, but were unable to get the decisive stop.

It was the second time in NFL history a Super Bowl went to overtime and the first post-season game decided under the league’s new overtime rules.

Mahomes finished with 333 throwing yards, two touchdowns and 66 running yards, while 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 255 yards with one touchdown.

The only points in the first quarter came through kicker Jake Moody, who made Super Bowl history with the longest made field goal at 55 yards.

Disaster struck 49ers’ linebacker Dre Greenlaw early in the second quarter when he went down with a suspected Achilles injury while running onto the field and was immediately ruled out of the game.

But not long after, a special trick-play led to the first touchdown of the game, with Purdy passing across field to wide-receiver Jauan Jennings before he threw a pass to Christian McCaffrey who ran through to the endzone untouched.

The 49ers restricted Travis Kelce to just one touch for one yard in the first half and sacked Mahomes twice, with the 49ers ahead 10-3 at halftime.

Alicia Keys, Lil John and Ludacris joined Usher during the half-time performance, while Taylor Swift was among celebrities including Blake Lively, Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Jay Z watching from the stands.

As play resumed, Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker broke Moody’s Super Bowl record with a 57-yard field goal before a fumble error gave the Chiefs a huge chance for their first touchdown.

Mahomes found wide-receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling with a 16-yard touchdown pass to take the lead for the first time in the game late in the third quarter.

However the 49ers hit back – with Purdy finding Jennings this time to score his own touchdown – however the bonus point was blocked, giving the 49ers a three-point lead with 11 minutes left.

A field goal to Butker tied the game once again, before Moody struck back to give the 49ers the lead again with less than two minutes left.

However, Butker finished regulation time with a field goal with six seconds left to tie the game 19-19.

Nathan MacKinnon stayed hot and the Colorado Avalanche bounced back from a lacklustre loss to beat the San Jose Sharks 6-2 on Sunday.

MacKinnon tallied a season-best four points, recording two goals and two assists to extend his point streak to 15 games one night after the Avalanche fell behind 3-0 and 5-1 in a 6-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

MacKinnon now has eight goals and 19 assists during his point streak, which ties the longest point streak of his career from the 2020-2021 season. He also has 38 points in his last 21 games and has at least one point in all 16 home games this season.

His 47 points on the season are second only to Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov, who has 52.

 

Mikko Rantanen, Ryan Johansen, Valeri Nichushkin and Miles Wood also had goals for Colorado, while Alexandar Georgiev turned aside 27 shots.

It marked the third win in four games for the Avalanche (19-10-2), who scored at least five goals in all of those victories.

The Sharks (9-19-3), meanwhile, lost their second in a row following a 3-0-1 stretch.

Tomas Hertl scored both of San Jose's goals, while MacKenzie Blackwood stopped 23 of 28 shots.

 

Boeser moves into NHL-lead for goals scored as Canucks top Blackhawks

The Vancouver Canucks didn't look quite awake for the start of their early afternoon game in Chicago.

They suddenly woke up in the second period and pulled out a 4-3 win over the Blackhawks.

After managing just one shot on goal in the first 10 minutes and five shots in the opening period, the Canucks found themselves trailing 2-1 on Nick Foligno's second goal of the game 35 seconds into the second period.

Vancouver then came alive, trying things up on Dakota Joshua's goal and took the lead 41 seconds later on Brock Boeser's score. Ilya Mikheyev also scored in the second period for the Canucks (21-9-2), who improved to 5-0-1 since a 6-5 loss to the New Jersey Devils on December 5.

 

Boeser's goal was his 10th in the last 11 games and 23rd of the season to move him into a tie with Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews for the most in the NHL.

Elias Pettersson also scored for the Canucks and Thatcher Demko made 25 saves to win his fourth consecutive start.

Petr Mrazek stopped 22 shots and rookie sensation Connor Bedard notched two assists to give him 14 on the season for the Blackhawks (9-20-1), who lost their fourth straight game and fell to 4-13-1 since November 12.

 

Eichel helps Golden Knights beat Senators

Jack Eichel scored 1:37 into the game and the Vegas Golden Knights went on to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators.

Eichel's goal was his 14th of the season and extended his point streak to a franchise-record 10 games.

 

Eichel also added an assist, and Ivan Barbashev had a goal and an assist as well for the NHL-best Golden Knights (21-6-5), who bounced back from their first regulation loss since November 25.

Logan Thompson came off the bench to make 20 saves for Vegas after Adin Hill was forced out only 6:25 into the game.

The Golden Knights extended their win streak over the Senators to nine games and improved to 10-1-0 all-time against them.

Ottawa (11-15-0) lost its fourth in a row overall, allowing at least four goals in each of those defeats.

The San Francisco 49ers have two credible candidates to be named NFL MVP in Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey, says head coach Kyle Shanahan, though he can't split them.

The Niners are the only team in the NFL to have booked their playoff spot ahead of the Week 14 games, and they are also in pole position for the NFC's top seed after reeling off five straight wins.

Purdy has enjoyed a breakout campaign in his first full season as San Francisco's starting quarterback, with only the Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa (3,697) and Houston Texans' C.J. Stroud (3,631) bettering his 3,553 passing yards this year.

He – alongside Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson – is among the favourites to win the league's top individual prize, though Shanahan believes McCaffrey should also be in contention.

McCaffrey leads the league with 1,177 rushing yards this season, and Shanahan does not see why he couldn't become the first non-quarterback to be named MVP since Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson in 2012.

"Are you trying to get me in trouble with those two guys?" Shanahan said on Thursday when asked who he would vote for. 

"That's the only reason I wouldn't overly comment on either one of them, because I don't want them to cancel each other out."

Miami's electrifying wide receiver Tyreek Hill is among the non-quarterbacks tipped to be in contention, but Shanahan feels McCaffrey has the strongest case outside the signal callers.

"If any non-quarterback's going to get MVP, I don't get how Christian McCaffrey can't," Shanahan said. "I mean, he's been amazing in what he has done all year.

"If it's going to a quarterback, then I don't have to talk about Christian, I can talk about our quarterback.

"If his numbers are all you see, then I think that solves it. But if you watch the film, then it makes it even stronger, which to me is the most important thing."

The 49ers take on the Arizona Cardinals in their penultimate road game of the regular season on Sunday before facing the Baltimore Ravens – currently the AFC leaders – in a huge clash on Christmas Day.

The Kansas City Chiefs will begin defence of their Super Bowl title by hosting the upstart Detroit Lions as the NFL announced a few more select games on its 2023 regular-season schedule Thursday morning.

The league also revealed when and where Aaron Rodgers will make his highly anticipated debut with the New York Jets, who will host the AFC East-rival Buffalo Bills on Monday, Sept. 11 in a nationally televised primetime game on ESPN.

Detroit will visit Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 7 to officially start the NFL's 2023 campaign, with the game to be broadcast on NBC beginning at 8:20 p.m. ET.

The Chiefs will also be playing at home on Christmas Day with a matchup against their longtime AFC West foes, the Las Vegas Raiders. The NFL announced on Wednesday that the reigning champions will host the Cincinnati Bengals on New Year's Eve in a rematch of last season's conference championship game, which Kansas City won 23-20 on a late field goal.

Also announced is a clash between two of the NFC's marquee teams in Week 5, when the San Francisco 49ers will host the Dallas Cowboys in prime time on Oct. 8 as part of NBC's "Sunday Night Football" package.

The entire 2023 schedule for all 32 teams will be revealed Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. The NFL announced dates and times for eight games, including five International Series matchups that will take place in either London or Germany, on Wednesday.

Kyle Shanahan remains unsure when Brock Purdy will return despite San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch expressing optimism the quarterback could be ready for training camp.

Purdy emerged as one of the stories of the 2022 season, the final pick of last year's draft stepping in after both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo suffered season-ending injury and winning five successive starts to help the Niners to a 13-4 record and the NFC's second seed. 

He then won two playoff games before suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow on the first offensive series of San Francisco's NFC Championship Game defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Purdy underwent successful surgery to repair the injury on March 10, with his projected timeline one that would see him resume throwing in three months.

On Monday, Lynch said he was hopeful Purdy would be back for training camp and described him as the "leader in the clubhouse" in a prospective quarterback competition with 2021 third overall pick Lance.

Head coach Shanahan painted a more uncertain picture, but appeared relaxed about the Niners' quarterback situation.

"He won't be able to do anything on the field, for who knows? It could go anywhere from six months to eight months," Shanahan said.

"So, it's all open like that, and we'll have a better idea … at three months out of surgery, they have a better idea of whether it's going to be six months or eight months. … That's all I know, and I'm pretty good with that.

"We'll see at three months if he'll be ready for camp, or if not, then perhaps we say it's gonna go slow. It might be Week 1 and, at the latest, Week 4. It's just all estimations, and we'll see what happens."

Lance, who has started just four games since the 49ers traded three first-round picks to move up and to select him owing in part to the ankle injury he suffered last September, is set to split first-team reps in OTAs and minicamp with another former third overall selection, Sam Darnold. The 49ers signed Darnold to a one-year contract this month.

"With Brock being hurt, it does open [the job] up, and it does give [Lance] a chance," Shanahan added.

"I don't know how Brock's going to come back. I don't know exactly when he's going to come back, so I don't have the exact answer for that.

"But right now, because he is hurt, it is nice to focus on Trey, it is nice to focus on Sam, and see how they do in OTAs and most likely see how they're playing leading us into training camp because I think it will take some time for Brock."

Jimmy Garoppolo and the Las Vegas Raiders made their tie-up official on Friday as the quarterback was reunited with Josh McDaniels.

Garoppolo's move as a free agent was initially reported on Monday, with ESPN's Adam Schefter suggesting the quarterback had agreed to a three-year, $67.5million deal, including $34m guaranteed.

The 31-year-old Garoppolo was expected to appear at a press conference on Thursday, but that was postponed without explanation. Now the deal is complete, however, with the Raiders confirming it in a press release. Terms were not disclosed.

Garoppolo will replace Derek Carr, who has departed for the New Orleans Saints.

Raiders head coach McDaniels knows all about Garoppolo's game, having been his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the New England Patriots.

Garoppolo left his role as Tom Brady's Patriots understudy to spend five and a half seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, featuring in the team that went to Super Bowl LIV and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.

He featured for much of last season with the Niners, despite losing his place as starter initially to Trey Lance, although his campaign ended early because of a foot injury.

The San Francisco 49ers have their insurance policy at quarterback, having agreed a one-year deal with Sam Darnold.

San Francisco last season saw their Super Bowl hopes derailed by injuries at the game's most important position, literally running out of healthy players at quarterback in their NFC Championship Game defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.

That game saw Brock Purdy suffer a torn elbow ligament on the first offensive series for the 49ers. Josh Johnson was then concussed in the second half.

Purdy, the final pick in last year's draft, had previously improbably led the 49ers to the Conference Championship.

He won all five of his starts in the regular season after taking over from an injured Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 13 to lift them to a 13-4 record and the second seed in the NFC, and he then helped San Francisco to playoff victories over the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys.

Purdy last week had surgery to repair his torn ligament, giving 2021 third overall pick Trey Lance, whose season-ending ankle injury suffered in Week 2 forced the Niners to turn to Garoppolo, a chance to stake his claim for the starting job during the offseason programme.

Yet with Garoppolo departing in free agency for the Las Vegas Raiders, the 49ers needed an experienced third-stringer, and they have turned to 2018 third overall pick Darnold.

Darnold has failed to live up to his draft slot in spells with the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, though he did go 4-2 as a starter for the latter in 2022.

That relative success came with Steve Wilks serving as interim head coach. Wilks has since replaced new Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans as San Francisco's defensive coordinator.

In 2022, Darnold delivered an accurate, well-thrown ball on 83.2 per cent of his pass attempts, 13th among quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts, according to Stats Perform data.

Those are encouraging numbers, but the 49ers will hope Purdy and Lance can display the durability to ensure Darnold is not asked to replicate that level of accuracy in 2023.

 

One of the top free agents at right tackle is off the board.

Mike McGlinchey agreed to a five-year, $87.5million contract with the Denver Broncos on Monday, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.

The deal includes over $50m in guaranteed money.

The 28-year-old McGlinchey had spent the last five seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and has established himself at being one of the best at his position in the NFL after being selected ninth overall in the 2018 draft.

He started all 16 games at right tackle as a rookie in 2018 and all 20 contests the 49ers played this past season en route to a berth in the NFC championship game.

In 2022, McGlinchey helped bolster an offensive line that allowed the sixth-fewest sacks in the NFL (31) and open up holes for Christian McCaffrey and a ground attack that ranked eighth in the league in average rushing yards (138.8).

He now joins a Broncos team looking to shore up its offensive line after struggling to protect quarterback Russell Wilson in 2022.

Denver surrendered an NFL-worst 63 sacks last season and scuffled in the ground game as well, ranking 21st in average rushing yards (113.8).

Jimmy Garoppolo will join the Las Vegas Raiders as a free agent and reunite with Josh McDaniels.

Garoppolo's move was reported on Monday after the legal tampering period began, with ESPN's Adam Schefter suggesting the quarterback has agreed to a three-year, $67.5million deal, including $34m guaranteed.

He is set to replace Derek Carr, who had already left the Raiders to find a new home with the New Orleans Saints.

Garoppolo leaves the San Francisco 49ers after five and a half seasons, in which time he was part of the team that went to Super Bowl LIV and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.

He was hampered by injuries in San Francisco, however, and lost his place as the 49ers' starter ahead of the 2022 campaign.

Trey Lance was named QB1, although Garoppolo returned to the team on a one-year deal to serve as backup.

Lance soon went down injured, but so too did Garoppolo, giving Brock Purdy the opportunity to establish himself at QB.

With Lance and Purdy set to compete for the starting role in 2023, there was never any possibility of Garoppolo again returning to the 49ers.

Instead, he will team up again with McDaniels, who was his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the New England Patriots ahead of joining the Niners.

Garoppolo only made two starts for the Patriots behind Tom Brady, but he is now in line to be the main man in Vegas, where McDaniels is the head coach.

The San Francisco 49ers have added yet more firepower to the NFL's premier defense by agreeing a deal to sign defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.

According to multiple reports, Hargave has come to terms on a four-year, $84million deal that includes $40m guaranteed at signing.

Hargrave was viewed as the top defender on the market after a stellar season with the Philadelphia Eagles in which he helped them reach Super Bowl LVII.

He finished the regular season with a career-high 11 sacks and, according to Stats Perform data, had a pass rush win rate of 43.79 per cent, well above the league average of 29.16 for interior defensive linemen.

Hargrave's addition fills a need for a San Francisco defense that allowed 300.6 yards per game, the fewest in the NFL.

The 49ers have long since won on defense through their depth on the defensive line.

However, though edge rusher Nick Bosa won Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 for an 18.5-sack season, the middle of the D-line was a patchwork operation for much of the year, with former first-round picks Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw both missing time through injury.

Even with both Armstead and Kinlaw available, the interior of the D-line was comfortably second-best in the 49ers' NFC Championship Game defeat to the Eagles, with Philadelphia's offensive line dominating that matchup.

Having lost that contest 31-7 in a game that saw the Niners run out of healthy quarterbacks, San Francisco may now switch focus to the offensive line, having seen starting right tackle Mike McGlinchey depart for the Denver Broncos on a five-year, $87.5m deal.

Brock Purdy has undergone successful surgery to repair a torn elbow ligament, the San Francisco 49ers have announced.

Purdy suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) on the first offensive series of San Francisco's NFC Championship Game defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles. That injury, followed by the concussion suffered by backup Josh Johnson, left the Niners without a recognised quarterback for the second half of a 31-7 loss.

Prior to that, Purdy had improbably emerged as a star for the Niners.

The last pick in the 2022 draft, Purdy took over from the injured Jimmy Garoppolo – who had previously stepped in after Trey Lance suffered a season-ending ankle injury – in the Week 13 win over the Miami Dolphins and subsequently led the 49ers to further five wins as starter to end the regular season before helping them prevail in a pair of playoff games as the second seed in the NFC.

His surgery had been delayed because of inflammation, but he underwent the procedure on Friday and is expected to resume throwing in three months.

A brief statement from the 49ers read: "San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy underwent successful surgery with renowned specialist Dr. Keith Meister this morning.

"Dr. Meister conducted an internal brace repair to Purdy's right elbow. Purdy is anticipated to start a throwing progression program in three months."

Purdy's timeline sets the stage for a potential training camp battle with Lance, the third overall pick in 2021. San Francisco traded three first-round picks to the Miami Dolphins for the right to move up and acquire Lance.

Robbed of his first season as the starter by injury, Lance has started just four games as an NFL quarterback, having only had one full season of experience in college with North Dakota State at the FCS level, college football's second tier below the FBS.

Purdy, by contrast, started 48 FBS games for Iowa State and, after completing 67.1 per cent of his passes for 13 touchdowns and four interceptions as a rookie, will likely be seen as the favourite to win the starting job if his recovery goes to plan.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will have to wait for elbow surgery after reportedly being advised that the inflammation is still lingering.

Purdy was the most impressive rookie quarterback in the league this past season after injuries to Week 1 starter Trey Lance and backup Jimmy Garoppolo pushed him to the top of the depth chart.

The very last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft went on to win his first eight starts for the 49ers, guiding them through to the NFC Championship Game, where he would suffer a serious elbow injury.

It occurred when he was hit on his throwing arm, overextending his elbow and ultimately producing an injury – a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) – usually seen in baseball pitchers.

The timeline for a typical UCL repair is six months, so it was scheduled for February 22 to give him a chance to recover in time for preseason camp in early August.

But Purdy was given bad news on the eve of that date, with NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reporting that the doctor recommended postponing the surgery because of persistent inflammation in the elbow.

The report states the parties will reconvene in March to re-assess the situation, and while he is still expected to make a full recovery in time for Week 1, any further delays would begin to eat into his preseason.

Nick Bosa had long since been seen as the Defensive Player of the Year-elect, and he was confirmed as the premier player on that side of the ball on Thursday.

The San Francisco 49ers defensive end collected the award at the NFL Honors ceremony on Thursday following a dominant campaign from the Niners' star pass rusher.

Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons and Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones had been in contention for the prize, but Bosa was the clear frontrunner having led the NFL in sacks.

Bosa racked up 18.5 sacks, also tallying 48 quarterback hits and 19 tackles for loss as the 49ers went 13-4, going on to win two playoff games before their NFC Championship Game defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.

He becomes the third 49er to win Defensive Player of the Year, following in the footsteps of Deion Sanders (1994) and Dana Stubblefield (1997).

Bosa received 46 of the 50 first-place votes and can now look forward to a contract extension that will almost certainly make him the NFL's highest-paid defensive player.

Steve Wilks will be hired as the San Francisco 49ers' new defensive coordinator.

The move was reported by ESPN and NFL Network on Tuesday as the 49ers moved quickly to replace DeMeco Ryans.

With Ryans as DC, the 49ers fell painfully short of this year's Super Bowl following a remarkable run of misfortune that saw the team robbed of four quarterbacks through injury by the end of the NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Ryans' impressive work saw him land the Houston Texans' head coaching job, leaving the 49ers with a hole to plug on Kyle Shanahan's staff.

Shanahan is turning to Wilks, who was available after the Carolina Panthers hired Frank Reich as their new head coach.

Wilks had been the Panthers' interim coach last year, taking over after Matt Rhule was fired and finishing the season with a respectable 6-6 record.

Rhule's final game as coach, with Wilks his defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach, was a defeat to the 49ers.

Wilks described himself as "disappointed but not defeated" when the Panthers instead hired Reich for the 2023 season.

But if Wilks has ambitions of landing another top job, his new role with the 49ers looks a good fit.

Ryans' predecessor Robert Saleh also departed for a head coaching role with the New York Jets.

Before his 12 games at the helm of the Panthers, Wilks had a single season as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, when they were a miserable 3-13 in the 49ers' NFC West.

The NFC emerged victorious to secure the first edition of the NFL's new Pro Bowl Games, defeating the AFC 35-33 in the final flag football contest.

In a new format, the NFL decided to scrap the traditional Pro Bowl game as the injury risk of a real football game led to a mediocre product in recent years, with players only going at half-speed.

Instead, they replaced it with a series of mini-games – including dodgeball, and a best catch contest utilising a trampoline – spread over multiple days.

The two teams competed in four events on Thursday, with the NFC only securing victory in the dodgeball event. For the AFC, Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer's 320-yard bomb won the long drive competition, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr guided them to victory in the precision passing, and the team combined to win the three-event lightning round.

That gave the AFC the lead heading into Sunday's finale, although the NFC trimmed into the margin when Detroit Lions receiver Amon Ra St. Brown won the best catch contest.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith delivered the winning touchdown pass to Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb with 12 seconds remaining to take the first of the three flag football games for the NFC, before the AFC won the next to force a decider.

In the second, Bills receiver Stefon Diggs caught the game-winning touchdown, but not before he accidentally threw an earlier interception to his brother, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was the hero in the final game, throwing passing touchdowns to team-mate Justin Jefferson as well as San Francisco 49ers pair George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk to secure the victory.

NFC players received $84,000 each for taking part and coming away with the win, while AFC players earned $42,000.

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