Mahomes' late magic inspires comeback kings Kansas to glory

San Francisco needed a spark and, as it often has this season, the running game provided it. Gouging the Chiefs in the trenches, the 49ers gained 53 yards on five straight rushes before Garoppolo hit on a pair of passes. The second completion, over the middle to Kyle Juszczyk, saw the fullback look like anything but with a nifty open-field move past safety Daniel Sorensen－perhaps Kansas City's best tackle. Juszczyk surged into the end zone for a 15-yard TD to tie it at 10.

Once more, Garoppolo was brilliant on a drive after being picked off. He improved 39 for 42 for 461 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions with a 136.2 rating on such series after the TD.

Gould's 42-yarder gave the Niners their first lead, capping the opening drive of the second half. Again, their misdirection plays kept the Chiefs off-balance on defense.

As Garoppolo did in the first half, Mahomes then threw into heavy coverage trying to hit Hill and was picked by Fred Warner. It was the first interception of Mahomes in five postseason games.

And it paid off with another efficient series for the Niners, keyed by a 26-yard completion to Kendrick Bourne on third down. Raheem Mostert, the star of the NFC title game, surged in from the 1 for a 20-10 edge.

Hardly unfamiliar territory for Kansas City.

"We have an ability as a team not just on offense, as team, to figure out what the other team is doing and put our foot in the ground and say enough is enough," Kelce said. "It's special."

AP/XINHUA