Super Bowl 2024 live updates | Chiefs vs. 49ers

Last Updated: February 11, 2024 05:48 PM

Published: February 11, 2024 01:00 PM

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.

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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.

By The Associated Press

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.

By The Associated Press

By DAVID SKRETTA

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.

By DAN GELSTON

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.

By SPENCER RIPCHIK

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.”

By DAVID SKRETTA

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.

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By ANDREW DALTON

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.”

By The Associated Press

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.

By The Associated Press

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.

By The Associated Press

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.