The Kansas City Chiefs won the coin toss to start the Super Bowl, and perhaps they wished they hadn’t deferred. Immediately, the 49ers — mostly led by running back Christian McCaffrey — matriculated the ball down the field in ways that had to be disconcerting for Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
With 12:24 left in the first quarte, though, McCaffrey took the ball again, and this time, the structure of the game changed when linebacker Leo Chenal tackled McCaffrey, forcing a fumble at the Kansas City 29-yard line that edge-rusher George Karlaftis picked up.
Chiefs force a fumble! KC ball.
📺: #SBLVIII on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/dClcEDViWl pic.twitter.com/9qNL19g4KP— NFL (@NFL) February 11, 2024
However, the Chiefs went three-and-out on their subsequent drive.