The National Football League ended its 100th season with a bang in Super Bowl LIV.

In one of the better Super Bowls in recent memory, the Kansas City Chiefs continued their reputation as the “comeback kids,” and rallied to beat the San Francisco 49ers, who should be kicking themselves that they lost the game that was theirs for the taking.

I had no dog in the hunt, so I was free to root for both teams at the same time. If the 49ers would have won by running the football like they had been all postseason, I would have loved it, because I am sick and tired of the video game football we see too often, not only in the NFL, but now in the college game.

I was happy for the Chiefs, who had not played in a Super Bowl in 50 years. What a great accomplishment for the team and its long-time fans, who by all accounts, are some of the best in professional sports. Plus, head coach Andy Reid finally got the monkey off his back as being the coach with the most career victories without a championship.

I have always loved Reid. In a day and age when the likes of Kyle Shanahan are called geniuses with their play calling, Reid has been an innovator in the game for decades. He was a great coach in Philadelphia, and he has been nothing short of a genius in changing the fortunes of the Chiefs since he took over as their head coach.

Now I can address Patrick Mahomes. I ruffled some feathers last week when I asked people to wait to anoint him as an all-time great until he had won something. I said the same thing about the 49ers’ Jimmy Garrapolo. The point of the column is the media needs to wait a few years before assessing a player’s greatness. We have all seen players who were one-hit wonders.

I never said that Mahomes or Garrapolo were not talented. I never said they would not be great players. I only asked that we all pump the brakes and see how they develop.

Mahomes got a leg up on Garrapolo with his game-winning comeback in the fourth quarter. For the first three quarters, he looked like a rookie playing in his first Super Bowl. But when the chips were down, he showed that Mahomes magic and led his team to victory. That is the mark of a great quarterback and team leader.

For someone of his age to be this good is scary. But only time will tell if Mahomes, Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs can become a dynasty like the New England Patriots.

As I was watching the analysis this morning, as well as listening to some on the radio, I have to wonder what San Francisco is thinking? I wonder if they are as big on Shanahan today as they were on the Sunday before the Super Bowl was played?

I know I already heard the phrase “cannot win the big game” thrown around Monday morning. Although the sample size is small, Shanahan has now given up leads in the second half of the Super Bowl. San Francisco came into the game known for its running attack. Shanahan and the 49ers seemed to abandon that phase of the game just when it needed it most. All Shanahan had to do is run the ball down Kansas City’s throat to win the Super Bowl.

Instead, he decided to put the ball in Garrapolo’s hands. He was not up to the challenge, missing two huge throws that could have led the 49ers to their first championship in 25 years.

Now we will have to sit back and see how history treats these two quarterbacks, these two coaches, and these two organizations.

One thing is for sure. The NFL has a tough act to follow with its 101st season.

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com.