Kansas City Chiefs’ Mecole Hardman tells CNN he ‘blacked out’ after scoring the Super Bowl-winning touchdown
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes holds the Lombardi Trophy after the Chiefs won Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, February 11. Mahomes was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Steph Chambers/Getty Images
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce kisses his girlfriend, singer Taylor Swift, during the postgame celebrations. Brynn Anderson/AP
Chiefs guard Trey Smith cries on the field after his team won the game. Eric Gay/AP
Confetti falls at Allegiant Stadium, which is just off the Las Vegas Strip. Adam Hunger/AP
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, second left, celebrates with staff members after the game. Julio Cortez/AP
San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk walks off the field after the game. Eric Gay/AP
Mahomes lies on the ground after throwing the game-winning touchdown to Mecole Hardman Jr. Adam Hunger/AP
Chiefs players run onto the field after the game-winning touchdown. Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Hardman, front right, celebrates with Mahomes after they connected for the last touchdown. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Mahomes, bottom right, runs toward Hardman after the last play. Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
Mahomes runs for a first down during the game-winning drive. Eric Gay/AP
The Chiefs offense huddles up in overtime. Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP
49ers running back Christian McCaffrey runs down the sideline for a big gain during overtime. The play set up a Jake Moody field goal that gave the 49ers a 22-19 lead. Frank Franklin II/AP
Referee Bill Vinovich performs the coin toss before overtime. This was just the second Super Bowl in history to go to overtime. Mike Blake/Reuters
Kelce, left, is unable to catch a pass while defended by 49ers linebacker Fred Warner late in the fourth quarter. David J. Phillip/AP
Mahomes scrambles during the second half. Julio Cortez/AP
Moody kicks a 53-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to give his team a 19-16 lead. Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker would tie the game with three seconds left. David J. Phillip/AP
49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings catches a 10-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. The 49ers led 16-13 after the play. The extra point was blocked. Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports
Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones chases 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy during the second half. George Walker IV/AP
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan looks on during the fourth quarter. Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Chiefs wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling celebrates after catching a 16-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. The touchdown gave the Chiefs their first lead of the game, and they led 13-10 going into the fourth quarter. David Gray/Kansas City Chiefs/AP
The 49ers’ Ray-Ray McCloud III tries to recover a muffed punt in the third quarter. The Chiefs recovered and then scored a touchdown on the next play. Stephen R. Sylvanie/USA Today Network/Reuters
Butker kicks a 57-yard field goal in the third quarter to cut the 49ers’ lead to 10-6. It is the longest field goal in Super Bowl history, eclipsing the 55-yarder that Moody kicked in the first half. James Lang/USA Today Sports/Reuters
A Chiefs fan looks dejected as his team trailed during the game. Brian Snyder/Reuters
49ers safety Ji’Ayir Brown intercepts a Mahomes pass on the opening drive of the second half. Doug Benc/AP
49ers fans celebrate a touchdown at the Circa Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, just a short drive away from where the game was taking place. Gregory Bull/AP
McCaffrey scores the first touchdown of the game. The 21-yard score in the second quarter came off a trick play where Jennings threw a pass across the field to McCaffrey. The 49ers went into halftime with a 10-3 lead. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
49ers starting linebacker Dre Greenlaw injured his Achilles, CBS reported, as he jogged onto the field for a play in the second quarter. George Walker IV/AP
Kelce yells at Reid after Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco fumbled in the red zone during the second quarter. Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Pacheco fumbles the ball in the second quarter. Harry How/Getty Images
Hardman pulls in a 52-yard catch during the second quarter. The play put the Chiefs in the red zone, but Pacheco fumbled the ball away on the next play. Julio Cortez/AP
Moody makes a 55-yard field goal to open the scoring in the second quarter. It was the longest field goal in Super Bowl history until Butker topped it later in the game. Mike Blake/Reuters
Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie defends a pass intended for 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel during the second quarter. Jamie Squire/Getty Images
49ers wide receiver Chris Conley is fired up after a first-half play. Doug Benc/AP
49ers defensive lineman Javon Hargrave covers up Mahomes. Mahomes was frequently under pressure in the first half, and the 49ers sacked him twice. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
McCaffrey runs the ball early in the game. Julio Cortez/AP
Mahomes drops back to pass in the first half. Sam Lutz/Kansas City Chiefs/AP
49ers tight end George Kittle prepares to make a catch in the first quarter. George Walker IV/AP
McCaffrey fumbles the ball on the opening drive. Steph Chambers/Getty Images
Purdy gets set to pass in the first quarter. Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton hits 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk on an early play. Frank Franklin II/AP
Team captains line up for the pregame coin toss. Doug Benc/AP
Planes fly over Allegiant Stadium before the game. Candice Ward/Getty Images
Reid adjusts his headset before kickoff. Jamie Squire/Getty Images
The American flag is unfurled as Reba McEntire performs the national anthem before the game. Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP
From left, rapper Ice Spice, Swift and Lively hang out before the start of the game. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
McEntire sings the national anthem. Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images
Kelce takes the field before the start of the game. Julio Cortez/AP
Singer Andra Day performs “Lift Every Voice and Sing” during the pregame festivities. Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Rapper Jay-Z is seen with his two of his children, Blue Ivy and Rumi, before the game. Steve Luciano/AP
Fans line up outside the stadium before the game. Carlos Barria/Reuters
Las Vegas showgirls wait to pose for pictures with fans outside the stadium. Gregory Bull/AP
Mahomes’ wife, Brittany, poses for a photo with their children, Sterling and Bronze, before the game. Julio Cortez/AP
Fans pose for a photo before the game. Harry How/Getty Images The best photos from the 2024 Super Bowl Prev Next CNN —
Kansas City Chiefs’ Mecole Hardman says he “blacked out” after scoring the game-winning touchdown in a thrilling Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
The wide receiver caught a pass delivered by Patrick Mahomes in overtime to beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22, after a rollercoaster spectacle on Sunday.
Hardman’s touchdown sparked frenzied scenes both in the stadium and around the world, but the wide receive says the seismic moment didn’t immediately dawn on him.
“When I blacked out, I didn’t know what was going on until [Mahomes] came up running and was like, ‘You’re a champion! We just won!,’” Hardman told CNN This Morning on Monday.
“I’m like, ‘Oh, you’re right, we did.’ And we started celebrating after that. But I definitely blacked out, for sure.”
Quarterback Mahomes masterminded the superb 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in overtime, which culminated in a three-yard pass to Hardman who, after a brief pause, celebrated with his ecstatic teammates.
“Just overwhelmed with emotions,” Hardman added, when asked what winning the Super Bowl felt like.
Mecole Hardman after catching the game-winning touchdown in overtime to defeat the San Francisco 49ers during Super Bowl LVIII. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images Kelce inspiration
The Kansas City Chiefs are now back-to-back NFL champions, accomplishing something that had not been done in 19 years. The New England Patriots last accomplished the feat in 2003-04 and 2004-05.
But such a feat looked at risk on Sunday, with the Chiefs relying on some clutch plays to keep their Super Bowl dreams alive.
When explaining what it was like in the locker room when his team were trailing 10-3 at halftime, Hardman told CNN that one particular player stepped up.
“Travis [Kelce] said everything, honestly,” Hardman said. “He definitely had a good little speech to get everybody going, put the fuel to the fire.
“We came out in that second half like a totally different team.”
Kelce, and his relationship with Taylor Swift, played a huge part in the hype around this year’s Super Bowl.
The famous couple shared a kiss on the field amid the celebrations, after Swift was seen overcome with joy in the stands after Hardman had scored the game-winning touchdown.
CNN’s Jill Martin and Ben Morse contributed reporting.