Kansas City is down 10-3 at Allegiant Stadium

Patrick Mahomes will have to rally the Chiefs in the second half of...

Patrick Mahomes will have to rally the Chiefs in the second half of Super Bowl LVIII.Lapresse

The Kansas City Chiefs will have to win Super Bowl LVIII the hard way. Patrick Mahomes and company were not at their best in the first half at Allegiant Stadium, as the San Francisco 49ers stormed out of the gates in the second quarter and took a 10-3 lead into halftime in Las Vegas. But rallying against the odds isn’t anything new for Mahomes — who has a chance to add to his already-impressive resume with a comeback on Super Bowl Sunday.

Mahomes has a better record in these adverse situations than you might expect, seeing as so many other quarterbacks don’t always come up with the goods when the chips are down. But this is Las Vegas, and Mahomes might feel lucky…that the 49ers didn’t punish the Chiefs even further in the first 30 minutes of Super Bowl LVIII.

What is Mahomes’ playoff record when the Chiefs are trailing at halftime?

Kansas City might not have much to worry about at all despite its lackluster first half in Las Vegas. With Mahomes behind center, the Chiefs have entered halftime trailing on the scoreboard 10 times in 18 playoff games. Of the previous 17 — before Sunday night — Mahomes ended up winning eight of those 10 games.

Mahomes is developing a Tom Brady-like legacy for rallying in adverse circumstances. Kansas City trailed 10-0 in the second quarter of Super Bowl LVIII, another deficit with which the two-time NFL MVP is comfortable — he has a 4-2 record in playoff games in which the Chiefs have faced a double-digit deficit. Since 2018, the rest of the NFL has a 12-55 record in such situations.

Mahomes efficient — but without a TD to show for it

Mahomes ended the first half of his second game at Allegiant Stadium this season with 11 completions from 13 attempts for 123 yards. However, 52 of those 123 yards came on one long pass to receiver Mecole Hardman. The Chiefs promptly fumbled on the next play, ceding possession back to the 49ers.

Mahomes did lead an encouraging drive from the Kansas City perspective to end the first half. The Chiefs got back into the red zone and got on the board in the final seconds, with ever-accurate Harrison Butker knocking a 28-yard field goal through the uprights with 20 seconds left on the clock.