Mecole Hardman Says He ‘Blacked Out’ After Catching Super Bowl Winning Touchdown

The Chiefs’ wide receiver explained his perspective on the Super Bowl-winning touchdown catch.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman didn’t start the season with the franchise, but he made his way back to the team via a midseason trade with the New York Jets and ended up catching the Super Bowl LVIII winning touchdown reception in overtime against the San Francisco 49ers

Despite not being a mainstay in the Chiefs’ offense throughout the year, even after the trade, Hardman stepped up when the spotlight got brightest, hauling in all three of his targets from Patrick Mahomes during Sunday’s Super Bowl

After the game, Hardman was asked about the moment, and he perfectly described his experience after the ball hit his hands.

“I ain’t gonna lie man, I caught that pass and I blacked out,” Hardman said on the CBS postgame show. “I didn’t know what was going on until I saw Pat running to me and I was like, ‘Oh, we just won? Let’s celebrate!’”

A well-designed last play enabled Mahomes to find Hardman open in the end zone, securing a 22–19 win. It was just the second overtime game in Super Bowl history, and thanks to Hardman’s catch in the end zone late into overtime, the Chiefs became just the eighth team in league history to win back-to-back Super Bowls.

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Hardman had just two receptions on four targets heading into the Super Bowl against the 49ers, but he ended up as Kansas City’s second-leading receiver on Sunday, trailing only Travis Kelce


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Karl Rasmussen
KARL RASMUSSEN

Karl Rasmussen is a staff writer for the Breaking and Trending News team for Sports Illustrated. A University of Oregon alum who joined SI in February 2023, his work has appeared on 12up and ClutchPoints. Rasmussen is a loyal Tottenham, Jets, Yankees and Ducks fan.