Super Bowls can make household names out of almost anyone—just ask David Tyree—taking no-name players and giving them a global stage upon which they can showcase their talents. In Super Bowl LVIII, the Kansas City Chiefs had a number of players who took advantage and found themselves celebrated in the aftermath of their victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
Patrick Mahomes earned his MVP and Travis Kelce got his accolades. Trent McDuffie and Chris Jones and L'Jarius Sneed were all celebrated, and Mecole Hardman had his redemptive time in the spotlight. All of this is well and good—deservedly so—and we don't mean to take anything away from them.
But what about the unheralded? What about the overlooked? The Chiefs' victory over the 49ers was a true team effort and we wanted to highlight some names who were important yet perhaps ignored. Here's our appreciative thread of players who were overlooked heroes for the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.
Mike Pennel, DL
Mike Pennel is the poster child for a descriptor like "overlooked hero" because he was such a positive force for a defense that swallowed up the ground game of the San Francisco 49ers. He also did so after signing with the Chiefs at mid-season.
Don't forget that Mike Pennel was sitting around as a free agent defensive lineman waiting for some team to sign him for the entire offseason, preseason, and regular season. Somehow Pennel had no suitors following his showing last season as a rotational run-stopper for the Chicago Bears who appeared in all 17 games and started two of them.
Pennel was no stranger to the Chiefs, but he'd also not played for them since the global pandemic was a thing and players were potentially opting out for COVID. When a 32-year-old lineman who can't get work joins a Super Bowl contender, you don't really expect him to earn any real playing time, let alone to play so well that he warrants significant snaps. However, that's what Pennel provided for the Chiefs.
Pennel was an absolute force up front for Kansas City with multiple stops of McCaffrey and company in the trenches and even some disruptive play that got into the opposing backfield. He was the second-highest-graded defender for the Chiefs per Pro Football Focus, and he's been that same valuable performer all through the postseason for Kansas City.
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Leo Chenal, LB
Of all of the names on this list, Leo Chenal is the one who is the least overlooked, if that even makes sense. But given the level of his impact in Super Bowl LVIII and the amount his name is typically bandied about following most victories, we figured it wouldn't hurt to honor him here all the same.
In case you missed things, Chenal had himself a true breakout effort against the 49ers in Super Bowl 58. Over the course of all four quarters, Chenal was a defensive menace who rewarded Steve Spagnuolo's trust in him all over the field with a stellar effort that affected the game's outcome in multiple ways.
Near the beginning of the game, the 49ers were rolling offensively, but it was Chenal who forced Christian McCaffrey to fumble the ball and cough up the game's first turnover. While the Chiefs couldn't take advantage with points of their own, it certainly kept the Niners off of the board. That alone would serve as a career highlight, but Chenal was hardly done there.
In the fourth quarter, 49ers kicker Jake Moody attempted an extra point following a touchdown catch by Jauan Jennings, but Chenal was there to block it with the sort of surprising burst that characterizes his all-out playing style. Just like that, the Niners came away with only six points instead of seven and in a game that went to overtime knotted at 19 apiece, it doesn't take much to figure out how gigantic that block was for the Chiefs' fortunes.
Chenal was a hard-hitting, game-changing playmaker on both defense and special teams who could also rush the passer from two levels. His breakout here spells good things for 2024 and beyond as the Chiefs face the potential departure of multiple linebackers in free agency.
Creed Humphrey, OL
We already know that Creed Humphrey is one of the most talented players overall not only on the Chiefs roster but at his position in the National Football League. With the word that Jason Kelce is likely done in Philadelphia, it's possible that Humphrey will now be referred to as the best center in the sport. So maybe that should keep him from earning a nod here among the overlooked, but his work in the trenches is worth mentioning all the same.
Given the low snaps that Patrick Mahomes had to deal with a couple of times in Super Bowl LVIII, you might think that Humphrey had a lesser performance against the 49ers. However, Humphrey was actually the brightest spot among blockers up front and was the only one who failed to allow a single pressure of Patrick Mahomes in a game filled with them (per Pro Football Focus).
Humphrey's athleticism came in handy in the run game on multiple pulls and his ability to anchor the heart of the offensive line with such excellence helped Nick Allegretti look solid in relief of Joe Thuney (more on him in a second).
The Chiefs have been enjoying the spoils of having used their second-round pick on Humphrey basically since the moment they first signed his name to a draft card. That's certainly true of his work in the game's biggest moments.
Nick Allegretti, OL
Speaking of Nick Allegretti, the Chiefs' super sub merited a mention of this own and we're happy to provide it.
If anyone fits the profile of an overlooked hero, it's a backup interior offensive lineman going to work as a starter while playing on a one-year deal to return to the team that drafted him. Allegretti is all of those things, but he's also always been a much better player than anyone could have predicted he'd become when the Chiefs made him their seventh-round pick back in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Back in his second season in the league in 2020, Allegretti was called upon to start several games at left guard in the wake of Andrew Wylie's injury. Since then he's proven capable of stepping in at a moment's notice with the versatility to also play center if needed. After the Chiefs lost Wylie to free agency last year, it made sense to bring back Allegretti on a one-year deal worth under $3 million.
Playing behind Joe Thuney and Trey Smith at guard isn't going to give much in the way of playing time, but Allegretti was the ideal fallback option when Thuney recently was lost with a pectoral injury. While the Chiefs missed their All-Pro lineman, Allegretti's presence proved to be enough to win on the road in Buffalo, again in Baltimore, and on the biggest stage of all against San Francisco.
Tommy Townsend, P
For all the kudos being passed around in the wake of the Chiefs' win in Super Bowl LVIII, even one specialist is finding his name being mentioned alongside the team's biggest stars for good reason. Harrison Butker deserves the applause after a tremendous year and he once again helped put the Chiefs over the top with a perfect day of kicking the football on Super Bowl Sunday.
That said, Butker's fellow specialist, punter Tommy Townsend, was actually excellent when his team needed him in the biggest game of all. In fact, in a game that was primarily a defensive battle most of the time, it was Townsend's ability to help provide solid field position and ability to boot the ball with such impressive hang time that is being overlooked as a weapon for the Chiefs.
Townsend has been an exemplary performer for Dave Toub's special teams since he first arrived in Kansas City but the team's offense and the rarity of seeing them punt for so long has largely kept Townsend's work in the shadows. Last year, however, he was finally recognized with an All-Pro season that rewarded him for a booming leg that can place the ball with the shocking accuracy.
While the honors didn't come his way again this season, the results were the same. And after averaging nearly 51 yards per punt in Super Bowl LVIII, Townsend is an overlooked hero who deserves credit for his part in helping the Chiefs edge the Niners.