With Super Bowl-winning touchdown, Mecole Hardman enters Kansas City Chiefs lore
Mecole Hardman has been back with the Chiefs since October, picked up by his original team after being cut by the New York Jets.
The reunion hadn’t been the same.
In Hardman’s first four seasons with the Chiefs, he had developed into a primary weapon at wide receiver, amassing as many as 59 receptions in a season (2021).
But since returning to the Chiefs, he needed a big game with the non-starters at the season’s end just to reach 14 catches. And in the playoffs he was hardly a factor, even losing a fumble at Buffalo.
Now he’s a Chiefs hero.
Hardman goes down in Chiefs lore as the receiver who caught the game-winning touchdown pass in Super Bowl LVIII, a 3-yard toss from Patrick Mahomes that completed a 25-22 triumph over the San Francisco 49ers..
Hardman was part of his third Super Bowl-winning Chiefs team, but he didn’t play in last season’s title game while recovering from an abdominal injury so serious that he couldn’t walk for 10 days. He later suffered a groin tear.
“It’s been a roller-coaster,” Hardman said. “I was going through a lot, especially with the injury, trying to start over with a new team, and didn’t really play. Kansas City welcomed me back with open arms.”
The 2019 second-round draft pick, selected for his speed, was back where he belonged, said tight end Travis Kelce.
“It brought me to tears knowing that he was the man that got us this ring,” Kelce said. “Mecole is one of my favorite teammates ever. He keeps showing up and keeps finding ways to win. He found a way to win the game for us when everyone counted him out. The Jets counted him out.”
When Hardman came up with the game-winning play, Mahomes was confused by his reaction, which seemed subdued. Mahomes shared his story on the field after the game via NFL Network.
“I throw a touchdown to this dude to end the game, and he looked at me and he had no idea,” Mahomes said. “I said, ‘Dude, we just won the Super Bowl!’ He didn’t even celebrate at the beginning.”
Hardman partied with gusto later. In a cigar-smoke filled, music-blaring, champagne-popping locker room, Hardman was in the middle of it all, telling the story of the play that will live with the Chiefs forever.
It’s a variation of “Corndog,” which the Chiefs ran for a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in last season’s Super Bowl victory.
Oh, and Hardman assured that he knew the victory had been clinched.
“Simliar concept,” Hardman said. “When I saw the corner back up, I knew I was going to get the ball. I caught it and I blacked out.
“I’m not going to lie. I blacked out. I see Pat running toward me, and I’m thinking, ‘We just won.’”
Hardman had a big play early in the game, a 52-yard reception from Mahomes. That was the longest pass by Mahomes in four Super Bowls.
But on the next play, Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco fumbled and the big play was wasted.
Hardman would get another chance to make an impact later, and on this occasion he forged a place in team lore.
This story was originally published February 12, 2024, 1:36 AM.
