Former Tennessee Vol and Tennessee native Jauan Jennings’ Super Bowl MVP dreams were ended by a late game-winning touchdown by the Kansas City Chiefs in a Super Bowl overtime thriller on Sunday night.
If it wasn’t for a late Patrick Mahomes touchdown to win the game, Jennings would have likely been named the Super Bowl MVP after an unbelievable two-touchdown performance in the Niners’ loss. Jennings threw for a touchdown in the second quarter and caught a critical touchdown in the fourth quarter as arguably the 49ers’ most impressive player from Las Vegas.
The game saw both team’s offenses struggle for the majority of the contest. Jennings and the Niners added on to a three-point lead with a trick-play wide receiver touchdown pass in the second quarter. San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy threw the ball to the left to Jennings, who then threw a long pass all the way back across the field to Niners running back Christian McCaffrey. The San Francisco running back took the ball into the endzone for a remarkable 21-yard touchdown.
JAUAN. JENNINGS. @SuperBowl TD THROW.#GBO 🍊
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) February 12, 2024
More from RTI: Jauan Jennings ‘Representing Everybody From Tennessee’ at Super Bowl LVIII
The play immediately called back to Jennings’ touchdown pass as a receiver to quarterback Josh Dobbs against Florida during his Tennessee career.
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) February 12, 2024
After Jennings’ pass put the Niners up 10-0 in the second quarter, the Chiefs put up 13 straight points of their own through the third quarter. San Francisco had lost the momentum with the reigning Super Bowl champions on the rise, and the 49ers needed an answer desperately.
Less than four minutes into the fourth quarter with the Niners down three points, Jennings caught a pass and fought his way 10 yards into the endzone for his second touchdown of the night. Jennings’ prowess of being an aggressive runner with the ball in his hands helped set San Francisco up with fourth-quarter points as the Niners were struggling.
What a day to HAVE A DAY!#GBO 🍊#SBLVIII on CBS
Stream on #NFLPlus— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) February 12, 2024
While those two touchdowns were Jennings’ biggest plays and showed up big on the box score, the former Vol had countless more impactful effort plays throughout the game that didn’t end up in the final book. Jennings was tremendous in run blocking from the wide receiver position and gave the Chiefs an extra threat that needed to be focused on throughout the game.
3rd and Jauan! 🤯#GBO 🍊
📺: #SBLVIII on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/SgFaOpUcqm— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) February 12, 2024
VFL Jauan Jennings ended the game with one passing touchdown for 21 yards, four receptions, 42 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown.
Jennings is the 74th player in Tennessee history to compete in the Super Bowl and the second player to throw and catch a touchdown on the same night in Super Bowl history.
The San Francisco 49ers were defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII by a score of 25-22 in an overtime thriller on Sunday night. Though he lost the big game, Jauan Jennings put up an MVP-worthy effort during his first Super Bowl appearance with a two-touchdown show.
