It’s that magical time of year again in the sports world. The premier sporting event is soon to take place – the annual matchup between the best team of the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC).
This year, we’ve been gifted with an interesting matchup. For the first time since Super Bowl VI, the big game will feature the team that led its conference in passing yards (Kansas City Chiefs) and the other in rushing yards (San Fransisco 49ers), according to ESPN.
As we all know, the Chiefs are led by third-year quarterback (QB) Patrick Mahomes, who helped the team rack up 4,498 passing yards on the season. On the flip side, the 49ers dominated their opponents on the ground with a trifecta of running backs (RB) in Matt Breida, Tevin Coleman and Raheem Mostert. San Fransisco compiled 2,305 rushing yards on the season.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have the advantage on offense thanks to Mahomes and his various weapons on offense. The connection between Mahomes and tight end (TE) Travis Kelce has been lethal this season, as to be expected.
On the season, Kelce has 97 receptions for 1,229 yards to go along with 5 touchdowns. Arguably Kelce’s best statistic is his average yards per reception, which is 12.7. Basically, throw it to Kelce and it’s more than likely you’ll at least gain a fresh set of downs.
More impressive is the statistical dominance of Mahomes. He didn’t quite replicate his NFL MVP performance from last season, but he wasn’t too far off. Mahomes still lit up the league for 4,031 yards, 26 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions (tied for third in the league).
Mahomes also came second in QB Rating at 76.3, only being beat out by Baltimore Raven’s QB Lamar Jackson. The third-year QB beat out seasoned veterans such as Drew Brees (Saints), Russell Wilson (Seahawks) and Deshaun Watson (Texans). All of this happened despite Mahomes missing a few games with a dislocated kneecap.
If Mahomes and Kelce don’t score boatloads of points, leave it up to wide receiver (WR) and return specialist Tyreek Hill, arguably the fastest player in the NFL. Though Hill didn’t put up other-worldly stats this year, he’s always a threat to either catch a deep ball and burn everybody or return a punt or kickoff for a huge gain.
On the defensive side of the ball, look out for safety Tyrann “the honeybadger” Mathieu. He has played lights-out towards the end of the regular season and into the playoffs. Fellow safety Daniel Sorenson is sure to also give the 49ers a hard time throwing the ball.
The Chiefs weren’t always great this year, though. There was a point in time where Kansas City was 6-4 and in danger of losing their hold on the AFC West to the Oakland Raiders. When Mahomes came back from injury, they lost the first game, but went on a six-game win streak to end off the season. They’ve been absolutely unstoppable since then.
As long as Mahomes performs like he has most of the season, there’s no reason to believe that the Chiefs won’t bring the Lombardi Trophy home. But that’s the thing – the Chiefs will only go so far as Mahomes, and to a greater extent the rest of the offense, will carry them.
San Fransisco 49ers
The 49ers have pulled off a pretty quick turnaround from where they were a couple of weeks ago. San Fransisco has become the next NFC West powerhouse, replacing the Los Angeles Rams and rivaled only by the Seattle Seahawks.
Unlike the Chiefs, the 49ers aren’t led by a QB with a bazooka for an arm. This isn’t to say that San Fransisco’s QB Jimmy Garropolo isn’t any good. This season is Garoppolo’s first full season, since he spent the early years of his career waiting in the wings behind QB Tom Brady in New England and last year dealing with an injury.
Garropolo has 27 touchdowns to 13 interceptions on the year. These aren’t Mahomes type of numbers, but he’s done well in the role he’s been given and has done what the team has asked of him.
Fortunately for Garropolo, he has some serious firepower to work with on offense. George Kittle, my favorite TE in the league right now, has been sensational this season. He’s been an absolute monster on the gridiron. It takes multiple guys just to bring him down.
Kittle went for 1,053 yards on 85 receptions this season, complemented by five touchdowns. While he didn’t get a whole lot of receptions during the postseason, he’s still a threat to bulldoze defenses whenever he gets the ball.
WR Emmanuel Sanders is also a crucial weapon for Garropolo. A lot of the receiving core hasn’t had a ton of work to do though because of the 49ers aforementioned RB trifecta.
The defensive side of the ball is where the 49ers really stand out. Cornerback (CB) Richard Sherman, who will forever be my favorite CB, revitalized his career since an achilles injury caused him to be cut by the Seahawks, who we won a Super Bowl with.
Sherman is always a threat to come down with an interception when the ball is thrown his way. He performs day-in and day-out and I love the intensity he brings to the game.
Defensive end (DE) Nick Bosa has been fantastic in his rookie season. Bosa had nine sacks on the year, not including his three sacks during the course of the postseason. Bosa is a scary man to go on the line against, and he’s going to be a stud in the NFL for years to come.
I won’t speculate on who I think will win the Super Bowl. Honestly, I think that it could go either way. The Chiefs’ offense will have to compete with the 49ers’ defense, and that will be a sight to behold.
However, I want to see the Chiefs lift the Lombardi trophy this year. Chiefs’ head coach Andy Reid is likely to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he retires, but he has a reputation of losing big playoff games.
The last time Reid was in the Super Bowl was back during his early years when he was coaching the Philadelphia Eagles. I want the narrative about him chocking in big games to go away. If he wins the Super Bowl, there won’t be a single doubt about him getting into the Hall of Fame when he retires.
I’m also a Seahawks fan, so I just don’t want the 49ers to win, but I respect their level of talent. I’d love to see Sherman get his much-deserved second Super Bowl ring.
The Kansas City Chiefs (left) and San Francisco 49ers (right) will compete in Super Bowl 54 on February 2, 2020. This will be the Chiefsā first Super Bowl appearance since Super Bowl 4 in the 1969 season, where they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 23-7. Kansas City has one Super Bowl win in their history. The 49ers last appeared in the Super Bowl in the 2012 season, where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens 31-34. The 49ers have five Super Bowl wins, with their last coming in 1994. Photo Credits / Wikimedia Commons
