Super Bowl LVII Preview – Kansas City Chiefs vs San Francisco 49ers

Super Bowl LVII Preview – Kansas City Chiefs vs San Francisco 49ers

by Thomas Quaynor  for Wannamakeabet.com

Super Bowl LVIII kicks off tonight with the San Francisco 49ers (12-5) taking on the Kansas City Chiefs (11-6) at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. San Francisco opened as a 2.5-point favorite, the betting public has dropped the line to 1.5, the total is 47.5. Kansas City has won three straight matchups against San Francisco, including a 44-23 win at San Francisco in Week 7 of the 2022 season and a 31-20 comeback victory in Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2, 2020. Kansas City trailed 20-10 in the fourth quarter before rallying with three fourth quarter touchdowns to pull out the win.  Kansas City is looking to become the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004. 

Each team has eight players who participated in Super Bowl LIV which was played exactly four years and nine days to the day tonight’s game will be played. Some of those key players include Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, kicker Harrsion Butker and defensive tackle Chris Jones for Kansas City. San Fransisco returns wide receiver Deebo Samuel, tight end George Kittle, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, linebackers Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, defensive end Nick Bosa and defensive lineman Arik Armstead.   

HOW BOTH TEAMS GOT HERE

The San Francisco 49ers entered the playoffs as the No. 1 after finishing with a 12-5 record. They earned a first round bye, then needed a fourth quarter rally to knock off the No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers 24-21 in the Divisional round of the playoffs. Christian McCaffrey scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter. San Francisco then rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to defeat the Detroit Lions 34-31 in the NFC Championship game on Jan. 28. San Francisco scored 17 points in just an 8-minute span of the third quarter to tie the game, they then went up 34-24 in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. 

The Kansas City Chiefs entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed after finishing 11-6, it was the first time they’ve entered the playoffs with a seed below two since the 2017 season, which was the year before Patrick Mahomes took over as the starter. It would also be the first time that Patrick Mahomes would play a road playoff game if they advanced past the first round. Kansas City manhandled Miami 26-7 in the first round in what ended up being the fourth-coldest game in NFL history at minus-4 degrees. Kansas City then went on the road and knocked off the No. 2 seed Buffalo Bills 27-24 in the divisional round. They went on the road again to defeat the No. 1 seed and the NFL’s top team in the 13-4 Baltimore Ravens 17-10 on Jan. 28 to clinch a Super Bowl berth. 

GAME STORYLINES: SAN FRANCISCO

From the moment that quarterback Brock Purdy injured his elbow in the first quarter of last season’s NFC Championship game at Philadelphia and could no longer play effectively, resulting in a crushing 31-7 loss, the 49ers were on a mission to make it beyond the NFC Championship game this season. The 49ers opened the season 5-0 with four of the victories being blowouts. They also got a huge statement win in Week 13 when they went to Philadelphia and humiliated the then-10-1 Eagles 42-19. Looking back, the win signaled a changing of the guard as the 49ers established themselves as the best team in the NFC, while the Eagles season went into a downward spiral. Eleven of the 49ers twelve victories were by double digits, they had a plus-193-point differential which ranked third in the NFL. 

On April 30, 2022,  the San Francisco 49ers selected Brock Purdy with the last pick (No. 262) of the NFL draft, at the time it seemed to be a ho hum move as San Francisco had Jimmy Garoppolo and second-year former first round pick (No. 3 overall) Trey Lance entrenched as its top two quarterbacks. But injuries to Lance and Garoppolo midway through the 2022 season paved the way for Purdy to become the starter, and he’s become one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL since then. He’s also been one of the most polarizing players in the NFL due to many questioning how good he really is. Whether you think Purdy is elite or a game manager, he’s gone 17-4 as a starter in the regular season and 4-1 in the playoffs. During the regular season, Purdy finished with 4,280 passing yards, 31 touchdowns to 11 interceptions and completed 69.2 percent of his passes. Purdy’s 4,280 passing yards broke the single-season franchise record set by Jeff Garcia in 2000. 

San Francisco acquiring All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey from Carolina in October 2022 has also played a big role in their current run of excellence. McCaffrey amassed 746 rushing yards, 464 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns in 11 games with San Francisco last year. McCaffrey has been even better in his first full season with the 49ers finishing with league-highs of 1,459 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns, he added 564 receiving yards and 7 receiving touchdowns across 16 games. His rushing yards were a career high, he finished third in the MVP voting. 

Wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk (75 catches for 1,342 yards, 7 touchdowns) and Deebo Samuel (60 catches for 892 yards, 7 touchdowns), along with tight end George Kittle (65 catches for 1,020 yards, 6 touchdowns) formed one of the top receiving units in the NFL this season. Aiyuk established a career high in receiving yards this season. Ten-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Trent Williams remains one of the best offensive lineman in the game at age 35 and was named an All-Pro for the third time in his career this season. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk was also named an All-Pro.

GAME STORYLINES: KANSAS CITY

For the past 5 seasons since All-Pro superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes became the Kansas City Chiefs starter, they’d won at least 12 games every season, never entered the playoffs lower than second and never played a road game in the playoffs. This season began with a somewhat listless 13-12 loss at home to the Detroit Lions. In that game, the offense looked stagnant and the receivers dropped a lot of passes. A stagnant offense and wide receivers dropping passes seemed to be a theme through much of the season as Kansas City would finish 11-6 and earn the No. 3 seed. 

Patrick Mahomes also experienced somewhat of a down year this season as his 4,184 passing yards and 27 touchdowns were the second lowest of his career, his 14 interceptions were the most he’s thrown in his career. All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce also experienced a dip in his production as his 984 receiving yards was his lowest since his second season in 2015. He did lead the team with 93 catches. Rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice (79 catches for 938 yards, 7 touchdowns) and second-year running back Isaac Pacheco (935 rushing yards, 244 receiving yards, 9 total touchdowns) were two bright spots for Kansas City in what turned out to be an uneven season for a franchise that has dominated the past 5 seasons since Mahomes took over. 

Another bright spot for the Chiefs was the defense. While the offense was inconsistent for most of the year, the defense was excellent all season. The Chiefs defense ranked first in total yards allowed per game and passing yards allowed per game, and second in points allowed per game (17.5). All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones (30 tackles, 10.5 sacks), defensive end George Karlaftis (47 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble), linebacker Dru Tranquill (79 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles) and cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (78 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery) are standouts on the defense. Jones was named an All-Pro for the second straight season. 

Once the playoffs started, Mahomes and the offense flipped the proverbial switch and started to resemble the juggernaut we’ve seen for the previous 5 seasons. Mahomes passed for 718 yards, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions in Kansas City’s three playoff wins while Travis Kelce has 23 catches for 262 yards and 3 touchdowns. Kelce broke Jerry Rice’s record for all-time playoff receptions in the win at Baltimore, he now has 156 playoff receptions. The defense has given up just 13.7 points per game in the 3 playoff wins. 

THE PICK

I’ve learned my lesson, I’m not picking against Mahomes in the playoffs again, Take the point(s)…Chiefs 28, 49ers 23