Super Bowl LVIII has arrived and it is fitting that the two most successful franchises over the past decade will meet this Sunday in Las Vegas. The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers are likely to give us a classic.
The teams earned their way to the title game with impressive victories. The Chiefs traveled to Baltimore and beat the Ravens by a 17-10 count. The 49ers overcame a 17-point second-half deficit to defeat the Detroit Lions, 34-31, in the NFC Championship Game. The results have San Francisco looking for their first championship since the 1995 season. Conversely, Kansas City will be trying to win their third in the last five years.
The teams are somewhat familiar with each other in this setting. They met in Super Bowl LIV in Miami, when the Chiefs beat the 49ers 31-20 to win the first championship for quarterback Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid.
The Chiefs are in the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years, including back-to-back seasons, and are further cementing their dynasty. This is not your normal Chiefs team. They showcased an inconsistent offense throughout the 2023 season. Kansas City now relies on its defense. Offensively, we rarely see the excitement and explosiveness that we’ve grown accustomed to from the last several years. Still, this team knows how to win and that is why they are still playing in February. The Chiefs hope to become the first team in 19 years to win back-to-back Super Bowls
It might be 29 years since the 49ers’ last championship, but they’ve been knocking on the door in recent years. They lost in the NFC title game each of the past two seasons, but this will be their second trip to the Super Bowl in the last five years.
Brock Purdy of San Francisco will try to hold his own at quarterback against Mahomes. He did have a well above average season statistically as he completed 69.4 percent of his passes this past season for 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
If Kansas City has a weakness on defense, it is its run defense. That is why I think 49ers runningback Christian McCaffery will be the difference in this matchup. He not only led the league in rushing yards with 1,459 and was second among running backs with 14 rushing touchdowns, he was also second on the 49ers with 67 catches for 564 yards and seven touchdowns.
While I like San Francisco, Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce will need to be great as they’ve typically been during post season play. They will need to come up huge one final time, particularly against an all-time great running back in McCaffrey, to secure the franchise’s fourth Super Bowl victory.
Again, I see McCaffrey running the ball and eating up the clock. The longer Mahomes is off the field, the better the 49ers chances are.
