By Sirderick Farley
Feb. 11…Super Bowl Sunday…Kansas City Chiefs (11-6) vs. San Francisco 49ers (12-5)…Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Chiefs are the reigning NFL champions after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in last year’s Super Bowl. Although on paper the 49ers are a better team than the Chiefs, don’t count the Chiefs out quite yet as the team has some of the best coaching in football history.
In the regular season, the 49ers played hard physically, and truly could not have had a better season. On the other hand, the Chiefs didn’t always look like a Super Bowl caliber team as some of the key players from last year were lost in the off-season. When it comes to playoff performances, however, it was the complete opposite. The Chiefs looked like the more complete team and have been playing way more physically, bringing back the spirit of the 2023 team. Although the 49ers were the #1 seed and had a first round bye, the team eked out a win in both games, winning by only three points.
Some players to keep your eyes on from the Chiefs are:
– #10 – Isiah Pacheco, Running Back – Leads the team in rushing with 205 carries for 935 yards in the regular season and seven touchdowns
– #15 – Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback – This season he threw for 4,183 yards, completed 401 out of 597 passes, and made 27 touchdowns
– #87 – Travis Kelce, Tight End – Lead the team with 984 receiving yards while scoring seven touchdowns; has scored three touchdowns in the postseason with 262 receiving yards
Some key players on the 49ers are:
– #11 – Brandon Aiyuk – Leads the team in receiving yards in the regular season with 1,342; scored seven touchdowns
– #13 – Brock Purdy, Quarterback – Has a completion rate of 69.4% this season, with 31 passing touchdowns and an passed for a total of 4,280 yards
– #23 – Christian McAffrey, Running Back – Named the 2023-24 Offensive Player of the Year; lead the team in rushing with 1,459 yards
– #54 – Fred Warner, Linebacker – Made 132 tackles in the regular season (82 solo, 52 assisted) and four interceptions; made 20 tackles in the postseason (15 solo, 5 assisted)
The Super Bowl will be its own highlight reel with the amount of talent on the field. I think the 49ers are the better team and I want them to win, but Mahomes has taught me he is the GOAT and to never count him out. While I personally hoped the Miami Dolphins would go to the Super Bowl, as the team lead the league in passing yards and had a good defense to compliment are offense, the inconsistency got the best of them. It didn’t help that the team lost games that mattered and faced a lot of injuries.
But Super Bowl Sunday is more than just the game. There will be plenty of funny commercials and the half-time performance will be performed by Usher. You can catch the Super Bowl at 6:30 p.m. on Paramount + and CBS…and don’t forget about the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet, Discovery, and TBS!