For the second time in five years, the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs will collide in the final game of the season for NFL supremacy. The site is Las Vegas, Nevada, and the place is Allegiant Stadium. Be it a very small sample size, it’s a site where neither the Niners (1-0) nor Chiefs (4-0) have ever lost.
Full disclosure. Entering the AFC Championship Game, there was a piece penned in which Andy Reid’s team should have been Super Bowl favorites. They were underdogs at Buffalo and at Baltimore and came up with victories.
The reality is that the defending Super Bowl champions are once again not “favored” to prevail, this time in Super Bowl LVIII. The 49ers are getting the nod as of late, although who know what the line will actually be come February 11?
It makes sense that Kyle Shanahan’s club is the favorite to grab a Lombardi Trophy. Here are three seasons why.
3. Ball security is in favor of 49ers
It has been a pretty remarkable postseason when it comes to taking care of the football. The 12 winning teams to date have committed a total of three turnovers. The Chiefs have two of them, lost fumbles by Clyde Edwards-Helaire (vs. Dolphins) and Mecole Hardman (vs. Bills). San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy was picked off in the NFC title game vs. the Lions.
In 19 total contests this season, the 49ers have committed a total of 20 turnovers. On the other hand, Andy Reid’s Chiefs have given up the ball 30 times in 20 overall outings. That bears watching on Super Sunday.
2. Nick Bosa vs. Jawaan Taylor is a mismatch
It’s been an interesting two-season stretch for 49ers’ defensive end Nick Bosa. In 2022, he led the league with 18.5 sacks, earned All-Pro honors and was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. However, the second-overall pick in 2019 draft failed to come up with a quarterback trap in three postseason outings.
In 2023, there was a preseason holdout. However, he got his new deal and played in every game this season. He led the Niners with 10.5 sacks, down considerably from a year ago. Bosa was second in the league in quarterback hits (35), but those numbers were down from a season ago as well when he led the entire NFL (48). Then again, after not getting sack against the Packers in the divisional round, he dropped Jared Goff twice in the NFC title game.
All told, the five-year pro has played in a total of 11 postseason contest and has gotten to opposing quarterbacks 10 times. He had four sacks during the team’s 2019 Super Bowl IV run and followed that up with 4 more sacks in the 2020 playoffs
Bosa promises to be a handful for Chiefs’ right tackle Jawaan Taylor. If he can force Patrick Mahomes into a couple of miscues, it could make life easier for a San Francisco offense in terms of field position.
1. Christian McCaffrey is a difference maker for 49ers
He was the first 49ers’ player to lead the NFL in rushing yards since Pro Football Hall of Fame running back in 1954. Along with Miami Dolphins’ running back Raheem Mostert, the seven-year pro led the league with 21 total touchdowns. That made him the first Niners’ player to since Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice in 1983 to pace the NFL in this category.
Running back Christian McCaffrey also led the NFL with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and earned All-Pro honors for the second time in his career. He ran for a career-best 1,459 yards and 14 scores plus caught 67 passes for 564 yards and seven touchdowns.
In the divisional playoffs, he totaled 98 yards and two scores on the ground in the comeback win over the Packers. There were 20 attempts for 90 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Niners rallied to beat the Lions in the NFC Championship Game.
San Francsico finished third in the league in rushing in 2023. Meanwhile, while the Chiefs were the league’s second-ranked defense this season, they were a mediocre 18th in the NFL vs. the run. Josh Allen and the Bills tagged Steve Spagnuolo’s defense for 182 rushing yards in a losing effort.
Could the Niners turn this into a lesson in power football?