Superbowl 54 Preview
49ers vs Chiefs
Advantages
Pass Offense: Chiefs
Run Offense: 49ers
Defense: 49ers
Momentum: Chiefs
Coaching: Tie
Health: Tie
Experience: 49ers
Analytics: Tie
Favored: Chiefs
Here we go baby, for all the marbles, Chiefs vs 49ers. If you can't get excited for this, you are not a football fan. Hands down the two best teams in the NFL, I haven't been able to sleep this whole week, I'm too excited. We have a historic quarterback, a historic passing game, a historic running game, a historic defense, and two historic tight ends. I think it's safe to say this game will be one for the ages. I truly believe this could potentially be the greatest super bowl of all time. Now let's get into it. I want to start with the coaches in this matchup. We have single handedly the two best offensive minds in the NFL with this matchup. We've got the young, breakout star with Kyle Shanahan vs one of the greatest coaches of all time trying to win his first super bowl with Andy Reid. If there's one thing that I do know, it's that this will definitely be a high scoring game. I truly believe that this game will have both teams end up with scores in the 30's. This game also has the two best assistant coaches. The Chiefs have the best offensive coordinator with Eric Bieniemy and the 49ers have the best defensive coordinator with Robert Saleh. I believe that the key to this game is early down success. Which ever team does the best on first and second down will win this side of the ball. The matchup everyone is watching is the 49ers defense vs the Chiefs offense. According to analytics expert, Warren Sharpe, the Chiefs are 2-3 when they lose the EDSR battle, while the 49ers are 6-1. The 49ers are also historically the greatest defense on third down, so if San Francisco can force 3rd and mediums/longs they are in great shape. However, the 49ers defense is terrible when it comes to stopping offenses in the red zone, so if the Chiefs can get down there, they need to take advantage of the 49ers poor red zone defense. I'll give you the key to victory for the 49ers defense: keep Mahomes in the pocket, force third and longs, make the Chiefs offense slow down, run a lot of different coverages to confuse Mahomes. If Saleh runs the same cover three that he's ran all year, Mahomes will be able to dissect the 49ers defense due to all the film he watches. I'm not saying get away from that completely, but I'm saying mix other defenses in more often. They like to use lots of cover three and cover 4 on first down and man coverage on third. I want to Saleh him mix it up. Mahomes is the best quarterback outside of the pocket, so if the 49ers keep him in the pocket, he'll still be magical, but he'll be limited. One of my keys for the Chiefs offense is to run hurry up, so the 49ers can't rotate their defensive lines. If the 49ers force the Chiefs to slow down a little bit, they can get guys like Solomon Thomas and Anthony Zettle into the rotation. This goes hand to hand with my last point for San Francisco's defense which is to force the Chiefs to third down. The 49ers love to get their best pass rushers: Arik Armstead, Nick Bosa, Dee Ford, and Deforest Buckner, on the field for third down. Now it's time to for my key points for the Chiefs offense. First and foremost the Chiefs need early down success. If it's getting 6 or 7 yards at a time, the Chiefs can't take sacks on early downs, if the Chiefs are in third and long situations, that's playing into exactly what Robert Saleh wants to do. Another key point for the Chiefs offense is to get the ball to your stars, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill. The Chiefs have to take shots, Tyreek Hill is the best long ball receiver in the NFL and he's capable of out running anybody. The 49ers have two great corners, Richard Sherman and Emmanuel Mosley, but Akhello Witherspoon has had some difficulties as of late. When Witherspoon is in the game, they have to take advantage. Travis Kelce on the other hand is a mis-match against man, but a difference maker against zone. Kelce is so smart and if he sees a zone that he recognizes from film, he'll know exactly where to sit. Another key for me is to get Damien Williams going in the receiving game. Williams is an amazing receiver and is great after the catch. If he can get the ball early, he'll be a great safety blanket for Patrick Mahomes. Now it's time for the Chiefs defense vs the 49ers offense. I think this is arguably the hottest defense vs the hottest offense. Since week 13, the Chiefs are allowing just 15 points per game which is the best in the NFL. If they can find a way to stop the 49ers run game without having to key 8 guys in the box, that's huge. Chris Jones is huge in this game. He's one of the second most athletic defensive tackle in the NFL outside of Aaron Donald and he can provide fits for the 49ers offense. If he can hit Raheem Mostert before he crosses the line of scrimmage, that will change the entire scheme for the 49ers offense. Last game we saw Raheem Mostert running 30 yards without getting touched, but if Jones can get to Mostert before he crosses the line, that's huge. Another key for the Chiefs defense is for the corners to stay sticky on Emmanuel Sanders and Deebo Samuel. Sanders is one of the best route runners in the NFL and Deebo Samuel naturally creates separation with his quickness. For the 49ers offense, I have a couple of keys to victory. First and foremost, I want Jimmy Garoppolo throwing the ball. Defenses are completely underestimating just how good he is. I want the 49ers to come out slinging. The Chiefs defense is the terrible against play action passes. Kyle Shanahan has been able to save 8 quarters worth of different passing plays. Outside of the first drive vs the Vikings, Kyle Shanahan hasn't really had to throw the ball. Their run game is historic, but the Chiefs are going to stack the box against them, it's inevitable. Kyle Shanahan hasn't thrown a screen pass since the game vs the Seahawks. He's so creative at getting his playmakers the ball in space, so you know there will be a few trick plays coming. My other key to victory for the 49ers is to check Frank Clark at the line. I want George Kittle, Kendrick Bourne, Kyle Juszczyk to give Clark a nice push before they go into their route. Frank Clark gets really really hot, so if they make sure he doesn't get going early, I like their chances.
What Kyle Shanahan is focusing on: Driving Tyrann Mathieu insane with pre-snap motions.
What Andy Reid is focusing on: Throwing the ball more than ever.
Bold Predictions for the Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes catches a pass in someway (could be a double pass) and the Chiefs get a return touchdown.
Bold Predictions for the 49ers: Jimmy Garoppolo throws for over 315 yards and 0 interceptions.
What the 49ers CANNOT do: Jimmy Garoppolo CANNOT THROW INTERCEPTIONS and the 49ers cannot have over 7 penalties.
What the Chiefs CANNOT do: The Chiefs can't let Deebo Samuel run free on reverses and cannot let Raheem Mostert average 5 yards per carry.
Superbowl Guarantees: I guarantee you each team will score over 27 points. Patrick Mahomes won't lose the Chiefs the game while Kyle Shanahan won't lose the 49ers the game.
If the Chiefs win it will be because... Patrick Mahomes throws for over 350 yards and 3 touchdowns. Mahomes is on the biggest stage and has confidence built in his veins. If Mahomes gets kept clean, I can't see him losing the Chiefs this game.
If the 49ers win it will be because... Kyle Shanahan has been storing pass plays for over 3 weeks. Shanahan definitely has something special coming.
Final Stat Predictions:
Jimmy Garoppolo 27/33 306 yards 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions
Patrick Mahomes 35/47 454 yards 4 touchdowns 1 interception
Damien Williams 9 carries 27 yards, 4 receptions 31 yards 1 rec. touchdown
Raheem Mostert 18 carries 105 yards 1 touchdown
Tevin Coleman 6 carries 42 yards, 2 receptions 10 yards 1 rec. touchdown
Deebo Samuel 6 catches 74 yards 1 touchdown, 3 carries 34 yards
Travis Kelce 13 receptions 140 yards 2 touchdowns
George Kittle 6 catches 84 yards
Tyreek Hill 6 catches 105 yards 1 touchdown
Emmanuel Sanders 7 catches 77 yards
Kendrick Bourne 3 catches 21 yards 1 touchdown
Sammy Watkins 4 catches 31 yards
Mecole Hardman 1 catch 17 yards, 2 carries 10 yards
Frank Clark 1.5 Sacks, 1 Forced Fumble
Arik Armstead 2 sacks
Chris Jones 0.5 sacks
Dee Ford 1 sack, 1 Forced Fumble
Derrick Nnadi 1 sack
Deforest Buckner 0.5 sacks
Nick Bosa 0.5 sacks
Kwon Alexander 8 tackles 1 interception
Terrell Suggs 4 tackles
Fred Warner 13 tackles 2 PBU
Anthony Hitchens 11 tackles
Harrison Butker 2/2 on Field Goals and has a perfect day
Robbie Gould 1/2 on Field Goals and goes perfect with extra points
Final Score
Chiefs 34 vs 49ers 38
Offensive MVP: Jimmy Garoppolo
Defensive MVP: Kwon Alexander













