It’s official! The Kansas City Chiefs will take on the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. My Conference Championship picks were correct with the Chiefs and Niners winning their games. The San Francisco 49ers are the top seed in the NFC, so they had a bye week for the Wild Card round. They defeated the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round 24-21 to advance to the NFC title game. In that game, the Niners they rallied being down by 17 points to defeat the Detroit Lions to advance to the Super Bowl. Kansas City began their road to the Super Bowl with a 26-7 win over Miami in the Wild Card round. The Chiefs went to Buffalo and edged the Bills 27-24 to go back to the AFC Championship. They went to Baltimore and defeated the top seeded Ravens 17-10 en route to another Super Bowl appearance.
The San Francisco 49ers will meet the Kansas City Chiefs for the second time in four years. The Chiefs defeated the Niners 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV. There have been a lot of changes with both teams over these last four years. Patrick Mahomes is still the best quarterback in the league as he moved up the all-time list. Kansas City has a great running game to go along with an amazing defense. The San Francisco 49ers have replaced Jimmy Garoppolo with Brock Purdy. Purdy has been under scrutiny ever since Cam Newton said he was a game manager. The Niners have Christian McCaffrey this time and he’s the best running back in the league. Are the Niners primed to finally bring home their 6th Super Bowl franchise win? Let’s see who leaves Super Bowl LVIII as the new champions?
Offense
Quarterback
Brock Purdy will most likely finish within the top-5 in voting for league MVP. Purdy has had an amazing season outside that bad 3-game stretch. Either way, he an upgrade from Jimmy Garoppolo because he can protect the ball better. With Patrick Mahomes, is there a better quarterback in the league than him now? In his six years as the Chiefs starter, Patrick Mahomes is going to his 4th Super Bowl. In all six of those years, he’s reached the AFC Championship game in everyone. Advantage: Patrick Mahomes & the Chiefs
Running Backs
Christian McCaffrey is another MVP candidate and leader in yards from scrimmage for a running back. McCaffrey can beat you running or catching the ball out of the backfield. Isiah Pacheco has become one of the better running backs in the league. Pacheco’s hard-nosed style of running prevents him from being tackled by one person. Pacheco is useful out of the backfield catching the ball also. In the end, McCaffrey is the best running back in the league and there’s a reason he was an MVP candidate. Advantage: Christian McCaffrey & the 49ers
Wide Receivers
San Francisco has an elite set of wide receivers at their disposal. Deebo Samuel is a threat catching the ball and running the ball out of the backfield. Samuel showed what kind of threat he can be when he went off against the Eagles. Brandon Aiyuk is as physically gifted as any other receiver in the league. The third option is Jauan Jennings and he’s someone that comes up with catches when needed the most. Kansas City has struggled throughout the season at the wide receiver position. They dropped a lot of balls, and they just didn’t show up throughout the season. Rashee Rice has emerged as his #1 receiver as the rookie finished the season with 79 catches. The 49ers receiving core is much better than the one for the Chiefs. Advantage: San Francisco 49ers
Tight Ends
We have a battle between two of the best tight ends in the NFL. Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs and George Kittle from the Niners. They both are game changers and can take over a game any given second. Kelce is arguably one of the best to ever do it and it was on display in the AFC title game. Kelce finished with 11 catches, 116 yards and a touchdown. Despite the Taylor Swift craze, Kelce has shown up in meaningful situations. Kittle had 3 catches for 27 yards in the NFC Championship game. Kittle is one of the best running blocking tight ends in the game. Does his contribution outweigh Kelce’s? This is a hard one, but I’m going with the Chiefs and Travis Kelce. Advantage: Kansas City Chiefs
Offensive Line
Trent Williams is the best offensive line on either side of the ball. The future Hall-of-Famer doesn’t allow sacks and very few pressures. Creed Humphrey is one of the best centers in the league for the Chiefs. The Niners have a solid offensive line, but Brock Purdy has moments where he’s running for his life. The Chiefs offensive line has its moments, but they do a good job protecting Mahomes. When the Chiefs lost to the Bucs in the Super Bowl they made a conscious effort to revamp the line. They have done a great job, but they have their hands full with the Niners in the Super Bowl. Advantage: Kansas City Chiefs
Defense
Defensive Line
Both defensive lines are two of the best in the NFL. The 49ers are led by Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead, and they can apply pressure with the best of them. Kansas City is led by Chris Jones and George Karlaftis. The Niners went all in by adding Randy Gregory and Chase Young to an already impressive defensive line. There have been times during the season that the Niners defensive line was dominant. They have shown signs of weakness lately and could have issues with the Chiefs offensive line. Just like the Niners, the Chiefs defensive line is one of their strengths. They have had moments where they dominated also, but overall, they’re a great group. This is a toss up for me because they both have better than average defensive lines. Advantage: Neither
Linebackers
Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers is arguably the best linebacker in the NFL. Warner is great at stopping the run, finding the ball and can also cover when needed to. Dre Greenlaw is just as good as Warner and a very physical player. Greenlaw had those two interceptions in the Divisional Round against the Packers. Kansas City also possesses some great linebackers also. Nick Bolton has emerged as one of the better, young linebackers in the league. The 3rd year Bolton is everywhere on the field and he’s the one that caused Hurts to fumble in last year’s Super Bowl. It was the deciding play to a damn near perfect game by Hurts. Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw trumps the Chiefs linebacker core, but they’re good. Advantage: San Francisco 49ers
Secondary
Both secondaries have Pro Bowl caliber talent. The Chiefs are led by Trent McDuffie and L’Jarius Sneed at the cornerback position. They are as good as anyone else in the league. As we remember, it was Sneed who made the touchdown saving strip of Zay Flowers in the AFC title game. Justin Reid leads a young, but capable safety crew that has had their moments this year. Overall, the secondary of the Chiefs is top-tier and one of the best in the league. The Niners is led by Deommodore Lenoir and Charvarius Ward the Cornerback position. San Francisco is missing Talanoa Hufanga who went down earlier in the season with an ACL injury. They have done their best to replace him, but he was a difference maker on the backend. I’m giving the Chiefs the slight edge in the secondary. Advantage: Kansas City Chiefs
Who Wins Super Bowl LVIII?
Who wins Super Bowl LVIII? As you see, both teams are great in every category mentioned above. The Chiefs have a slight 4-3 advantage with the defensive line being even in my opinion. Will Brock Purdy lead the Niners to another championship to the franchise? Can he shake the game manager label in the process? Can Mahomes bring home his 3rd championship and continue to solidify his legacy? The running games will be huge in this matchup and McCaffrey is the best in the game. Pacheco can wear down the Niners defense with his physical style of running. The play action will be huge for Mahomes, and his receivers will show up in the Super Bowl. In a tough game, I’m picking the Chiefs and Mahomes to leave Vegas as the champions. Kansas City Wins Super Bowl LVIII 26-24
