One of the biggest days in sports is set to go down this Sunday in Miami.
Super Bowl LIV will feature the 49ers and the Chiefs, two teams looking for their first title in decades.
Both squads emerged as early favorites to win this game, and for good reason. They are both excellent football teams.
The 49ers had to fend off their division rivals in Seattle to win the first seed in the playoffs. But once they secured the top seed, they cruised all the way through to the Big Game.
The Chiefs, on the other hand, were the second seed behind the explosive Ravens. The Titans took care of the Ravens in the divisional round, much to everyone’s surprise. So all the Chiefs had to do was move past the Wild Card Titans in the AFC Championship.
There’s no doubt that these teams both deserve to play in this game. They have the talent, the leadership, and the hard work to prove it.
Now we get to watch what should be one of the best football games of the year.
If you are new to football, new to either of these teams, or just curious, here’s what to watch for in the Super Bowl.
Defense wins championships
In an era of offensive explosion, defense goes criminally undervalued year by year.
The Chiefs’ offense looks like it is impossible to stop, but they haven’t faced a defense like the 49ers’.
One reason the 49ers made it all the way to the big game is because of their defense. Theirs is one of the best-rounded defenses in the league.
Both defenses are front-heavy. Nick Bosa and Dee Ford headline the unstoppable rotation of defensive linemen for the 49ers. The Chiefs don’t lack linemen, though, as Chris Jones, Frank Clark, and the ageless Terrell Suggs lead the charge.
This will be an interesting matchup, as both teams also have above average offensive lines. The Chiefs defensive line against the 49ers running game will be especially important.
Both teams also have great secondaries. The 49ers finished first in the NFL in passing defense. The Chiefs were not far behind at eighth. With star players on both sides like Richard Sherman and Tyrann Mathieu, the wide receivers will have to put in some extra effort to get open.
In the regular season, the Chiefs were seventh in points per game, with 19.2. The 49ers were eighth, with 19.4. So while the offenses are certainly capable of putting points on the board, these defenses are coming to play.
Why is this so important?
There is some truth to the old adage “defense wins championships.” Of all of the times that the league’s best defense has played the league’s best defense in the Super Bowl, the team with the best defense has won seven out of eight.
Two recent examples include Super Bowl XLVIII and Super Bowl LI.
In Super Bowl XLVIII, the Broncos came in boasting one of the best offenses the NFL had ever seen. They were smoked by the Seahawks‘ defense, scoring a single touchdown and a two-point conversion.
In Super Bowl LI, the Falcons did jump out to a 28-3 lead thanks to their league-leading offense. But the Patriots shut their offense down long enough to take the game into overtime, and eventually steal the Lombardi Trophy from the Falcons.
So while you might look at the Chiefs’ offense and wonder how any team stops it, keep in mind the impact a great defense has on a game.
And, yes, the Chiefs have an astounding offense. But it’s not even the league’s best in 2019. The Chiefs were sixth in total yards and fifth in points. Guess which team was ahead of them in both categories.
(It’s the 49ers, who were third and second, respectively, in those categories.)
This game has the potential to be a shootout, but a defensive battle isn’t at all outside the realm of possibilities.
The ball catchers
The Chiefs boast some of the scariest wide receivers in the league. The combo of Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman compose the fastest combination of receivers imaginable. It’s a guarantee that one, if not both, of these players will score a touchdown of 50 or more yards.
Don’t sleep on the 49ers receivers, though. While not quite as polished, Deebo Samuel among others are a squad full of raw talent. The 49ers also traded for veteran Emmanuel Sanders to round out the group.
These wideouts will be fun enough to watch, but this Super Bowl is also giving us something we have never seen before.
The best tight ends in the league will be playing against each other in the Super Bowl for the first time in the game’s history.
George Kittle and Travis Kelce both boast over 85 receptions, 1,000 receiving yards, 12 yards per catch and five touchdowns. The fact that two tight ends have this kind of production in the same year is unusual. The fact that they are both playing in the Super Bowl is unprecedented.
This will give both quarterbacks a huge boost. Speaking of quarterbacks…
The quarterbacks
Patrick Mahomes has become a fan favorite around the NFL, and is starting to emerge as the face of the league. Everyone will be tuned in to watch Mahomes sling the pigskin.
Mahomes is clearly a talented quarterback, earning sixth place in rating for QBs with more than 200 attempts.
But the seventh-place QB is this 49ers counterpart, Jimmy Garappolo.
When you look at the 49ers rushing attack, you might be tempted to slap the old “game manager” label on Garoppolo. But he is just as good a passer as you can find in the league. With nearly 4,000 yards, 27 touchdowns, and a 69 percentage completion rate, he’s the real deal.
Sure, he’s not the phenomenon that Mahomes is. But he can get it done through the air when he needs to, which complements the ground game perfectly.
The chess match within the game
One final aspect of this game that could be interesting is the battle between the two head coaches.
Andy Reid wears the headset for the Chiefs, and is widely considered around the league to be the best at what he does. His offenses are always creative and exciting to watch. He loves to use motion and misdirection to create favorable matchups, and isn’t afraid to go for the home run.
Kyle Shanahan, on the other hand, is one of the league’s up and coming playcallers. He is good at breaking tendencies and using the defense’s strengths against them.
Not only is this going to be a chess match between two expert playcallers, but each head coach has something to prove.
Reid is 207-128-1 as a head coach, which is good enough for seventh all-time and second among active coaches. But in the postseason, he’s 14-14, including 4-5 with the Chiefs. He’s been to one Super Bowl, but lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.
He wants to right the ship and prove that he is among the best in NFL history. The lack of Lombardi Trophies is something that his critics are quick to bring up, so Reid would love to get that monkey off his back.
Shanahan has his own Super Bowl demons, also. He was the offensive coordinator for the Falcons in Super Bowl LI, when the offense went silent for the greater part of two quarters. He has certainly grown as a playcaller since then, but will be eager to put that game behind him with a win in Miami.
What are you most excited about in Super Bowl LIV? Comment below: