There are only a few days left until the Super Bowl showdown between the 49ers and Chiefs, but it’s hard to predict who will win.
On the one hand, can you really bet against Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs? But on the other hand, the Niners have looked like the best team in the NFL for most of the year, while the Chiefs have struggled with their offensive performance. We won the match not because of it, but despite our offensive performance.
Who better than Kansas City’s AFC West rivals to provide insight into how the Niners can beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl 58?
Michael Peterson “Volts from the Blue”
The 2023 regular season showed us a different type of Chiefs team than we’re used to seeing in recent years. They were still one of the better teams in the NFL, but somehow looked…deadly? Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Andy Reid built one of the league’s best dynasties. Last season, however, it looked like the offense would finally take over the AFC championship.
Oh, how wrong we all were.
Despite some offensive issues, Kansas City’s defense went from a middling group to one of the best in the NFL during the 2023 offseason. For years, Mahomes and others have been on the other side of the ball, as holding opponents to 28 points or less was basically enough to ensure a strong offense had the upper hand. There aren’t many teams that can afford to make mistakes like that. But this season, the Chiefs didn’t have to be all-world offensively to win games. They finished the 2023 regular season as the NFL’s second-ranked defense in points and yards per game.
Players like defensive tackle Chris Jones (10.5 sacks), edge rusher George Karlaftis (10.5 sacks) and cornerback Rajarius Snead (2 interceptions) are all on the field for the team. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has done a great job this season, without which the Chiefs might not even have made the playoffs this year.
Offensively, the Chiefs had to contend with drop issues early in the season with a young group of receivers, particularly former first-round pick Kadarius Toney. Rookie wideout Lachie Rice quickly established himself as Mahomes’ favorite target outside of all the tight ends, finishing the year with just under 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns.
Throughout the team’s three playoff games, Kelce somehow managed to turn back the clock and revive his performance through the first three games of the playoffs. He appeared in the Super Bowl, completing 23 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns. This total is the third-highest of his career, and he needs one more touchdown to match his playoff career high.
One of the unsung heroes of the 2023 Chiefs offense has to be second-year running back Isaiah Pacheco. While all the memes about his running style get the most attention, the seventh-round pick out of Rutgers had a career year with 935 rushing yards, 244 receiving yards, and nine total touchdowns. I thoroughly enjoyed it. You can make fun of him all you want, saying he’s like a kid trying on new sneakers at Foot Locker, but if you don’t give him the respect he deserves, his explosive speed will catch defenses off guard.
Finally, it would be a mistake not to mention kicker Harrison Butker. This guy is as important to the Chiefs dynasty as anyone because he has ice water flowing through his veins during every high-pressure moment. Other than the Ravens’ Justin Tucker, I don’t think there’s a kicker you can trust more in a critical moment. Butler has missed just two of his 35 field goal attempts this season, with all five of his attempts being 50 yards or more.
Tim Lynch “Mile High Report”
Yes, I got something new kansas city chiefs This is his fourth Super Bowl appearance in five seasons. What better way to root for their demise than to show how they happened? san francisco 49ers can follow themselves denver broncosA blueprint to beat them in Super Bowl LVIII.
The Broncos have faced the Chiefs twice this season, and their offense stepped up in both games. In Kansas City, The defense held them to just 19 points. After the loss, Patrick Mahomes and his offense scored just nine points in Denver. Broncos win 24-9. That’s about the only 14 points per game any team in the NFL can get against their offense.
But how did Denver do it? To answer that question, we have to look at how Denver was able to limit the Chiefs’ scoring opportunities in the red zone. You can’t stop a team like the Chiefs from gaining yards, so you have to focus on staying out of the end zone.
Denver achieved these results in a variety of ways. Putting pressure on Mahomes, getting turnovers and even third-and-fourth down stops. I’ll ignore that even though Denver was +2 overall in two games, as relying on turnovers and generating them when needed can be tricky.
Third/fourth down efficiency
The only way to get off the field without a turnover is to kick it on downs or force a turnover. That’s what Denver did with surprising frequency against Mahomes and the Chiefs. In two games, Kansas City went 7-of-23 on third down and a laughable 1-of-4 on fourth down. When you include turnovers on downs, Denver’s turnover differential actually finished at +4. That’s huge against a team like Kansas City.
The problem here is that the 49ers defense was literally terrible coming off the field on third down. They were ranked 27th in the NFL, but they actually did worse than that, as they ended up in last place by a wide margin.However, they were slightly better Keep your team out of the end zone — much better than the actual Denver. That’s the real point of the Kansas City game. Limit touchdowns.
pressure, pressure, pressure
You can limit touchdowns by going after Patrick Mahomes and making his day a living hell. This might be the closest comparison between Denver and San Francisco that I know of.both teams Generated pressure is below average, but in the case of the Broncos, they showed up against Kansas City. San Francisco must do the same.
Nothing sets the Chiefs back more than a long drive that ends with zero points. In a close game like the Broncos’ 24-9 win over the Chiefs, that can be the difference between winning and losing.
The 49ers have a shot at quarterback. They were seventh in the league in sacks but 16th in pressure rate. To fix this, they may need to try something new at the Super Bowl. Vance Joseph and the Broncos’ defense had the fifth-highest blitz percentage in the NFL last season, while the 49ers were 30th in blitz percentage. Perhaps Andy Reid and the Chiefs might throw a curve ball with an additional blitz package exclusive to this game. Watch the Broncos film and see how they caused havoc and turnovers with Mahomes’ blitz.
final thoughts
The 49ers and Chiefs both played solid defense against conceded points, so you would expect a lower-scoring game if it wasn’t the Super Bowl. Crazy things happen in the Super Bowl, so I’m not stupid enough to predict a defensive battle in this game. Despite being two of only three teams that gave up fewer than 300 points last season, I expect a lot of offense to happen between punts.
That being said, San Francisco will need to heat up Mahomes and force him to make errant pitches. If they just sit back and try to defend, he will pick them apart with his improvisational skills. The Chiefs’ offense has been questionable this season, but they don’t want to tempt fate by putting No. 15 on their back. If you annoy him, the path to victory will become much easier.
Bill Williamson, Silver & Black Pride
as san francisco 49ers Find a way to get information on how to defeat. kansas city chiefs For Super Bowl LVIII, you might want to study the tape of the Chiefs’ two games against their AFC West rivals in detail. las vegas raiders In 2023.
But the problem for the 49ers is that they might be a little confused after watching the Raiders and Chiefs in two games this season. The matches between the two teams were quite different.
In Week 12, the Chiefs defeated the Raiders 31-17 on the road at Allegiant Stadium. For comparison, the Chiefs are 4-0 since the Raiders began playing in Las Vegas in 2020. Of course, this will be the first time the Super Bowl will be held in Las Vegas.
A month later, on Christmas Day, the Raiders returned the favor on the road by dominating the Chiefs in their lone game in front of a national audience, defeating the Flat Chiefs 20-14. It was only the second time in 11 years that the Raiders won at Arrowhead Stadium, one week late on the Chiefs’ bid to win their eighth straight AFC West title.
Again, these two matches were different.
In fact, the Raiders flew all over Kansas City to start the game in Las Vegas. The Raiders took a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. Then the Chiefs (who overcame a 17-0 deficit to defeat the Raiders in Kansas City in the 2022 season) woke up and took complete control of the game, beating the Raiders 31-3 in less than three quarters.
The Chiefs completely throttled the Raiders after the Raiders took an early lead.
After the game, Las Vegas cornerback Amik Robertson made headlines when he said the Raiders had “more dogs” than the Chiefs. There was some skepticism that the Chiefs beat the Raiders for most of the game and that they are the defending Super Bowl champions.
Still, Robertson’s demeanor set the tone for the Raiders heading into the game at Arrowhead Stadium.The Raiders, who entered Week 16 with a 6-8 record and finished the season with an 8-9 record, were already feeling good after a 63-21 win over Los Angeles. chargerset a team record for points scored.
That led interim coach Antonio Pierce (who essentially won the permanent job that day) to believe the Raiders could pull off an upset in Kansas City. Pierce’s play was to punch the Chiefs in the face and beat them. That’s exactly what they did.
The Raiders looked like the more focused and interested team from the first kickoff. This was surprising since the Chiefs were playing a holiday game at home with a chance to win the division and the Raiders had a slim chance of making the playoffs.
The Raiders’ physical play was most evident up front on both sides of the ball. The defensive line manhandled the Chiefs’ offensive line, making Patrick Mahomes uncomfortable throughout the game.
Offensively, the Raiders wore Kansas City down on the ground, finishing with 157 rushing yards. Acquiring Christian McCaffrey to shred the Chiefs’ underrated defense and keep Mahomes off the field is definitely something the 49ers would like to learn from the Raiders’ win in Kansas City.
The Chiefs’ defense helped the Raiders by allowing two points, dropping a few passes, taking ill-timed penalties and missing a potential field goal. However, the Raiders outplayed them and earned the victory.
Kansas City’s coach recently said the loss set off a wake-up call for the team, which has won five straight since then. Since that game, Kansas City has looked like a different team.
So it’s hard to tell if the 49ers can learn anything from the Raiders-Chiefs game. Their best bet is to try to replicate the Raiders’ pass rush attack with a formidable defense.
Making Mahomes uncomfortable and pulling him out of his comfort zone paved the way for the Raiders to win. If the 49ers can do the same, they’ll probably hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
