The rematch between juggernauts.
On Sunday, February 11th, the 2023-2024 season will conclude with the 2019-2020 Super Bowl rematch between the top seeded San Francisco 49ers (12-5) and the three seeded Kansas City Chiefs (11-6). With history on the line, let’s take a look at the main story lines headlining the big game.
When he starts on Sunday, Brock Purdy will be the first quarterback with the title “Mr. Irrelevant” to start in the Super Bowl. Making history is nothing new to Purdy, as last year he became the first quarterback picked last to win a playoff start. He will now look to join former Buccaneers kicker Ryan Succop and former Patriots linebacker Marty Moore to win a championship as the last pick of their drafts.
With the Chiefs appearing in back to back Super Bowls, a win will almost certainly mark them as a dynasty. Led by former Texas Tech QB and the 2017 10th overall pick, Patrick Mahomes has asserted himself as the face of the current NFL. With former weapons of his moving elsewhere (Tyreek Hill going to Miami and Juju Smith-Schuster to New England) he has still managed to keep the Chiefs in the playoff hunt every year. Now having a top 5 defense in the NFL, the Chiefs are looking to prove that they will be this decades’ Patriots.
Kyle Shanahan’s past Super Bowl chances have been a story of fumbled leads. His first appearance was in the Offensive Coordinator role with the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, facing Tom Bradys’ Patriots. In that game, the Falcons possessed a 28-3 lead with 2:07 left in the 3rd quarter. The Falcons then went on to lose the game in overtime, 35-28. Shanahan’s second Super Bowl appearance was as the head coach of the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. Who did he face? A sophomore quarterback who had taken the league by storm earlier in the year, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. In that game, the Niners went on to lose while leading 20-10 with 7:13 left in the 4th quarter. They went onto lose 31-20 to the Chiefs, giving Patrick Mahomes his first super bowl. This year, Shanahan looks to turnaround his legacy. He enters his third Super Bowl 0-2.
Super Bowl LVIII will be the ninth time there has been a rematch, with the Chiefs and 49ers facing off in Super Bowl LIV to conclude the 2019 season. The last time this happened was the rematch between the Patriots and Giants in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI, with the Giants coming out victorious in both matchups. This is a legacy game for a lot of players and coaches alike.
The Chiefs started as the number three seed in the AFC. Being the winners of the AFC west, they had the opportunity to host sixth ranked Miami in the third coldest game in NFL history. Throughout the game, defense continued to prevail as the Chiefs came out on top, 19-7. Their next opponent was the Bills in the divisional round. Unlike the wild card game, they had the challenge of going into Buffalo and facing Josh Allen in unfamiliar territory. The Chiefs prevailed on a missed 44-yard field goal by Tyler Bass to venture into the AFC Championship.
They would face the 14-3 Baltimore Ravens to go to the Super Bowl. Baltimore, the number one seed in the AFC, played a very sloppy game that ended in the Chiefs punching their ticket to Vegas, with the final score being 17-7.
The 49ers clinched the NFC top with a 12-5 record after a win over the Commanders and an upset in Philadelphia by the Arizona Cardinals. After the bye week, the 49ers had the pleasure of facing the #7 seed Packers after their Arlington upset vs. the Cowboys. In rainy conditions, Brock Purdy looked shaky, and the Packers had a 21-14 lead in the 3rd quarter with 2:18 left. Jake Moody knocked down a 52-yard field goal to cut the lead to four. After a 53 yard run by Green Bay running back Aaron Jones, the Packers experienced their version of the Bears’ “Double Doink”. Rookie kicker Andres Carlson missed a 41 yard field goal, which would have extended the lead to seven.
With optimal field position, Brock Purdy and the 49ers drove down 69 yards down the field while wasting five minutes off the clock. The drive finished off with a Christian McCaffrey 6-yard touchdown with a minute left. Packers QB Jordan Love attempted for a long drive down the field, but he threw a game sealing interception to send the 49ers to the NFC Championship game. The underdog Lions looked good early, jumping out to a 24-7 lead at half time. At a major disadvantage, Brock Purdy led his team to score 27 unanswered points between the beginning of quarter 3 and 1:00 left in quarter 4. Due to this offensive eruption, the 49ers would be going to Vegas to face the winners of the AFC, a rematch with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
With both of the best offensive teams in the league battling each other, it will be up to both of these top defenses to stop them. The 49ers look to bring home their first Super Bowl since the Jerry Rice era in 1994, while the Chiefs look to become back to back champions and officially establish their dynasty.
