By Noel D’Amico
The stage is set for Super Bowl LVIII. After record-breaking viewership during Conference Championship weekend, the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are off to Vegas.
Kansas City is looking to win back-to-back Super Bowls, defeating the Eagles last year in Super Bowl LVII, while the Niners have unfinished business, losing the Super Bowl to the Chiefs in 2020.
Before the big game, here are the key things you need to know.
Chiefs Defense vs. 49ers Offense
The Chiefs defense have the second-rank defense this season. This Chiefs defense held Lamar and the Ravens to one touchdown in the AFC Championship game. San Francisco’s inside line will face Chris Jones, who has 10.5 sacks this season.
They’ll face the 49ers, who are ranked second in offense. There’s no shortage of weapons on this offense: Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and MVP candidate Christian McCaffery, to name a few.
The 49ers are 12-1 when CMC rushes for 75+ yards. He rushed for 90 and scored two touchdowns against the Lions in the NFC Championship. This will be McCaffery’s first Super Bowl appearance.
49ers Defense vs. Chiefs Offense
The Chiefs have had some struggles on offense during the regular season. Their average points per game were 12th in the NFL, the lowest in the Mahomes era. But with Rashee Rice, Isiah Pacheco, and a star-tight end, the Chiefs’ offense poses a threat.
Travis Kelce’s season has been a big topic of conversation on and off the field. Kelce has 70+ yards in each game during the playoffs, the most playoff receptions of any player in history.
The Niner defense has done a great job holding tight ends throughout the season. Fred Warner won’t make Kelce’s job easy on Sunday.
Nick Bosa is another threat to the 49ers’ defense. He has 10.5 sacks this season, two against Jared Goff in the playoffs.
The QBs
Besides being Mr. Irrelevant, there have been a lot of Purdy doubters and critics this season. Leading his team to comebacks in the divisional and championship games this postseason has quieted much of that doubt.
Brock Purdy now holds the franchise record for single-season passing yards with 4,280 yards – next to names like Joe Montana and Steve Young.
Purdy is a current MVP candidate, but 2x MVP winner Patrick Mahomes is on the other side. While this has not been Mahomes’ most record-breaking season, he’s led his team to another Super Bowl. It was their fourth Super Bowl appearance in the past six years.
Mahomes has faced the most adverse playoff run of his career. The Chiefs didn’t get the bye week this season, and Mahomes played his first away playoff game against the Bills in the Divisional Round.
This will be the first time these teams face each other this year, which makes for an exciting match-up.
Super Bowl LVIII will occur on Sunday, February 11, at 6:30 p.m. and be televised on CBS.