Super Bowl 54 Preview
Danny Murray, Zac Kaye, Ben Geller and Tommy Calpin preview Super Bowl 54:
The Kansas City Chiefs (14-4) will take on the San Francisco 49ers (15-3) in Super Bowl 54 at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 2 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.
The main storyline going into this game is the explosive Chiefs offense against the dominant San Francisco defense.
The Chiefs offense is led by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who has had an outstanding postseason so far, as he has thrown for 615 yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions in two games. The Chiefs have one of the best pass catching units in the entire NFL led by Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins. All three of them have eclipsed 100 yards receiving thus far in the postseason, as well as at least one touchdown.
The weak part of the Chiefs offense in the playoffs has been the run game. Starting running back Damien Williams is averaging just 3.2 yards per carry for a total of 92 yards through two postseason games. A lot of the struggles in the run game have to do with the Chiefs neglecting to establish the run. They have left it up to Mahomes to completely carry the offense, which has worked to this point.
The Chiefs defense isn’t anything to get excited about, as they have given up over 360 yards per game this postseason and have allowed at least 24 points in each game.
The 49ers, unlike the Chiefs, have been led by a dominant run game this postseason. Raheem Mostert is coming off a game against the Packers where he rushed for 220 yards and four touchdowns. Fellow running back Tevin Coleman had a strong performance in the divisional around against the Vikings, with a total of 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo hasn’t had to do much of anything in the postseason, as he has totaled just 27 pass attempts. In the previous game against the Packers he threw just eight passes, completing six of them for 77 yards.
The dominant 49ers defense has been especially stout against the run this postseason, allowing just 41.5 rushing yards a game.
Despite the 49ers dominant defense, expect this game to be a high scoring one due to the explosiveness of the Chiefs offense, as well as the not-so-great Kansas City defense. The Chiefs have scored 51 and 31 points, respectively, against the Texans and the Titans. The 49ers offense has been effective too, putting up 27 and 37 points in their two postseason games.
The key to a Chiefs victory is going to be stopping the 49ers run game and making Jimmy Garoppolo beat them. If they allow the 49ers to run all over them, the Chiefs are going to have a really hard time trying to win this game.
The Chiefs will be able to pull this out by slowing down the 49ers run game, paired with Patrick Mahomes and the high-powered offense keeping it going.
Prediction: Chiefs 38, 49ers 34
Gabe Angieri is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email gabeangieri24@gmail.com.
