*This post was already pre-written and was initially supposed to be posted on Sunday. But due to the sudden, tragic death of Kobe Bryant, daughter Gigi, and the 7 other victims who were on board the deadly helicopter crash, the posting of this was delayed. As I continue to mourn with fellow Laker fans and the rest of the sports world, we will try to rebound and move forward. This post shall be the first step in the healing process.*
*Some NSFW language*
Ahhhh, the New England Patriots are not featured in this matchup. No boring, predictable Super Bowl outcomes. This year should be interesting...but they feature the two teams that Raider Nation hates all too well: a bitter AFC West rival and an ex-geographical rival. Whoever wins this, it will leave a sour taste in our mouths. This is your Super Bowl LIV preview between the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers and the AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs. Let's see how these two teams matchup.
San Francisco 49ers
Before the 2019 season started, nobody expected the 49ers to do anything special. Most expected this team to finish 3-13 and in last place in the NFC West. And they were a great unknown. Jimmy Garoppolo was coming off an ACL tear, which hindered his significant progress as a franchise quarterback and the "buying in" to Kyle Shanahan's system. There were so many moving parts with this team and nobody took them seriously as contender. Even when they had the top pick to land Nick Bosa, everybody expected the 49ers to make some strides as a rebuilding team, not as contender.
When the season started, all that rebuilding talk went out the window. As the season progressed, the 49ers acquired their team identity. They were a team that was built to run the football to set up play action on offense and had a defense that can get after the quarterback and capitalize in turnovers. Their heavy run game is headed by a three-headed monster in Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert, and Matt Brieda. Though by season's end it became a 1-2 punch with Coleman and Mostert. Outside of that, the 49ers do have some decent weapons for the passing game. George Kittle followed up from his breakout year last season and emerged as one of the best Tight Ends in the game. Deebo Samuel emerged as a big play receiver and John Lynch was able to give the receiving unit more help with the acquisition of Emmanuel Sanders. On defense, Robert Saleh did an outstanding job coordinating this unit as one of the best in the league, harkening back to their vaunted front seven in early part of the previous decade. They have a good blend of youth and experience on that unit. They have Nick Bosa, who's as advertised as a pass rusher coming out of the draft as well as Dee Ford, DeForest Buckner, and Arik Armstead to shore up that D-line. Kwon Alexander, Tre Greenlaw, and Fred Warner make up a solid linebacker corps. And of course, they have Richard Sherman patrolling the secondary.
Despite the 49ers starting out hot with a perfect 8-0 record, there was still some skepticism on whether or not this team was a contender. And yes, they had an easy schedule to start against teams that are .500 or worst. The 49ers were winning games, but are they for real? That was the question everyone's asking. Well, they proved that in the toughest part of their stretch, destroying Green Bay at home and piling up with gutsy road wins in New Orleans and Seattle to secure the NFC West and the number 1 seed in the NFC. From there, it was easy pickings against Minnesota in the divisional round and Green Bay again in the NFC Championship, two fringe teams in the NFC North.
Kansas City Chiefs
Unlike the 49ers, we expected the Chiefs to bounce back after a tough loss in last year's AFC Championship game against the Patriots. No one can deny that Patrick Mahomes is the quarterback of the next generation after an MVP season last year. As the Raiders face them twice every year, we pretty much know what this team is capable of. They got weapons: an elite Tight End in Travis Kelce and a whole lot of speed on the receiving corps consisting of Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Mecole Hardman, and Demarcus Robinson. This allows Mahomes to sling the ball at will and he's also backed by a decent running game headed by Damien Williams (if only Kareem Hunt didn't f*ck himself).
The Chiefs, as expected jumped out of the gate with a 4-0 start to the season. Then, things started taking a nose dive just a little bit. If you look back at that Sunday Night game against Indianapolis, Mahomes tweaked something in his knee. He was clearly hobbled the next two games and then on the Thursday Night game against Denver, that knee injury gave way on a QB sneak. And you know, Kansas City's offense carries the heavy load since their defense is a very liable unit. Funny enough, since Mahomes went out, the defense stepped up their game for a bit. Speaking of defense, they made some major changes from last year. Out goes Bob Sutton, in comes Steve Spagnuolo as defensive coordinator. They added Frank Clark and Tyrann Mathieu to shore up the unit. Yet, they still had some problems, particularly in the run defense. For the time Mahomes was out, the Chiefs were 1-1 with journeyman backup, Matt Moore filling in while he was out.
Since Mahomes returned in Week 10 that's when things started to right the ship for them. They were able to regain control of the AFC West en route to the number 2 seed. Don't get me started with the Week 13 matchup the Raiders had with them. That was a joke of a pivotal matchup for the AFC West title. The race for that number 2 seed, the stars aligned for the Chiefs. It started with their big win in Foxborough where they exacted revenge against the Pats. Then, they got major help from the Dolphins in Week 17 to secure that bye. We can argue they too faced some pretty fringe teams in the AFC South in the Texans and Titans. But Houston put them in a 24-0 deficit before Mahomes and co went bonkers in the 2nd quarter in the divisional round and in the championship game, they faced a Titans team that knocked off the Patriots and Ravens. By the way, they lost to the same two teams in the regular season prior and they exacted some revenge when it mattered the most. While the offense was fine-tuned, their defense turned it up this postseason, particularly in stuffing the run, holding the opposition's rushing attack to under 100 yards, and Spagnuolo calling more blitzes on third down.
Matchups
This Super Bowl is going to present a pretty interesting matchup. For both teams, this might be their toughest test. The 49ers have had their share of going up against mobile quarterbacks this season. That could present a valuable advantage. If there's any vulnerability in the 49ers defense is that their secondary has some unknowns outside of Richard Sherman and are masked by a ferocious front seven. The Chiefs have a lot of "speed demons" in the receiving corps and they'll likely exploit that as long as Patrick Mahomes is mobile and is able to extend plays. The key for the 49ers is that they have to get to Mahomes quickly and contain his running lanes once he gets out of the pocket. The Chiefs' run defense has gotten better as of late. They held Derrick Henry to under 100 yards in the championship game, but they will face a tough test against the 49ers' RBBC (running back by committee) approach. Raheem Mostert has emerged as a stud and of course Tevin Coleman is more than capable as a weapon in the backfield. If the Chiefs' contain the rushing attack, it'll put a lot of pressure on Garoppolo to win the game for the 49ers. But, Jimmy G showed he's more than capable. He just has to play mistake free and know when Spagnuolo and the Chiefs defense will blitz on third and long situations.
Prediction
Regardless of this outcome, I'm going to hate seeing red as a Raiders fan after next Sunday. Between the two teams, the 49ers have a more balanced roster with a potent rushing attack and a stout defense. There's no arguing that. However, they're in for a daunting task of containing Patrick Mahomes and that well-oiled Chiefs offense. They have too many weapons on offense. You double cover Hill, that leaves Watkins, Hardman, and Robinson open. Plus Kelce is a nightmare to cover over the middle. Their defense is better as of late. If there's anyone who deserves to hoist a Lombardi, it's gotta be Andy Reid. He already has a HOF resume as a coach, but years of early playoff exits hindered some of that legacy. I think he finally gets this one and helps end KC's 50-year drought of a Super Bowl win.
SF 23 KC 38
*The delayed Season in Review post for the 2019 Raiders will be posted prior to the Super Bowl. Sorry for the wait!*
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