Actual Final Score: SF 20 KC 31
The Kansas City Chiefs end their 50-year Super Bowl drought. Andy Reid finally gets his hands on the Lombardi trophy. And Patrick Mahomes continues his stellar young career. Hands down, this Super Bowl was a lot better than last year's snooze fest. If there's anything taken away from this game, it came down to which team can finish the game.
Picking the winner of this matchup wasn't easy. It can go either way. You had a high flying offense and solid defense vs. the ground and pound running game and good defense. When it came to my prediction, the Chiefs from what we saw this postseason showed that no matter the deficit, they can come from behind due to the fact that they have #15 Patrick Mahomes and the superior weapons. The 49ers are clearly the more balanced team, but there's a lot to ask to have Jimmy Garoppolo put the team on his back if the running game didn't work.
The Chiefs improved run defense proved to be a plus here and it was one of the biggest keys for them to win the Super Bowl. As I mentioned, you contain San Francisco's running game, that puts pressure on Garoppolo to win the game. And you saw it tonight. Raheem Mostert had 220 yards and 4 TDs in the NFC Championship. Tonight, he had 58 yards and 1 TD on 12 carries. They only allowed one big run from Deebo Samuel and that was it. You gotta give credit to Steve Spagnuolo's unit. Spagnuolo's defensive play calling got off to a rough start. But when it mattered the most, his defense stepped up as was the case 12 years ago when he called plays for the Giants defense to beat the Patriots in SB XLII. He dialed up blitzes on Garoppolo. It didn't translate to too many sacks, but the pressure made Garoppolo uncomfortable.
We can't completely discredit the 49ers efforts. Their defense was able to get to Mahomes and they were able to generate two turnovers off of him. It's just that on that second turnover, the 49ers weren't able to go for the knockout blow and Mahomes did what he did best. He rallied the team. The entire offense went no huddle for the majority of the fourth quarter and he was able to toss two TDs to Kelce and Damien Williams to add to a rushing TD early in the 1st quarter. There was no question that Mahomes deserved Super Bowl MVP after dusting himself off of two turnovers. I think the key play that shifted the momentum for the Chiefs entirely was Mahomes' 44 yard bomb to Tyreek Hill. Clearly, the 49ers secondary can't keep up with the speed of the Chiefs' receivers and it showed tonight. Whether it was Tyreek Hill or Damien Williams out of the backfield, they were putting the linebackers and secondary on skates with some ankle-breaking plays.
Overall, this was a refreshing Super Bowl to watch. Both teams were neck and neck in the first half. Niners had some momentum going in the 3rd quarter. But, they couldn't finish the track meet against the Chiefs in the fourth quarter. As a Raider fan, this matchup presented the biggest conundrum. The Chiefs are an AFC West rival. The 49ers are an ex-geographical rival. I'm sure outside of the Bay Area, many Raider fans are upset at the Chiefs winning. I understand that. For us Raider fans here residing in the Bay, the 49ers losing is sweet. They're the ones that helped drive out the Raiders in the first place and hoped to convert the remaining Raider fans here. Regardless, Mahomes and the Chiefs are gonna be a problem for a long time and the Raiders must shift their attention into building a big time counterpunch to that team. As far as the Niners go, they'll still be okay. However, I still question the Jimmy G extension after a small sample size in the 2017 season. So far, it's not a good look with the ACL tear last season and how vulnerable he looked tonight when the running game can't flourish. However, big congrats to Andy Reid for finally winning that elusive Super Bowl title to add on to a stellar head coaching career. Looking forward to next year. I'll see you guys later.
*Congrats Kansas City Chiefs. Super Bowl LIV champions! (I'm gonna puke!)*
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