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We finally made it. The San Francisco 49ers are in the Super Bowl and will face the Kansas City Chiefs in a couple of hours in what has the makings to be one of the best Super Bowls in recent memory. The Niners Nation staff is confident in who will win, but what will be the reason San Francisco pulls it out the victory against Patrick Mahomes and company?
KP: Its cliche to say whoever wins in the trenches will win the game, but San Francisco getting after the Chiefs with four rushers and finishing is imperative to winning the game. It’s the red zone for me. The 49ers shouldn’t have issues moving the ball. If they are capitalizing in the red zone and not settling for three points, they’ll win. It’s pretty simple, to me. The good news is the way the Niners matchup against the Chiefs, that should go their way as well. I feel good about this one.
El Pato:
I watched a segment where Adam Schefter mentioned the Chief’s locker room has been confident. So confident they “expect” to win the Super Bowl. The moment I heard that I realized that the 49ers are not expecting anything of that. The last time I saw the 49ers with that line of thinking was in 2012 when they went to Super Bowl 47. Much like the Chiefs, they expected to win, were favored to, and came out looking awful. Thank God the power went out.
The 49ers are a better team. The Chiefs have a few playmakers, but people have forgotten the 49ers are just a small notch behind Kansas City in offense—more specifically passing offense. The 49er’s defense is better. The 49ers run game is better. The 49ers passing offense can be good when they feel like it. The big X-factor is Mahomes, but he’s not played a defense like the 49ers. Sure there’s Chicago, which offers its own problems, but it wasn’t the same since Vic Fangio left the defensive coordinator role to be the head coach of the Denver Broncos. If this was in Arrowhead, the Chiefs could win, but this is on a neutral field. I won’t be surprised if the 49ers lose this, but if the Chiefs fall behind early, they aren’t coming back. If Mahomes can’t complete his first third down (yes, his first third-down), it’s already going to tilt in the 49ers’ favor.
Alex Eisen:
The 49ers will win the Super Bowl because...they will stick with what has been working for them. The Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers both knew the 49ers would run the ball and run it a lot...However, neither team had much of an answer. The Kansas City Chiefs will be undoubtedly looking to contain the run game. However, I expect much of the same in Miami. The 49ers will win because they will find success running the ball, blocking up front, dominating the trenches along the line of scrimmage, managing the clock to their advantage...and yes, get positive contributions off of the arm of Jimmy Garoppolo who I predict will be the MVP! Let’s go 49ers!!!