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For every six touchdown performances by Steve Young, there are the five Dexter Jackson and Malcolm Smith performances. The Super Bowl MVP is rarely who you think it is. The last decade is a great example. Tom Brady twice, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees. The other MVPs you can just draw a name out of a hat. Foles, Edelman, and two defensive players? Throw in Eli Manning to really mess with your head, and there are the MVPs from the last decade.
The options
The reason the San Francisco 49ers are playing in Sunday’s Super Bowl is that they have gotten key contributions from a handful of players we didn’t expect. Raheem Mostert didn’t have double-digit carries or rush for more than 60 yards from Week 5 through Week 11. Then the Ravens game happened when Mostert carried the ball 19 times for 146 yards, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Mostert is an obvious choice, as is Jimmy Garoppolo, Deebo Samuel, and potentially Emmanuel Sanders. This could be a Kendrick Bourne, four receptions for 42 yards, and three touchdowns game that give the former undrafted free agent the MVP. It’s been one of those crazy years for San Francisco. Think about all the chaos that happened the second half of the season. None of us predicted that coming. Which means this could be one of those Super Bowls where a defensive player gets it. That’s fitting for a Niners team that relied on their defense for the majority of the season.
DeForest Buckner breaks through the Chief’s offensive line for a couple of sacks. Patrick Mahomes loves to create and extend plays, and by doing so, he holds onto the ball. Mahomes was sacked five times in the AFC Championship. I couldn’t imagine a better way for this season to end with a defensive lineman winning an MVP.
If Fred Warner goes full Fred Warner and fills the stat sheet, especially if there is a game-sealing interception or a Jared Goff Week 16 turnover, you can pencil Warner. If you had to pick one player from the secondary, Richard Sherman makes too much sense, and if the Chiefs are going to “attack” Emmanuel Moseley, he has proven that’s not a good idea. Moseley comes up with a few plays and helps seal the deal for the Niners.
There are options, so who do you think wins, and why?