Super Bowl LIV: San Francisco 49ers v Kansas City Chiefs preview and predictions

My prediction

SF 49ers

As much as I have talked about offensive and defensive schemes and what they teams will/should try to do to make things difficult for the opposition, special teams and the return game could play a big role in this game. Richie James Jr. on the 49ers’ side and Mecole Hardman for Chiefs are threats to rip off a big one at any point in the game and we have already seen them both swing momentum with some nice returns during these playoffs.

Also for two kickers in Robbie Gould and Harrison Butker that are both above 90 percent on their field goal attempts from under 50 yards out, could one missed kick be the difference?

For me what it comes down to is the Niners’ ability to control games from the start and not allow their opponents to play a style they are not comfortable with. They probably won’t be able to win this game with Garoppolo throwing the ball eight times like he did in the NFC Championship, but I think Shanahan will put the pressure on himself to take the ball out of his hands quickly or present him with easy completion, and then when the Kansas City defense gets too aggressive with the way they jump on crossers or flat-routes, he draws up the kill-shot.

It is horrifying to bet against Mahomes because of the way he can make plays off schedule and force defenses to be wrong even if they do everything right, but with all that depth and talent on the D-line, I don’t think you will see those guys get tired the way the Texans and Titans did, as he the superstar QB created magic against them. And even with two weeks to prepare for it, that San Francisco rushing attack is so diverse and complicated that if you just slip up once and lose gap integrity, there is Mostert or one of the other guys one-on-one with a DB in the open field.

San Francisco 27 – Kansas City 24