- Jack Frauenhofer ’22
Super Bowl 54 is finally here! The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers face off on February second for the Lombardi Trophy. Both teams look to break their Super Bowl droughts, with the Chiefs not winning it since 1964, and the ‘Niners in 1994.
The 49ers are coming off two strong victories against the Vikings and Packers, where their defense shined, giving up only 20 points against the Packers and 10 against the Vikings. The run game has been key for the Niners’ success, showed by Raheem Mostert’s 220 yards and four touchdowns in the win against the Packers. However, the Chiefs seem capable of handling the run by holding Derrick Henry to only 69 yards in the AFC championship game. The Chiefs will be hoping to rely on Patrick Mahomes to deliver points against the 49ers dominant defense.
In the NFC championship game against the Packers, the 49ers came out hot with 27 unanswered points. The Chiefs, however, have had slow starts in the past two games. Against the Texans, the score at one point in the first quarter was 24-0 Texans, and against the Titans, the score at the end of the first quarter was 17-7 Titans.
However, through the success of their defense adapting and the offensive threats available to them, the Chiefs came out on top both games. As a result, the 49ers will hope to establish an early lead but must keep this lead in order to win, leaning on their elite defense to hold off the Chiefs. The Chiefs, on the other hand, will hope to not have a slow start and come out guns blazing, scoring from start to finish of the game.
In terms of betting, neither team are clear favorites to win, which is incredibly rare for a Super Bowl, resulting in this most likely being a great game. Two of the best teams in the league competing, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira performing at halftime, February 2 should be a night to remember. The game is set to kickoff on February 2, 3:30 PM Pacific Time, so be sure to tune in!
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