Don’t let all of the narratives fool you; the Chiefs are the true underdogs next Sunday. Says who? Says the Vegas odds which has the 49ers at a 2.00 spread. Not only are the Chiefs statistical underdogs for the Super Bowl but in many ways, they have been underdogs nearly the entire season.
They started with a stinging loss to the eventually red-hot Detroit Lions who were a touchdown away from becoming their Super Bowl opponent. They also had tough and unexpected losses to The Denver Broncos, Las Vegas Raiders and Green Bay Packers. The team suffered an uncharacteristic receiving core issue. Drop passes seemed to haunt every major and minor weapon on the team. This helped cause the team to leave the regular season with an 11-6 record, the worst performance in quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ historical career so far.
Despite this, Kansas City has overcome this adversity and has played amazing football during this playoff run. Key plays from running back Isiah Pacheo, wide receiver Rashee Rice, Travis Kelce and Mahomes have allowed the Chiefs to have a comfortable ascent to Super Bowl 58. They easily beat the bruised Miami Dolphins and outplayed the revenge-seeking and favored Buffalo Bills. Most recently they knocked out the underachieving but projected Super Bowl favorite, American Football Conference top seed Baltimore Ravens. Many people wrote Kansas City off after an underwhelming regular season and difficult playoff picture, but the calm play calling from the seasoned head coach Andy Reid has helped this team punch above their weight class this postseason.
Some fan bases may have unexpected motivation to root for the Chiefs. With the 49ers currently at five Super Bowl victories, they stand to threaten the already contested franchise Super Bowl record held by The Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots who are tied at six rings and were both former dynasties.
On the subject of dynasties, if the Chiefs win this game they will be the next undisputed dynasty. With a potential three rings to Mahomes’ name in just five years, no one can dispute their dynasty status. Many New Englanders may choose to bandwagon on the new rulers of the AFC. Sometimes it’s fun to root for the villain. If the National Football League has any “Anti-Hero,” it’s 100% the Chiefs.
Let’s be honest, it’s “Karma” that the Chiefs will win this Super Bowl. After years of falling short and playing awful football, fans and players couldn’t “Tolerate It”. The Chiefs winning is now inevitable and has been for the last half decade.
Brandon Lajoie
Contributing Reporter
This is, no doubt, not the game anyone wanted. The world wanted to see the underdog Lions take on the very fun and flashy Ravens, the MVP favorite versus the scrappy, fun and run-through-a-brick wall Lions. That is not what happened, as we all know. America has to settle for the big money game: Chiefs vs 49ers. So here is why the 49ers should win the Super Bowl
On paper, the 49ers are the far better football team. If you go position by position, the 49ers wipe the Chiefs off the board, besides at quarterback and arguably at tight end. They had little to no lapses during this season, in comparison to the Chiefs. The massive difference between these two squads is the defense.
Some of the best at what they do include defensive end Nick Bosa, defensive tackles Arik Armstead and Javon Hargrave and linebackers Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw. The Chiefs’ offensive line is going to be put up to a massive task of protecting Patrick Mahomes from this defensive powerhouse.
Another reason for the success of the Niners this season is Kyle Shanahan. There’s a reason why Shanahan is regarded as one of the NFL’s most intelligent offensive brains. His coaching pedigree extends far throughout the league’s most successful offenses, and he is well-deserving of his first Super Bowl victory. The offense is loaded as well; Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk. Still, because this offense is so strong, other players contribute and have a significant impact on the field, such as tight end Charlie Woerner, running back Elijah Mitchell, fullback Kyle Juszczyk and wide receivers Jauan Jennings, Ray-Ray McCloud and Ronnie Bell. Trent Williams, a future Hall of Famer at left tackle, leads one of the league’s top offensive lines for San Francisco.
There is the obvious performance of Brock Purdy this season, but in my opinion, he is just a game manager. This is where we play devil’s advocate; The Chiefs will not beat the Niners. The Niners will beat the Niners. The Chiefs look very strong coming off a dominant win over the Ravens whereas the Niners have struggled and had to battle back against the Lions and hold off the Packers. The offense needs to be run through McCaffrey – “You’re On Your Own, Kid.”
The 49ers are on the brink of a second dynasty and this is going to be a very exciting game. Rhody nation, are you “…Ready For It?”