So we are getting the rematch of Super Bowl  54. And that match up was a little different than this year’s matchup.

Both teams are in the top in defensive efficiency giving up only an average of 17 points per game between the two of them during the season. But San Francisco and their offense has become the real story as they’ve exploded for 29 per game this year.  And it isn’t just the ppg they put up – it is the way they do it, they have so many options on offense. I believe anyway you cut it, this is going to be a very good Super Bowl with a lot of interesting stories. Will it be the surprising defense of Kansas City coming through or the offense of San Francisco lighting up the boards?

SuperBowl LVIII
Kansas City Chiefs v San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas

Quarterback;
Patrick Mahomes is still the man in the NFL, and what he has done in his career in 7 seasons is absolutely astronomical. And as much as Brock Purdy is a fun story and I’m personally a fan of him, and I think that he gets highly disrespected by an awful lot of people, it’s really really hard to bet against Mahomes and his ability to make absolutely any throw possible and improvise the way he does. Mahomes is the peak of top QB in the NFL today, and he isn’t ready to be behind that title yet.
Advantage; Kansas City

Running game;
Come on if we’re being honest with ourselves – there is absolutely no comparison between these two teams and their back fields. Now granted, Isaiah Pacheco has been a very good RB for Kansas City but there is nobody who’s going to say that he is even remotely the RB that Christian McCaffrey is. And then we still have Elijah Mitchell in the backfield for San Francisco, I think a lot of people tend to forget that Mitchell was a really promising running back in 2021 when he was picking up 88 YPG for them until injuries came around. One team has their top two RBs picking up 4.55 and the other team has their RBs picking up 3.9. You tell me who has the better backfield. 

Advantage; San Francisco

Receiving;
Nobody’s going to look at Kansas City’s receiving crew and say that they have a real squad of dangerous WRs for any defense to be overly concerned about. Rashee Rice has come around, and Travis Kelce is still a great TE – but after them – who is there?

Justin Watson and his 29 ypg?
On the other hand, San Francisco has a very lethal combination of receivers on their team. Kansas City, has Travis Kelce, who has always been a stud – and I’m more than sure he’ll make his own imprint in this game as well. His career 11k+ receiving yards and 74 TDs are certainly nothing to ignore, and he’s definitely worth all the hype. But if we’re looking at the receiving core across the table, San Francisco has better receivers in Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, even their WR3 in Juwan Jennings, and TE George Kittle is just as good, if not currently better, than Travis Kelce as well.
Advantage; San Francisco

Oline;
San Francisco grinds out 140 run yards /game. Ranking them 3rd in the NFL for rushing yards per game and they rank 4th in the NFL for rushing yards per attempt. They gave up 34 sacks, landing them at 5th in the NFL for quarterback protection. According to NFLlines.com the 49ers adjust to blitzes at a high rate, so a team like Kansas City that showed the ability to blitz at a high level – might have a difficult time getting through to the QB this game. Their Oline play has been excellent. Chiefs are average.
Advantage; San Francisco

Defensive front;
This is something that I didn’t expect to be as close as it actually is. San Fran is loaded with talent across the front end on defense with Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, Fred Warner, and Dre Greenlaw at linebacker. But Kansas City is no slouch by any means as they have 4 guys with 6+ sacks. Which is more than San Francisco has. They also sport 5 players with 7 or more tackles for loss. Chris Jones is the key for Kansas City’s front end, and Fred Warner is the key for San Francisco’s front 7. I think this is very close between the two of these teams, Kansas City not having 7 sack producer Charles Omenihu is a huge loss, but I still give a very slight advantage to Kansas City.
Advantage; Kansas City

Secondary;
San Francisco’s secondary has only given up 20 passing TDs this year. They’ve also picked off a league high 22 passes from opposing quarterbacks, with 4 current playing guys with 2 or more ints, it’s not very easy to find a side of the field to attack. The Niners only relinquished one 300yd passer all year, and only 5 hit the 260 mark. Kansas City has been even better with ypg to opponents – but they don’t get the ever important turnovers that the Niners get.
Advantage; San Francisco

Coaching;
Andy Reid versus Kyle Shanahan again. Two great coaches, one in his 25th season as a head coach, the other in his 7th season as a head coach. One with 258 career wins and 25 career playoff wins versus a guy with 64 career wins and 8 career playoff wins. Andy Reid certainly has the respect of anybody who watches the game, and certainly has respect from his guys on the field. Kyle Shanahan is a great mind on offense and is a great coach as well, without question, but based on longevity and experience I have to give the nod to Andy.
Advantage; Kansas City

Early on this season I don’t think anybody saw Kansas City being in this position at this point of the year as they were not looking overly impressive. They were struggling against teams like the Jets and Denver early on, but what makes them a great team is their ability to adapt and overcome. With excellent coaching from Andy Reid and of course, having one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in Mahomes. Him tossing the ball around on the field certainly doesn’t hurt.

San Francisco came into this season with high expectations as many people saw last year’s loss to Philadelphia being largely in part of their quarterback Brock Purdy getting injured. But this year, he’s healthy and the team looks much differently than they did last year, the weapons on offense, and great coaching by Kyle Shanahan got them here.
This is going to be, I think, one of the best Super Bowls we’ve had and our Top Experts have picks and props available at VegasTopDogs.com right now!