Yessss! Headed to the Super Bowl!
For many fans, it’s been a lifelong wait
By Sam Kombrink, Sports Columnist
Kansas City has waited 50 years, since 1970, to see the Chiefs play in the Super Bowl. That time is now. On Sunday, January 20th, the Chiefs defeated the Tennessee Titans by a score of 35 to 24 to win the Lamar Hunt AFC Trophy. But this team is not done.
We have seen many talented Chiefs teams in the past with players like Joe Montana, Jamaal Charles, Tony Gonzalez, Derrick Johnson, Derrick Thomas, Deron Cherry, but the Chiefs were never able to take that next step and represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Chiefs Kingdom has waited to see a team that is truly balanced on both sides of the ball. Now the Chiefs have an offense ranked 5th in the league in points scored, and a defense ranked 7th in the league in points scored. This is the first time in team history that the Chiefs have had both scores in the top 10 of the NFL, meaning that this team is truly balanced, and the results have already appeared.
The Chiefs stepped up their game and are one game away from being crowned Super Bowl Champions. Against Tennessee, the Chiefs were able to hold the league leading rusher, Derrick Henry to 69 yards on 19 carries. Back in week 10 he rushed for 188 yards on 23 carries and the Chiefs lost 35-32. The defense was led by safety Tyrann Mathieu with nine total tackles and a tackle for a loss. One player that really stepped up was defensive tackle Mike Pennel, who came up with four key tackles for the defensive line.
About our opponent: San Fransisco 49ers
- 5 time Super Bowl Champions (1994, 1989, 1988, 1984, 1981)
- Have had the best defense in the league all season, led by All-pro cornerback Richard Sherman, rookie defensive end Nick Bosa, and former chief defensive end Dee Ford.
- Offense is similar to Tennessee’s, majority of plays will be by rushing with an undrafted running back Raheem Mostert rushing for 220 yards against Green Bay in NFC Title game, which is second most in a postseason game in NFL history.
- Running back Tevin Coleman has suffered a dislocated shoulder against Green Bay.
- Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s favorite target is tight end George Kittle, who is regarded as the second best tight end in football behind Chiefs’ Travis Kelce.
Keys for a Chiefs Super Bowl Victory:
- Stop the San Fransisco run game! 49ers are ranked 2nd in the league; Chiefs rushing defense is ranked 26th in the league.
- Run the ball effectively by committee. By that I mean the Chiefs will counter San Fransisco’s running game by not only having to rely on running back Damien Williams but also getting quarterback Patrick Mahomes involved. Look for Andy Reid to get creative with jet sweeps and reverses with wide receivers Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Mecole Harman.
- Take Care of the football! So far in this postseason the Chiefs have had only three turnovers. As for San Fransisco, they have had two.
Fun Facts:
- If the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl it will be Andy Reid’s 222nd career win, his 2nd Super Bowl Title (1996 Green Bay Packers-Offensive Assistant), and it will come on 2/2/2020.
- According to ESPN Stats & Info, so far this postseason, (quarterback) Patrick Mahomes has thrown for 721 yards, 9 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and rushed for 106 yards and 1 touchdown, with only 2 fumbles.
- Patrick Mahomes becomes the third quarterback in NFL history to win MVP (2018) and play in the Super Bowl in his first three seasons, joining Kurt Warner and Dan Marino.
- Entering Super Bowl LIV, Patrick Mahomes has thrown 11 career touchdown passes in the postseason before the age of 25. The only quarterback to have more is Dan Marino, with 13.
- The Kansas City Chiefs have averaged 43 points per game this postseason. Only one team has ever averaged more during a postseason run to the Super Bowl, and that was the 1990 Buffalo Bills. However, only two of the previous five teams that averaged at least 40 PPG entering the Super Bowl went on to win it all.
- 1990 Buffalo Bills, LOST
- 1994 San Fransisco 49’ers, WON
- 2016 Atlanta Falcons, LOST
- 2015 Carolina Panthers, LOST
- 2014 New England Patriots, WON
- 2019 Kansas City Chiefs, ???
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Since 2018 including the postseason quarterback Mahomes has done quite well against opposing pass rushes. Here are some numbers when opposing teams decide to blitz Mahomes….
- Facing 4 or fewer pass rushers:
- Pressure Rate: 23.5
- Completion %: 66.8
- Yards per attempt: 8.6
- TD-INT: 64-16
- Passer rating: 109.0
- Facing 5 or more pass rushers:
- Pressure Rate: 35.3
- Completion %: 60.9
- Yards per attempt: 8.3
- TD-INT: 23-1
- Passer rating: 116.5
- The San Fransisco 49ers had 48 sacks this year, placing them 5th in the NFL.
- At the beginning of the season the Kansas City Chiefs were the consensus favorites to win the Super Bowl, the San Fransisco 49ers had 40-1 Super Bowl odds, which was middle of the pack Super Bowl odds at Ceasers Sportsbook. The chiefs are current favorites to win the Super Bowl with a spread of -1.5, moneyline: -125, over/under U54.0 (-110).
Get ready to prepare the chili recipes for February 2nd, south KC! I have the Chiefs beating the San Fransisco 49ers by a score of 27-20 in Super Bowl LIV, and I expect Patrick Mahomes to win Super Bowl MVP. The Chiefs will win their second Super Bowl since the 1969 season.