The San Francisco 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game. That put them into their seventh Super Bowl in franchise history. It also puts them in a position to win their sixth title.
In that game, San Francisco will have an incredibly tough challenge though, going up against the Kansas City Chiefs.
In fact, the 49ers enter the game as the slightest of underdogs. So how could they win this tough matchup on the biggest game of the year?
Here are four reasons San Francisco could beat Kansas City in Super Bowl 54.
4. Running Game
I mean, did you see what Raheem Mostert did in the NFC Championship game?
There are two arguments you can make against that. First, the Green Bay defense is not good against the run. This is true. They allowed 120.1 yards per game. However, that's not nearly the 285 San Francisco ran for. Or even the 220 Mostert ran for by himself.
The other argument is that the Chiefs have been better against the run lately. I mean, they definitely didn't get run through by Derrick Henry like everyone else has.
The reality though, is that the Chiefs are even worse. Kansas City allowed 128.2 rushing yards per game in the regular season.
Yes, they didn't allow 100 rushing yards in either of their playoff games this year. They did however give up pretty big chunks of yards towards the end of the regular season. So this isn't really a unit you should trust to keep this up.
It also helps that Mostert isn't the only star. He certainly is the brightest, but San Francisco can beat you with a number of running backs.
3. Defense
The 49ers defense hit a bit of a rough patch close to the end of the year. They have certainly smoothed that out though.
San Francisco still finished the season second in total yards allowed per game (281.8), and eighth in points allowed per game (19.4).
Even with their struggles at one point, they were one of the most dominant units in the NFL.
That's due to balance too. They can simply keep you from scoring, or even moving the ball much. That can be accomplished by shutting down the pass or the run, they excel at both.
Or the 49ers could go a step further. They can create turnovers with the best in the league. In the regular season, San Francisco had 27 takeaways, the sixth-best in the NFL.
Their 48 sacks were also tied for fifth in the NFL.
I'm sure you're getting the point by now. San Francisco's defense is well-rounded and elite in almost every way possible. Good luck not letting them get to you.
2. Nick Bosa
Speaking of that defense, they have quite a few standouts. Possibly none more than Nick Bosa. In his rookie season, Bosa racked up nine sacks (Arik Armstead led the team with 10). He also had two pass deflections, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and one interception.
Bosa was a monster all year long and seems to be getting better each week. That's a scary thought and one that could create serious problems for the Chiefs.
Patrick Mahomes is their prized position. The quarterback is a legitimate superstar and already making a serious case for being the best at his position in the entire NFL.
He won't be effective if he is constantly being hit though. Bosa is a threat to be doing that quite often.
If you take away the passing game of the Chiefs, you have seriously crippled that team. Bosa and company could give the 49ers a real chance at doing just that.
1. Kyle Shanahan's Schemes
The Chiefs are favorites for a reason. That offense is as close to unstoppable as you can be.
Meanwhile, the 49ers have a few serious holes offensively. The running game is elite, there is no denying that. However, the only true weapon in the passing game is George Kittle, and Jimmy Garoppolo likely isn't going to be the reason a team tears up a defense.
In fact, the 49ers had 354 yards of total offense against the Packers. 69 of those were passing yards (Garoppolo had 77 yards but was sacked once to lose eight).
So how do the 49ers do it? How did they go 13-3 in the regular season and already win two more games in the postseason?
Yes, the defense takes a lot of the credit, deservedly so. A lot should be said for head coach Kyle Shanahan too though.
He constantly puts out different looks and calls different plays that keeps an opposing defense on their toes. So far, he has proven that he's more than up to the task to help an average offense look great.
In the Super Bowl, the 49ers are going up against a Chiefs' defense with holes in it. Can Shanahan mask his team's problems better than Kansas City can? So far, he's shown he can do that. Why not one more time to win the whole thing?
Follow Us
Subscribe