Super Bowl 54 in Miami is set after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Tennessee Titans and the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Green Bay Packers. This year’s matchup features two young quarterbacks who are each looking for their first rings as a starter. Reigning MVP, Patrick Mahomes is looking to take his high powered offense and pound the 49ers. However, the defense from San Francisco led by rookie Nick Bosa would like to take control of the game. This season, Jimmy Garoppolo, the quarterback for the 49ers, has fed off the great defensive play in order to generate points. So who has the edge in this Super Bowl matchup? Let’s examine…

The 49ers have one of, if not the most, balanced team this year. Their high powered offense is focused mainly on the rushing game with Raheem Mostert as their lead back. In the NFC Championship game, he ran for 200+ yards and 4 touchdowns. Continuing this in the Super Bowl is important for the Niners. Jimmy Garoppolo is a very good quarterback as we have seen throughout this year. He has kept his team in every game, leading them to 13 regular season victories and just 3 losses. Those losses came by a combined of only 13 points. From this statistic, we can see that the Niners were never out of a game, whether their offense scored enough points to keep up with their opponents or their defense was able to limit opponents from scoring too many points. In the Super Bowl, the key is to take control of the game by limiting the star quarterback Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs.

For the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes has been their key to victory in the past two seasons. His unique ability to scramble out of the pocket and throw on the run has made himself almost impossible for defenders. With the speedster Tyreek Hill lined up as a receiver, Mahomes is almost unstoppable. They have lit up the scoreboard many times this season, including their two playoff games. The Chiefs scored a remarkable 7 straight touchdowns against the Texans. The Chiefs offense is clearly top tier. However, the defense for the Chiefs has been a little shaky at times. Raheem Mostert has done the job a lot of the season for the Niners. Garoppolo has relied on him heavily, and the Chiefs defense will need to force him to throw the ball. How can the Chiefs do this? Well we saw it in the AFC Championship when they held the NFL Rushing Leader Derrick Henry to less than 70 yards. The Chiefs must get a big lead and force Garoppolo to throw the ball in order to stay in the game. Also, they need to stack the box and blitz from many angles, forcing short passes and preventing the run. 

Each team has their reasons for victory, but also reasons to be worried. Who will win the Super Bowl? Tune in on February 2nd to find out.

My Prediction: 

Chiefs 38 49ers 27