If you’ve read anything about the upcoming Super Bowl, you know that everyone and their brother’s dog is geeking out over the matchup between Patrick Mahomes and the 49ers.
Which makes a lot of sense. The last time both of these teams saw each other, Mahomes led the Chiefs to a 38-27 victory while Jimmy Garoppolo suffered that torn ACL injury that sidelined him for the better part of the season — which, in turn, aided in sinking the Niners’ 2018 campaign.
But what makes Super Bowl LIV an even bigger treat is the matchup between Kansas City’s quarterback and San Francisco’s defense. It’s so often the case that championship weekend (all of the pageantry of the Super Bowl) trumps the Super Bowl game itself when it comes to entertainment value. This year, however, the stage is set for a very entertaining afternoon of football.
Keep in mind: This isn’t the exact same Niners’ d-corps that Mahomes faced in September of 2018. The Garoppolo injury, of course, paved the way for San Francisco to draft defensive end Nick Bosa, whose addition, along with the continued excellence of along with Arik Armstead, Dee Ford, and DeForest Buckner, has made the Red & Gold one of the league’s most dynamic defenses. Add in a rejuvenated Richard Sherman and San Francisco’s defense has allowed a NFL-best average of 252.5 yards per game. When healthy — and granted, the defense ran into some health issues back in December — this defense is a brick wall.
The one area where the Niners’ defense hasn’t topped all teams during the playoffs has been against the pass. Which just so happens to be the Chiefs’ cup of tea.
Despite sustaining a knee injury in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos, Mahomes has continued to add to his MVP campaign from last season. He’s doubled down on that effort through the past two postseason games, in which Kansas City overcame deficits in each contest to emerge victorious. The key to those wins over the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans was that both opposing defenses backed up and gave Mahomes room to operate. With speedy weapons such as Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins to contend with, and Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce stretching the middle of the field, defenses who give Mahomes room to work are set up for a rude awakening.
All eyes will be watching to see if Mahomes gets that room to work in Super Bowl LIV against the toughest defense he has faced yet.
Sure, saying the defense has to “keep pressure on the quarterback” sounds remedial. But that’s one of the 49ers’ keys to success. San Francisco has been particularly savvy in cutting the oppositions drives short, having allowed just 5-of-21 on third-down conversions through the playoffs. The Niners saw in the NFC championship game that keeping pressure on Aaron Rodgers kept the Packers from converting on third downs and therefore off of the scoreboard — and taking some of that pressure off in the second half of the game allowed Green Bay to make the score a little too close for comfort. While giving Rodgers a little room to work didn’t ultimately doom the 49ers, the same misstep versus Mahomes could cost San Francisco a Super Bowl.
All in all, this sets the stage for what should be a very entertaining game. One of the best young quarterbacks in the league looking for a Super Bowl win to add to his resume against a defense which, when healthy, has proven to stunt even the most elite of QBs. The push and pull between the two forces should make for some very lively football.
Which force gets the upper hand, however, still remains to be seen.
