The San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs are set to do battle in the desert, as Super Bowl 58 is just days away from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After the Chiefs shut down the Ravens and the 49ers stunned the Lions with a massive comeback, the two teams figured to be in contention all along are the last two standing.
There is a lot to dig into with this match up, as both teams have a lot on the line in the narrative sense, and the action on the field figures to be compelling.
When: 6:30 P.M EST, Sunday, February 11
Where: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
How to Watch: CBS
Super Bowl 58 Picks and Predictions 49ers vs. Chiefs: Familiar Foes
These two teams met up at Super Bowl 54 in 2020, with the Chiefs staging a comeback to earn Patrick Mahomes his first ring and hand the 49ers a devastating loss.
Mahomes earned his second ring last season, while the 49ers bowed out in the NFC Championship game against the Eagles as they ran out of active quarterbacks due to injuries.
The Chiefs are here for the fourth time in five years, missing out in 2022 when the Bengals beat them in the AFC Championship game before losing to the Rams.
The 49ers are back for the first time since Super Bowl 54, but they've been a steady presence in the NFC Championship game.
These are two teams with all of the big game experience in the world, and the betting line of San Francisco -2 suggests a close game between these two titans.
A win for the Chiefs would make them fairly unquestionably a dynasty, while a win for the 49ers would be a crowning achievement for every player on the roster, but especially head coach Kyle Shanahan.
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Super Bowl Picks and Predictions 49ers vs. Chiefs: Who Wins and Why?
Chiefs 24, 49ers 21
Everywhere you look on the field, you can find an advantage for the 49ers. Elite edge rushers against poor offensive tackles. All-world linebacker Fred Warner is there to try to counter Travis Kelce. Christian McCaffrey is going up against a decent-at-best rushing defense.
Despite all of that, it is still hard to talk myself into the Chiefs actually losing this game. The team looked dead and buried, especially on offense, for most of the season, and suddenly in the playoffs Kelce looks like his usual self again, and they've found a way to put up enough points for their defense to win them games.
And it's that defense that really is the key here. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has done such a superlative job this year at taking this young, talented group and making them a true nightmare to play against.
The blitz packages are varied and aggressive, meaning an offense can know they're coming but can never be too sure where they're coming from. Can Shanahan call the plays to work around that? Probably, but in my heart of hearts, I do not believe Brock Purdy is at the level in which he will be able to process the reads in time.
San Francisco's defense is good under Steve Wilks, but they are a bit easier for an offense to prepare for. What you see is what you get. They will rush four, blitz occasionally, and dare the Chiefs' weapons to beat their defenders.
Those weapons likely aren't good enough to beat those defenders, but Andy Reid is an expert at varying his personnel and getting extra tight ends on the field to provide chip help to his questionable tackles against strong edges.
Kelce, Noah Gray, and possibly even Blake Bell will be asked to help out on Nick Bosa and Chase Young before getting into their routes, and that feels like a strategy that could buy Mahomes enough time to hit the quick stuff or find something better.
It will be close, and points will be hard to come by with how good these defenses are. The offenses will be good enough to find some, and I believe in Mahomes, Kelce, and Chris Jones as the Chiefs' high-end difference makers to make more game-changing plays than the 49ers group, just by a little.
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