By Ronny Watson ’21

The 100th NFL season is one big game away from coming to a close. After another year full of surprises, the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers have come out on top of their respective conferences and will play this Sunday, February 2, for the privilege of becoming the 54th Super Bowl champion and the 100th NFL champion.  

The 49ers’ great success this season was a surprise to many, after a lackluster 2018 season, ending with a 4-12 record. A big part of their much improved 13-3 season this year was their insanely efficient run game. Featuring Tevin Coleman, Matt Brieda, and Raheem Mostert, the 49ers ran for a total of 2,305 yards, second most in the league, and 23 touchdowns, the most in the league. This is a huge improvement from last year when they rushed for 1,902 yards, 13th most in the league, and 7 touchdowns, tying for the least in the league. 

The return of Jimmy Garappolo after an ACL tear early in the 2018 season has also been effective in establishing the 2019 49ers offense as a force to be reckoned with. Passing for just under 4000 yards this season, the yards he racked up through the air this year make up over half of his career total, granted he was Tom Brady’s backup for the better half of his career up to this point. 

He is clearly an improvement over back-ups CJ Bethard and Nick Mullens, who threw for a combined yardage in 2018 that was over 700 yards less than Garappolo’s total this season. 

With break-out star tight end George Kittle, who cemented himself as a top-tier TE this year, and surprise rookie wide receiver, Deebo Samuel, “Jimmy G” has a full arsenal to work with. Not to mention the mid season acquisition via trade, WR Emanuel Sanders, who is making his fair share of contributions. 

The centerpiece to this well-rounded team is their top-ranked defense, featuring a ruthless pass rush. The dominant defensive line includes the newly-named defensive rookie of the year, Nick Bosa, who ended the regular season with 9 sacks. Lining up next to the rookie is fourth year defensive tackle, Deforest Buckner, who brought down the opposing quarterback 7.5 times this season. The 49ers have racked up a total 48 sacks this season, among the most in the league. Though the 49ers have the best defense in the league, some still question their ability to stall the Chiefs’ explosive offense. 

For the second season straight, the Chiefs have relied on their highly dangerous pass attack, led by the 2018 MVP, QB Patrick Mahomes. In just his second year as the Chiefs starter, it has already been widely accepted that Mahomes is the best all-around quarterback in the league right now. With arm talent reminiscent of Bret Farve in his prime, Mahomes has the ability to take any offense to the promised land all by himself, but this Chiefs offense isn’t just any offense. 

Starting at wide receiver is the man they call “the cheetah,” and they don’t call him that for nothing. Tyreek Hill is among the fastest American athletes alive today. Hill even said that he’s considering trying out for team USA’s track team to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo later this year. 

Garappolo might have a big target at the tight end position, but Mahomes has one of his own in Travis Kelce, among the best in the league at the position, tallying nearly 100 receptions this season. A big issue for the 49ers defense will be dealing with the massive frame of the 6-foot-5, 260 lb tight end. 

Like the 49ers, the Chiefs saw an improved defensive performance this season; compared to last year, in which their defense was among the worst the league. The Chiefs have allowed nearly 900 less yards in total offense this year compared to 2018. The free agent addition of star safety Tyrann Mathieu, a.k.a. the Honey Badger, has worked out beautifully for the Chiefs. Mathieu had one of the best seasons of his career, securing a spot on the NFL All-Pro First Team, for just the second time in his seven year career. The key for the Chiefs to win is to stop the 49ers prominent run game and force Jimmy Garappolo to throw the ball. 

Fourteen years and four days ago today, approximately 328.15 miles from Hard Rock stadium, the site of Super Bowl 54, head coach Andy Reid found himself in Jacksonville, coaching the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 39, his first and only other Super Bowl appearance in his 21 years as a head coach in the NFL. That game would end in a 24-21 loss to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Reid has been trying his whole coaching career to avenge that loss and get his first ever ring. 

Last Sunday he earned the first AFC title of his career, and his first conference championship since the one that wrote him a ticket to the Super Bowl 16 years ago. On Sunday, Reid will stare 53 yards across the field into the eyes of a man who also saw his only other chance at a championship ripped away from him by Tom Brady. 

Both on new teams, Kyle Shanahan and Andy Reid have put the past behind them and are focused on the now. Though there’s been a lot of talk about large amounts of distance and time, the only time and distance coach Shanahan and coach Reid will be concerned with this Sunday is now and the one step left to history. 

The game is set up to be a great one, and this game appears to be one of the most unpredictable in recent memory, there has been a variety of different score predictions. Personally, I see the dominant 49ers defensive line being too much for even Patrick Mahomes to handle, and the great 49ers run game being too potent for the Chiefs to tame. I have the 49ers toppling the Chiefs, 28-20, in a surprisingly low scoring game.