The 2019 NFL season will officially end Sunday night when the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs face off in Miami for Super Bowl LIV.
Seeming like a perfect matchup of strengths, this Super Bowl is expected to be an exciting one. Because these teams succeed in different ways, it is interesting to predict who might come out on top.
The Chiefs will be relying on their high-flying vertical offense while the 49ers are a bit of old school, relying on their rushing attack and stout defense.
Here’s how the Colts Wire staff sees the big game shaking out:
Kevin Hickey (@KevinHickey11): Chiefs 30, 49ers 26
This is a really hard matchup to predict. The Chiefs have been on fire offensively lately while the 49ers have found a strong game plan that revolves around Kyle Shanahan’s incredible run game and a stout defense led by one of the league’s best pass rushes.
The Chiefs offense seems to be clicking on all cylinders. Patrick Mahomes appears to be himself again while Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce have proven to be unstoppable this postseason. The defense has also been solid against the run, which will mean a lot when facing arguably the league’s most efficient rushing attack.
The 49ers haven’t asked Jimmy Garoppolo to do much this postseason, but he hasn’t had to. Raheem Mostert has been incredible running the ball behind an offensive line that paves way in the running game. They also possess a strong pass rush and a the league’s best passing defense.
This game truly could go either way, but I’m going with the prowess of the Chiefs and Mahomes to bring it home.
Arden Franklyn (@ArdenSportsTalk): Chiefs 35, 49ers 31
I know a lot of people are expecting this game to be a prime example of “good offense vs. good defense”, but I’m personally expecting another kind of game. In my opinion, tonight will be a night where both teams do the unexpected.
On one hand, I can totally see the Chiefs flipping the script, and surprising some people by being willing to run the ball and play a more physical game, as the surprise for the 49ers would come in the form of QB Jimmy Garoppolo going throw for throw with Patrick Mahomes (which I think it’s very possible).
But when it’s all said and done, I believe Mahomes’ balance of great play-making, intelligence, and play in the clutch will ultimately deliver him and the Chiefs a Super Bowl title.
John Alfieri (@alfierijohn): Chiefs 38, 49ers 24
This is one of the most interesting matchups in recent super bowl history. For starters, the Chiefs mediocrity rise with Patrick Mahomes in the past two seasons has taken the AFC and the league by storm.
The 49ers complete turnaround in one offseason also came out of nowhere and Kyle Shanahan has silenced the critics after his Super Bowl blunder. With so much young talent, they are poised to be competitive for a long time.
Both of these teams have the ability to punish opponents on offense but in different ways. Kansas City’s passing attack is almost impossible to stop and San Francisco’s run game eats the clock and forces opponents to play from behind.
As we saw in the Colts Week 5 victory over the Chiefs, the way to beat KC is to keep Pat Mahomes off the field and sustain long drives. While the 49ers have done this to almost any opponent, the Chiefs offense is a different breed.
They go over the top a lot which San Francisco’s secondary will struggle with. The Chiefs will go up in the second half and the 49ers will have to make big throws to stay in the game, something they are not comfortable with.
In the end, Mahomes will get his first ring of many and Andy Reid will finally be in the discussion of one of the greatest head coaches ever. This should be a fun game with a lot of excitement.
Sam Sinclair (@samsinclair96): Chiefs 27, 49ers 24
There’s almost no better combination than Andy Reid and a bye week. Following a bye week, Reid is 18-3 all-time regular and postseason.
One thing I’m looking at is will the Chiefs look to run the ball. Over the season they have a 75-25 pass-run ratio, and if Mahomes is going to drop back 35-45 times, that fierce San Francisco pass rush will be able to pin their ears back and get to Mahomes.
On the 49ers’ side, they will have to take advantage of every possession. Jimmy G hasn’t been asked to do much this postseason, but if the 49ers want to keep pace with the Chiefs, they’ll have to score TD almost every possession, with how San Fran will try to bleed clock with their elite run game.
If the Chiefs don’t get off to a slow start like they did in their other two postseason games, I just don’t see how San Francisco can keep up offensively with Mahomes and that offense.