The Chiefs are the public favorite to beat the 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII despite the fact San Francisco was the better of the two teams for most of the 2023 season. Part of that is the recency bias of the playoffs. Kansas City blew out the Miami Dolphins and then knocked off two perceived juggernauts in the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens to reach the Super Bowl. Meanwhile the 49ers struggled against the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions. The other key reason people are picking Kansas City is their superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
It makes sense that Mahomes would be the overarching reason the Chiefs would be the pick. He doesn’t do much losing, especially in the playoffs, and his penchant for leading comebacks gives the Chiefs the ultimate trump card in a game that figures to be tight.
There’s nothing San Francisco can do about the previous couple of playoff games, but there are ways they can stop Mahomes’ individual brilliance from becoming a factor;