Tag: 2024 Super Bowl

Best version of 49ers season ends with unlikely Super Bowl win

Here’s what the most optimistic version of the 49ers’ season looks like:

It’s not hard to paint an optimistic picture about the San Francisco 49ers’ 2024 season.

They enter the year with the best roster in football. They’ll be almost fully intact by Week 1, and they return most of the group that won the No. 1 seed in the NFC en route to a Super Bowl trip last season. If things go according to plan, this is the year San Francisco ends its 30-year Super Bowl drought and become only the fourth team ever to lose a Super Bowl, then win it the following year. They’d join the 1971 Dallas Cowboys, 1972 Miami Dolphins and 2018 New England Patriots to do so.

So, what does the most optimistic view look like?

Quarterback Brock Purdy will be entering his second full year as a starter. He’s also coming off a full offseason where he didn’t have to rehab his surgically-repaired throwing elbow. Considering he finished fourth in MVP voting last season, the arrow is pointing up for the signal caller in 2024.

If Purdy is better, the 49ers offense is going to reach an unstoppable level. San Francisco already boasts playmakers like Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey. Sprinkling in a quarterback who makes more individually great plays outside the context of his playmakers would make head coach Kyle Shanahan’s group a juggernaut.

A better version of the 49ers’ offense would allow the team’s defense to take a step backward and still stay in Super Bowl contention. Alas, we’re in the most optimistic world here and San Francisco once again boasts the NFL’s top defense.

Defensive end depth is a concern, to be sure, but Nick Bosa would be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate and Javon Hargrave would bounce back with a Pro Bowl campaign. Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos would also provide enough rotational depth on the edges to make the 49ers’ pass rush a force like the one we saw in 2019.

This year is different though because their secondary is also loaded. Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir are both Pro Bowl candidates at cornerback, as are safeties Ji’Ayir Brown and Talanoa Hufanga. That group churns out a ton of takeaways in this universe where it all goes right.

While the 49ers may miss Dre Greenlaw alongside Fred Warner, De’Vondre Campbell looks more like his 2021 self and when Greenlaw does return he works in as the Sam LB who only plays a handful of snaps each game. Campbell is more susceptible in coverage than Greenlaw, but he’s overall a fine replacement and the 49ers don’t lose much in the linebacking corps.

All of those pieces falling into place give the 49ers a No. 1 offense and a No. 1 defense going into the playoffs. Once they’re there, their experience takes over and they steamroll their way to a Super Bowl where they finally knock off Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to earn their sixth Lombardi Trophy.

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Former Texans WR Jacoby Jones sees similarities between 2011 and 2024 rosters

Former Houston Texans WR Jacoby Jones can see a path similar to the 2011 roster where C.J. Stroud and the crew make franchise history.

Jacoby Jones remembers first being sold on C.J. Stroud as he carved up Big Ten defenses during his two seasons at Ohio State.

Any receiver who spent over a decade in the league knows which quarterbacks will end up meeting expectations. Jones, a former third-round pick for the Houston Texans in 2007, knew it almost immediately in Stroud.

“He was a freak of nature,” Jones told Texans Wire. “Wicked smart player. He’s witty. When I say witty, I’m talking about the part of the definition where you’re not just smart, but you’re quick.

“He doesn’t play like a young kid. He plays like a mature vet that’s been there already.”

Jones, who spent five seasons in Houston as a go-to target for Matt Schaub in the Gary Kubiak era, knows the Texans can have a milestone season in 2024. Most national pundits think Houston is in for a promising campaign after the team acquired players like Joe Mixon, Danielle Hunter and Stefon Diggs this offseason.

Praise hits differently coming from a player who took reps on the field alongside Hall of Famer Andre Johnson.

From a player who went through the growing pains of a fairly young franchise. From a player who went through postseason heartbreak similar to what befell the 2023 squad against Baltimore in the divisional round.

Jones sees a path for Houston past Round 2. It starts with Nico Collins and carries over to Tank Dell and Diggs in the passing game.

“When you have receivers where you can’t double-cover anybody, just like we had when I was with the Texans … that’s the dynamic of the game,” Jones said. “No matter where that ball goes, something is going to happen.”

Stroud believes offensive production can catapult to new levels with “five No. 1 receivers.” Maybe it’s far-fetched to say Houston has five, but three on any given Sunday could be a legitimate reality for opposing defenses to worry about.

Everyone has a defined role. Collins, who just inked a three-year extension, wins with size across the middle and in the red zone. Dell, who was on pace for over 1,200 yards before suffering a season-ending leg injury in December, has the vertical speed to win both on the boundary and in the slot.

And Diggs, who since 2020 leads all NFL receivers in receptions (445), has been considered one of the league’s better route-runners, especially when targeting the middle of the field.

Jones, who won a Super Bowl with Baltimore a dozen years ago while splitting targets with Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, Dennis Pitta and Ray Rice, remembers having a similar assignment in Houston when the franchise clinched its first playoff berth.

“You had Andre on one side, Kevin Walter on the other or in the slot. I’d get in the slot sometimes, and we had Owen Daniels,” Jones said. “Plus, we had Arian Foster out [of the] backfield. That’s when we hit the playoffs.

“When you got that around you, people can’t be one-dimensional. They can’t just say, ‘We’re going to lock this side down. ‘ You can’t do it. That’s when you get to be great.”

Jones can see a blueprint for this year’s team that resembles the 2011 playoff roster. That squad made history with the franchise’s first playoff win.

With the five-WR tandem around Stroud, perhaps Houston will make postseason history again, only this time reaching Jones’ home in New Orleans for the Super Bowl.

Patrick Mahomes looked genuinely stunned when the 49ers chose to take the ball first in Super Bowl OT

Patrick Mahomes looked very stunned that the 49ers would take the ball first in Super Bowl 58 OT.

The San Francisco 49ers opting to take the ball first in overtime of Super Bowl 58 has already become one of the most controversial opinions in the history of the big game.

With the adjusted overtime rules in the NFL playoffs, both teams get a chance to possess the ball after regulation ends if the score is tied rather than the first team with possession winning the game with a touchdown.

San Francisco chose to take the ball first rather than second, which set the Chiefs up for a game-winning touchdown drive when the 49ers were only able to kick a field goal on the first OT possession.

NFL Films showed Mahomes’ shocked face when 49ers linebacker Fred Warner revealed what San Francisco wanted to do after it won the coin toss, and Mahomes expressed how everyone was feeling while watching the game at home.

Well, everyone who knew the new rules, anyway.

While it’s all water under the bridge now, it’s very much still a point of debate as to whether or not the 49ers cost themselves the game by taking the ball first in overtime.

We’ll never know what would’ve happened in the alternate scenario, as the Chiefs took hold of that second OT possession and never looked back.

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A mic’d-up Patrick Mahomes was already talking about a Chiefs’ three-peat while celebrating on the field

Patrick Mahomes started talking about a Chiefs’ three-peat before he even left the field!

Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs are already one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history. They won’t, but they could theoretically stop playing winning football and still be remembered for their unprecedented dominance at the top of the NFL.

Based on a new video, Mahomes and the Chiefs aren’t content. At all.

In a new capture from Inside the NFL, a mic’d-up Mahomes is recorded already talking about the Chiefs completing a vaunted “three-peat” while still standing on the Super Bowl 58 celebration stage in Las Vegas. (Note: Our Christian D’Andrea explained what they have to do in the coming months to achieve that.) The man literally just won his third-ever championship and should, conceivably, be basking in the glow of his latest success.

Instead, Mahomes is talking about winning three straight before he even gets his shoulder pads. Maybe that’s why he’s so great:

No NFL team has ever won three straight Super Bowls. Not the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick New England Patriots. Not the Joe Montana-Bill Walsh San Francisco 49ers. And not the Chuck Noll Pittsburgh Steelers.

If Mahomes gets his wish, the Chiefs may genuinely stand alone with unprecedented pro football glory.

Taylor Swift donned her Chiefs Super Bowl hat leaving Melbourne after her Eras Tour stop

Swift was repping for boyfriend Travis Kelce while Down Under for the Eras Tour.

Taylor Swift spent the weekend in Melbourne, Australia, performing three-straight nights of the Eras Tour at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was her highest-attended concert ever, with Friday night’s show setting a new single-show record with 96,000 fans in attendance, a mark that was met both Saturday and Sunday nights.

MORE: The Taylor Swift 2024 Eras Tour surprise song tracker.

On departure from Melbourne, Swift was seen keeping boyfriend Travis Kelce on her mind — literally — as she donned the Super Bowl champions hat that he earned a week prior. Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers on February 11, a game the 14-time Grammy winner was in attendance for.

It wasn’t her only memento of Kelce as the singer wore the TNT bracelet she received form him as a gift that includes their initials.

Swift is headed to Sydney next with four shows coming up February 23 through February 26.

Travis Kelce donates $100,000 to GoFundMe for 2 children shot at Chiefs parade

This is an extremely kind gesture by Travis Kelce.

Travis Kelce loves Kansas City and its fans. The star tight end is showing his unwavering support following a tragic shooting during the Chiefs’ recent Super Bowl parade.

After an unthinkable shooting changed the trajectory of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebrations, many have stepped up to support those who were directly impacted.  The Chiefs launched “Kansas City Strong,” an emergency fund that supports victims of violence and first responders. Patrick and Brittany Mahomes visited injured parade victims in the hospital. Taylor Swift donated $100,000 to support the family of Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a local DJ who lost her life following the event.

Now, Travis Kelce has also stepped up to help with a $100,000 donation. Per Jackie Strause of The Hollywood Reporter, Kelce sent two $50,000 payments through his Eighty-Seven and Running Foundation to the GoFundMe of the Reyes family, whose two daughters sustained leg injuries during the parade.

Jamaal Williams told us how he’s getting Aaron Jones into anime — and where you should start

Honestly, the whole interview is a lesson in the power of friendship.

Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams haven’t been teammates since 2020. That doesn’t mean they don’t still hang out — or team up to chat about Japanese cartoons.

Williams is the NFL’s preeminent anime expert, and at the 2024 Super Bowl Radio Row, he took us through the beginner’s guide to the genre, including how he introduced the current Green Bay Packers’ back to it.

Jones might only be able to process an episode at a time and is quite ready for a Chainsaw Man marathon, but he admitted Williams — who rolled up to the interview at Bounty’s Wingman shack replete in an old school Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers t-shirt — has got him watching. Especially when the weather gets cold up in Wisconsin.

“Jamaal got anime popping in the NFL,” Jones said. “I feel like there were anime fans, but nobody just came out the way Jamaal did. And now you see everybody all anime fans, all watching anime.”

The full interview touches on everything from whether or not the Badger State has good buffalo wings (spoiler: nope) to…

You can check it out below:

Aidan Hutchinson and Brian Branch are channeling their rookie snubs into QB destruction

Hutchinson fell to No. 2 at the draft. Branch hardly got any rookie of the year votes. And now these slights are fuel to their fire.

Aidan Hutchinson slipped to the second overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Brian Branch garnered only six third-place votes when it came to defensive rookie of the year ballots this winter.

This lack of recognition did nothing to dim their play for an ascendant Detroit Lions team. Slipping in the draft left Hutchinson to remain in his home state as the alpha dog amidst the Lions pass rush. Branch was the jack-of-all-trades head coach Dan Campbell needed in his secondary, bringing value as a wide-ranging safety against the pass and a downhill missile against the run.

In fact, they’re letting this lack of respect fuel them.

“Falling to No. 2 ended up becoming the biggest blessing that’s ever came to me,” Hutchinson said. “I try to look at any adverse moments or any times where you feel like you get the short end of the stick — I try to look for the bigger picture.”

You can catch the entire interview, ranging from the virtues of Detroit-style pizza — a style Branch still hasn’t tried! — to what each learned from national title-winning college coaches to how defenders adjust to pre-snap motion from the line of scrimmage and deep in the secondary alike, below:

Chris Jones’ agent had the funniest response to him saying he’s staying with Chiefs during Super Bowl parade

Chris Jones does not sound like a man who will make it to NFL free agency.

Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones would be one of the most sought-after free agents this spring if he were to leave Kansas City, but he said very clearly he intends to be back with the Chiefs for the years to come.

During Wednesday’s Kansas City Super Bowl parade, a very energetic Jones told the crowd that he wasn’t going anywhere once his contract expires with the Chiefs.

Jones sure sounds like he’s very intent on re-signing with Kansas City, even if he might lose a little leverage on his next deal by so openly suggesting he’s willing to return on a new deal before meaningful negotiations take place.

“And for those who want Chris Jones gone, I ain’t going nowhere, baby!” Jones exclaimed during his parade speech, adding he plans to be in Kansas City “this year, next year and the year after!”

Some NSFW language to follow. 

As you could imagine, Jones’ agent Michael J. Katz immediately joked about such a bold proclamation being possibly influenced by the festivities.

While we’re sure once the contract negotiations start that it’ll be a little trickier to just immediately sign pen to paper, other NFL teams dreaming of adding the elite defensive tackle might need to pump the breaks.

Even if Jones might be a little caught up in the moment, it definitely sounds like staying for a possible Chiefs Super Bowl three-peat is his wish.

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Willie Gay pulled a J.R. Smith and went shirtless for the Chiefs’ championship parade

Willie Gay and the Chiefs are already turning up

There are plenty of words you can use to describe J.R. Smith. Basketball player. Hooper. Golfer. Internet sensation. They all certainly apply.

But I’d like to add another one to the list: Trendsetter.

Were people going shirtless at championship parades before J.R. Smith did it in 2016? I’m sure they were. But did anybody do it quite like Smith did it? I think it’s a safe bet that the answer is no. I mean, it’s been nearly a decade and we’re still talking about Smith’s iconic moment. The impact is still reverberating today.

That brings us to Willie Gay. The Chiefs’ linebacker pulled off a shirtless look at Kansas City’s championship parade today while running through the streets.

You already know what the vibes are when you see this man.

We love to see it. The shirtless tradition lives on. Fans were so here for it.