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It’s finally time. Super Bowl LIV is here, and the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs are gearing up for all the marbles.
Doing some last-minute prep before Sunday’s 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff (Fox) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida? Our NFL team has you covered with everything you’d ever want to know, including team previews, bold predictions and game picks. We also provide betting advice from our ESPN Chalk experts, game-plan breakdowns from our analysts and in-depth statistics from our ESPN Stats & Information team.
Let’s dive into 49ers-Chiefs with our one-stop-shop cheat sheet.
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Previewing 49ers vs. Chiefs
The 49ers and Chiefs have plenty in common. They’re both built in the image of brilliant offensive minds in Kyle Shanahan and Andy Reid. Their offensive philosophies, at their core, are identical: speed kills. They force defenses to guard every blade of grass on the field and punish them in seconds when they try to get away with taking a play off. At their best, it seems absurd that anybody could stop them. For most of this postseason, nobody has.
Super Bowl LIV: Feb. 2 at 6:30 p.m. ET
Everything you need to know:
• Barnwell primer » | Game keys »
• Staff picks » | Choose a side »
• Chiefs, 49ers need for speed »
• Ranking starters » | Full bracket »
More: Super Bowl LIV » | NFL coverage »
Of course, these teams serve up the same problems in two totally different ways. The Chiefs have to set an alarm on their phone to remind themselves to run the ball; this is the offense that called 31 pass plays against just six runs while scoring seven consecutive touchdowns in a furious onslaught of a comeback against the Texans in the divisional round. The 49ers, meanwhile, have dialed up runs on 71 of their past 88 plays.
You can make a credible case for each side using the weapon the other doesn’t have to win in Miami. The 49ers have a dominant front four and the league’s second-best defense. The Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes, and that seems to grant them access to a previously unimaginable realm of football at his best. — Bill Barnwell, senior NFL writer
