In two weeks the San Francisco 49ers will be taking on the Kansas City Chiefs for the Super Bowl (NFL’s Championship Game). This is quite possibly the most prestigious award in American sports. The prices for tickets will definitely prove that to be true this season. The game will be in Miami, Florida at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens (Home of the Miami Dolphins, Miami Hurricanes, and Florida Marlins). The average ticket price for a Dolphins home game is around $84.51 with the ability to find tickets as low as $17. The cheapest ticket currently available is $3,200 over on SeatGeek and honestly that probably won’t last very long. The most expensive tickets tend to be in the $25,000 range. When you add in flights, hotel rooms, alcohol and food, this makes attending a Super Bowl event almost exclusively a business outing. Unless you are either very wealthy or just an insane supporter of a team in the game this prices 99% of the population out.
So how did we get here? Well, last night the Chiefs did what the Chiefs do best and that’s come back from an early double digit deficit to win by double digits. In both of their games this postseason, Patrick Mahomes was able to avenge two of his losses from the season. The Titans were unable to get their rushing game going and it fell on Ryan Tannehill to get it done (and we all know how that goes when that happens). We also know that the Chiefs won’t be as lucky if they try to do this with Jimmy Garoppolo. There really is no comparing those two Quarterbacks in terms of their capability. Garoppolo doesn’t have to do much when their rushing game gets going but he can if he needs to. I would say that the Chiefs got lucky but I think we all know that it’s just not fact.
Honestly the same goes for the 49ers. They did what they do best which is win games. They hit the gas pedal from the beginning and never really looked back. Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers gave a valiant effort trying to get back into the game but it was too little, too late. So on one end we have Jimmy Garoppolo (Bill Belichick’s choice to replace Tom Brady at one point) and Patrick Mahomes (quite possibly the most exciting Quarterback in NFL history). How does one go about choosing who is going to win this game? Let me try.
QB Comparison
| Player | Pass Yards | INT | Comp % | Tot TD | Rush Yards | Fum | QB Rate | Sk |
| Mahomes | 4,646 | 5 | 65.9% | 37 | 324 | 5 | 115.82 | 19 |
| Garoppolo | 4,186 | 14 | 68.8% | 29 | 61 | 10 | 95.36 | 39 |
If we were strictly comparing these teams by Quarterback you can see where the results lay. Patrick Mahomes being compared to really anyone in the NFL this season outside of maybe Lamar Jackson would be a mistake. You might be thinking that those numbers look closer than you really thought they would be but keep in mind that Mahomes missed week’s 8, 9, and 12 due to injury.
Stadium Distance Comparison
So let’s see how far the stadiums are from each other. Maybe that will be a factor.
Team Comparison
Finally, let’s finish by doing an overall team comparison. Every team is going to obviously be different but understand how each team operates can kind of tell us how the game will play out. They did play this season during the Pre-Season but honestly, I don’t put any stock into that game because 1) not all the players play and 2) the starters usually play just one or two series.
| Statistic | Kansas City Chiefs | San Francisco 49ers |
| Passing Yards | 4,498 | 3,792 |
| Rushing Yards | 1,569 | 2,305 |
| Total Yards | 6,067 | 6,097 |
| Passing TD | 30 | 28 |
| Rushing TD | 16 | 23 |
| Total TD | 46 | 51 |
| Int. Thrown | 5 | 13 |
| Fumbles | 20 | 19 |
| Penalties | 107 for 1,029 yards | 105 for 939 yards |
| Pass Yds Allowed | 3,543 | 2,707 |
| Rush Yds Allowed | 2,051 | 1,802 |
| TOT TD Allowed | 35 | 34 |
| Takeaways | 29 | 32 |
So what does all of this really tell you? It shows that both teams are fairly balanced on offense and defense which is a little surprising considering the differences in playing style over the past couple of weeks. The Chiefs are a completely different team than when they started the season. The list of players on IR or Questionable for the Super Bowl is pretty astounding:
Players on the Injured Reserve List or listed as “Out”
| Kansas City Chiefs | San Francisco 49ers |
| Spencer Ware (RB) | Marquise Goodwin (WR) |
| Felton Davis III (WR) | Shawn Poindexter (WR) |
| Marcus Kemp (WR) | Jalen Hurd (WR) |
| David Wells (TE) | Trent Taylor (WR) |
| Greg Senat (LT) | Andrew Lauderdale (LT) |
| Martinas Rankin (LG) | Weston Richburg (C) |
| Alex Okafor (LDE) | Shon Coleman (RT) |
| Breeland Speaks (LDE) | Ronald Blair III (LDE) |
| Tim Ward (RDE) | D.J. Jones (LDT) |
| Emmanuel Ogbah (RDE) | Kentavius Street (RDT) |
| Darius Harris (MLB) | Julian Taylor (RDT) |
| Michael Hunter (LCB) | Damontre’ Moore (RDE) |
| Juan Thornhill (FS) | Tim Harris (LCB) |
| Keith Reaser (RCB) | Jason Verrett (RCB) |
The good news is for the Chiefs that the 49ers are struggling just as much at this point in the season. I would expect there to be a few injuries but this seems like a bit much. You will notice a lot of those names from the impact that they have had on the field. The names you don’t recognize are because either you aren’t a die hard fan of the team or they don’t play a position that you follow closely. Just know that most of those players have had a major impact on each team this season. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out and how each team will learn to exploit the weaknesses created by the injuries on this list.
Our Prediction
Kansas City Chiefs – 32
San Francisco 49ers – 27
The legend and legacy of Patrick Mahomes is about to take off.
