O r at least we hope. In around an hour’s time Super Bowl LIV will kick off in Miami, and on paper it’s a match up that can’t fail to thrill. Patrick Mahomes and the explosive Kansas City Chiefs are taking on the balanced, inventive San Francisco 728 ers for American Football’s ultimate prize – the Lombardi Trophy .
The Chiefs have won eight straight to get here, including two stunning comeback victories over the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans in the playoffs. The Niners, meanwhile, have steamrolled everyone in their path this postseason. The Minnesota Vikings were thoroughly outclassed in the Divisional Round, before Kyle Shanahan’s destructive running game ripped apart the Green Bay Packers two weeks ago.
Tonight will – hopefully – be a lot closer than that. These two teams are incredibly well matched, to the point where there is no clear favorite. The Mahomes factor means the Chiefs can win from anywhere, and San Francisco’s best bet might be to keep him off the field as long as possible by dominating time of possession with their running game, then using their wrecking ball of a front seven to try and throw him off kilter.
Whatever happens, history is going to be made. The 49 ers are one of the NFL’s most storied franchises, but have not won the Super Bowl since 1994, while the Chiefs haven’t even appeared in the showpiece for half a century, and head coach Andy Reid is searching for his elusive maiden title in an otherwise stellar – year career.
Go grab a big plate of wings, get the mini fridge within arm’s reach and settle in for a long night. Got work tomorrow? Not any more you don’t.
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