Route to the Super Bowl: Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are hoping to become the first team since the 2003/4 New England Patriots to win back-to-back Super Bowls, having beaten the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Arizona a year ago. They went into the play-offs as the number three seed in the AFC, winning the AFC West with an 11-6 record in the regular season.
They beat the Miami Dolphins 26-7 at home in freezing-cold conditions on Super Wild-Card Weekend. They went on the road in the Divisional Round, defeating the Buffalo Bills 27-24. In the AFC Championship they played the number one seed Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore, winning 17-10 to reach Super Bowl 58.
Route to the Super Bowl: 49ers
San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback Brock Purdy was the last pick, known as ‘Mr Irrelevant’, in the 2022 Draft out of Iowa State. They were the number one seed in the NFC, guaranteeing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs up until the Super Bowl. They defeated the Green Bay Packers 24-21 in the Divisional Round before overcoming a 17-point deficit in the NFC Championship game against the Detroit Lions, winning 34-31. In both of those games, the 49ers had to come from behind to win, but can they afford a slow start against the Chiefs?
Purdy will be just the eighth quarterback to start in the Super Bowl in his first or second season. Should the 49ers be victorious tonight, the Shanahans would become the first father-son duo to win a Super Bowl as head coaches; Kyle with this year’s 49ers and Mike with the Denver Broncos. Kyle Shanahan was the 49ers head coach when they were beaten by the Chiefs in Super Bowl 54 and he also was the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator when they lost to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 51 when the Patriots came from 28-3 down to beat the Falcons.
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Super Bowl 58 in Vegas
Back in September, 32 teams dreamed of lifting the Vince Lombardi trophy in Las Vegas. Only two remain; the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, in what is a rematch of Super Bowl 54 in Miami, where the Chiefs came from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to lift the Vince Lombardi trophy.
The 49ers will be desperate for revenge against a Chiefs team who are looking to win consecutive Super Bowls and become the first team since the 2003/4 New England Patriots to do so. In Super Bowl 57 a year ago, the Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Arizona. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is aiming to win his third Super Bowl in what will be his fourth appearance in the biggest game in the NFL. If Mahomes does lead his side to victory tonight, he will become just the fifth quarterback in the history of the game to win three Super Bowls. The Chiefs have become used to playing in the biggest game in the NFL in recent seasons; they are playing in their fourth Super Bowl in five years.
The 49ers have good pedigree in the Super Bowl, having won it on five occasions, but they have not lifted the Vince Lombardi trophy since 1994. They won five Super Bowls from 1982 and 1994 with the likes of Joe Montana and Steve Young at the helm, but have only reached the Super Bowl on two occasions since; losing both times in 2013 to the Baltimore Ravens and in 2020 against the Chiefs.
Patrick Mahomes (pictured) is aiming to win his third Super Bowl
Credit: Brian Snyder/Reuters
Mahomes is one of the biggest names in the sport and is arguably the best player currently in the NFL. His opposite number, Brock Purdy, was the final pick in the 2022 Draft, dubbed ‘Mr Irrelevant’. The contrast in their salaries is gigantic; Purdy’s 2023 salary was $870,000, compared to the nearly $60 million Mahomes earned this season.
Super Bowl 58 is being played at Allegiant Stadium, the home of the Las Vegas Raiders. Tonight is the first time the Super Bowl is being held in Sin City, becoming the 16th city to host the Super Bowl.
Who will come out on top in Vegas; Mahomes’ Chiefs or Purdy’s 49ers?