Chiefs dominate Ravens to head to second straight Super Bowl
29 January 2024
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs now know who they’ll face in Super LVIII. It will be a rematch of Super LIV against the San Francisco 49ers.
While many faces have changed on both, especially the Chiefs, key pieces from the first game still remain.
One major difference is who is under center for the 49ers. It was Jimmy Garoppolo who was at QB in 2020.
This time, it will be Brock Purdy leading the charge for San Fran.
The Chiefs’ roster has seen a lot more change than the 49ers since then, but Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones and Andy Reid still remain.
Outside of QB, the biggest change for the 49ers is MVP candidate Christian McCaffrey at running back.
The last time the Chiefs faced the Niners was during the 2022-23 season in October, McCaffrey’s first game with the team.
Both teams had completely different paths to the playoffs as well.
The Chiefs had their worst regular season in the Mahomes-Reid era, which included a number of offensive struggles.
The Chiefs had to play their first playoff game on the road in nearly a decade. Instead, the Chiefs embraced the underdog card and the difficult road in front of them.
After a dominant win at home against the Miami Dolphins in record-low temperatures in the AFC Wild Card round, they went on the road and defeated two of the hottest teams in the NFL in the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens.
It was their defense that helped keep the ship from sinking and allowed their offense to find their rhythm just in time for the postseason, a contrast from prior years.
The offense started clicking and the Chiefs finds themselves back in the Super Bowl.
San Francisco is where many expected them to be.
After losing in the NFC Championship last season where two QBs got injured and they were forced to put McCaffrey at QB, many expected them to be at least in the conference championship this season with a healthy Purdy.
While not as rocky as the Chiefs regular season, the Niners suffered a three-game losing streak in October.
They picked things back up, winning six in a row, but we’re blown out by the Ravens on Christmas, where Purdy threw four interceptions.
But the Niners still finished first in the NFC, earning a bye and homefield advantage.
They squeaked out a Divisional Round win against the Packers and then followed that with a 17-point comeback against the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship.
For the Niners, they will be looking to avenge that Super Bowl loss.
For the Chiefs, they will be looking to cement a dynasty by adding their third ring in four years and be the first team to win back-to-back titles in over 20 years.
Two historic franchises battle it out in what should be quite a game with a ton of intriguing storylines.
Kickoff for Super Bowl LVIII will be at 5:30 p.m. CT in Las Vegas.