From how to handle Travis Kelce to why it might be a big day for Christian McCaffrey, here’s a mini San Francisco scouting report.
The Super Bowl LVIII stage is approaching and, yes, it does have a familiar setup. A Super Bowl Sunday showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs in a leap year, just a handful of months ahead of a presidential election? The NFL has been here before.
But the Niners should hope that history from four years ago isn’t fully repeating itself.
Andy Reid’s Chiefs overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit—with a little help from Jet Chip Wasp—to Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers to win Super Bowl LIV last time in Miami. The two teams will take the gridiron with a Lombardi Trophy on the line again at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday in Las Vegas, with plenty of new faces on both sides from the first matchup (technically this includes Taylor Swift), as well as some still around that San Francisco knows well enough to fear (Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce and Chris Jones, oh my!).
Confetti showered down from the sky—well, the rafters—above when the final seconds ticked off the clock in the last championship battle between these teams. A rowdy trophy presentation ensued. The same will happen in the aftermath of the rematch inside Allegiant Stadium, though this time the 49ers hope the celebratory gear will match their shades of red and gold instead.
For that to happen, here are four 49ers keys to watch over four quarters of action Sunday.
What if, and stay with things here, the premier portion of Sunday’s game actually occurs when Mahomes and Kelce are off the field? Because the most crucial Super Bowl matchup in Vegas could be a battle of who wins more scheme bets between Shanahan, perhaps the league’s preeminent offensive play-caller, and Kansas City’s Steve Spagnuolo, potentially the most respected defensive coordinator in the NFL.
The 49er’s offense this season reads similarly to an overachiever’s report card—third in points, second in yards, and first in EPA per drive, Success Rate and DVOA. And KC’s suddenly stout defense, which at times has overshadowed the team’s star-studded other side of the ball, allowed the second-fewest points and yards—plus posted marks of seventh in DVOA and fifth in EPA per drive.
Basically, it’s going to be strength versus strength. And what more could football fanatics ask for (shhh, still-distraught Lions fans, that was rhetorical)?
There have been plenty of back-and-forths between Shanahan’s offenses and Spags’ defenses over the years at a variety of stops—including Super Bowl LIV and a 44-23 Chiefs regular season in 2022. But plenty has changed since.
So, what should be expected on San Francisco’s side of this coaching dual?
49ers tight end George Kittle joked earlier in the week that the team’s game plan was to simply give the NFL’s rushing leader, dual-threat back Christian McCaffrey, the ball every play. A fun answer, but also perhaps not far off. San Fran has plenty at its offensive disposal—a quarterback in Brock Purdy who has proved nearly perfect at running Shanahan’s system (which, by the way, doesn’t mean he’s just a “system QB”), skill players aplenty (McCaffrey, Kittle and wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk all have 1,000+ scrimmage yards), maybe the best left tackle in football (Trent Williams) and the list goes on. But of all its many options, San Francisco’s best tactic may be to feed McCaffrey, not exactly a mind-blowing strategy, and take advantage of Kansas City’s biggest weakness.
The 49ers finished second in rushing efficiency during the regular season. The Chiefs finished down at 27th. Shanahan’s ground game also placed third in total yards, first in scores and fourth in yards per attempt. And that success came in a variety of ways. In a league that loves a spread offense, the 49ers are still dedicated to 21 personnel. And 22. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk is as versatile as a piece of fabric in his now-famous wife’s hands—lining up all over the field to do the dirty work and pummel defenders out of McCaffrey’s way.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs often like to use subpackages to take advantage of their best defensive asset—the secondary. That’s tough to do when the opponent brings out a tight end or two, plus a fullback.
