Super Bowl LIV is now set as the Kansas City Chiefs will play the San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL in two weeks.
The Chiefs were the first of the two teams to advance to the Super Bowl on Sunday as they beat the Tennessee Titans 35-24 at Arrowhead Stadium Sunday afternoon. The Chiefs overcame a 10-0 first quarter start and at one point scored four unanswered touchdowns during the game.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 23 of his 35 total pass attempts for 294 yards and three touchdowns against the Titans and had a team-best 53 yards on eight carries. One of those rushes, a scramble late in the second quarter, resulted in a 27-yard touchdown. Mahomes was sacked just twice by the Titans defense on Sunday.
Two of Mahomes’ three touchdown passes went to wide receiver Tyreek Hill in the first half and from 8 and 20 yards out respectively. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins caught Mahomes’ other touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and it was good for 60 yards. Chiefs running back Damien Williams chipped in a 3-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
The chiefs defense limited the Titans offense to just 295 total net yards on Sunday. They also held Titans running back to just 69 rushing yards and a touchdown on his 19 total carries. Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu led the defense in total tackles with nine and defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon registered two of the Chiefs three sacks of Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
In a losing effort, Tannehill completed 21 of his 31 total pass attempts against the Chiefs for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Tannehill did not throw an interception on Sunday and like the Chiefs offense, the Titans offense did not turn the football over any during the AFC Championship Game.
As for the 49ers, they advanced to Super Bowl LIV Sunday night by beating the Green Bay Packers 37-20 at home in the NFC Championship Game. The 49ers never trailed in Sunday’s game and even led the Packers 27-0 at halftime.
49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo only attempted eight passes in Sunday’s win over the Packers and he completed six of them for 77 yards with one of them going to wide receiver Deebo Samuel for 30 yards early in the game. Garoppolo attempted just two passes in the second half of the contest. He was sacked just once during the game by the Packers defense.
The 49ers running game was the story Sunday night as running back Raheem Mostert rushed for 220 yards and four touchdowns on 29 total carries. In total, the 49ers offense rushed for 285 yards against the Packers defense on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
While the Packers offense managed to register 358 total net yards of offense against the 49ers in a losing effort, the unit turned the football over three times in total with quarterback Aaron Rodgers being charged with all of them. Rodgers was intercepted twice on Sunday on his way to completing 31 of his 39 total pass attempts for 326 yards. He threw two second half touchdown passes and was charged with a fumble giveaway on a bad snap exchange in the first half.
The 49ers defense sacked Rodgers three times Sunday night and limited the Packers offense to just 62 net yards rushing of which Green Bay running back Aaron Jones had 56 of on his 12 total carries. 49ers safety Jaquiski Tartt led his team in total tackles with eight.
49ers kicker Robbie Gould chipped in three field goals from 54, 27 and 42 yards out throughout the game with his final make coming with 3:31 left in the fourth quarter.
This will mark the third time that the Chiefs franchise has played in a Super Bowl. Their last Super Bowl appearance came in January of 1970 and at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, LA against the Minnesota Vikings. The Chiefs beat the Vikings in Super Bowl IV 23-7. Their previous Super Bowl appearance came in Super Bowl I against the Packers. They lost that inaugural Super Bowl that was played at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA 35-10.
As for the 49ers, this will be the seventh Super Bowl that they have played in. Their last Super Bowl appearance came in February of 2013 and was a 34-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA. The 49ers won their previous five super Bowl appearances with their last one coming in January of 1995, a 49-26 win over the San Diego Chargers at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami.
Several early Super Bowl LIV lines have the Chiefs installed as 1-point favorites over the 49ers.
