No need to worry if you’re coming down with football fever, it’s simply due to the 53rd Super Bowl which takes place this Sunday in Miami, Florida. A superb campaign has set up a mouthwatering finale. The two teams contesting this conclusion to the NFL season are the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. In terms of Superbowl experience, the 49ers tower over the Chiefs with five wins compared to a solitary 1970 triumph. 50 years have passed since that Kansas win, so if the game was to be decided by experience alone, the Vince Lombardi trophy would already be heading west. But, of course, history has little bearing on events on the field this Sunday.
We have a matchup between two teams with different styles. In one corner, the free-scoring Chiefs, led by the outstanding Patrick Mahomes with hugely impressive stats this season. A near 66% completion rate, over 4,000 yds, 26 touchdowns and only five interceptions. That would strike fear into the hearts of any defensive line, so it’s just as well that San Fran have the second-best pass defence in the league. The fearsome Richard Sherman leads the line, ably backed up by Emmanuel Mosely and Nick Bosa, who has three sacks to his name this season.
The prolific Chiefs will not have it all their own way. However, there’s no doubt that they possess the ammunition to hurt the 49ers. Mahomes, in only his second season, has blossomed into the top quarterback in the league, although Baltimore Raven fans will make a case for their star Lamar Jackson. So influential is Mahomes that Chiefs fans will feel confident that if he plays well, they will be celebrating their second title. But like all quarterbacks, he needs good receivers and luckily Kansas have them as well. Tyreek Hill is probably the fastest player in the league and if he gets any open space in front of him, it’s a probable touchdown. He’s been clocked at 4.25 seconds over 40 yards; he has received for 860 yards and scored 7 touchdowns. He could be worth a bet to go over the 100 yards on Sunday. Also heavily involved is Travis Kelce, with 1,229 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns.
One last Mahomes possibility: Don’t rule him out of running in a touchdown. He’s rushed for 218 yards and scored 2 touchdowns this campaign. The odds of such an event happening are mightily attractive. On the ground, the Chiefs are not so sharp. Ranked 23rd in the league, they obviously prefer the air offense. But Damien Williams is no slouch running with the ball and ran for 92 yards in the AFC championship game against Tennessee. In all likelihood, if the Chiefs are going to win, not only do they need their pass offense to shine, they need their defense to stop the 49ers offensive rush. Ranked second in the league, San Fran have the tools to destroy the Chiefs on the ground. In Rasheem Mostert, they have a one-man wrecking machine; just ask Green Bay. They saw Mostert rush for 220 yards and run in four touchdowns in the bargain as they were blitzed in the NFC Championship game.
While Mostert is a good bet to score the first touchdown (and an anytime scorer bet is a no-brainer), there are other interesting subplots to captivate the audience. The 49ers quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, has been relegated to an afterthought but that could work in his favour. The 49er’s coach, Kyle Shanahan, will likely stick to the tried and trusted running game to win the game, yet Garoppolo is capable of producing a performance to surprise many. In conclusion, we can expect a fascinating battle. Regarding the points total, we feel that this will go over the 54.5 mark. The Chiefs should edge it 35 to 27.
Source: SportyTrader.com/en/