Why The Kansas City Chiefs Will Win Super Bowl LVIII
Super Bowl LVIII is finally here. Al Davis is currently screaming in his grave as it features a matchup between the 49ers and Chiefs as they roam his facilities in Las Vegas. VSM will feature previews on both teams heading into the big game. Here is why the Kansas City Chiefs will win Super Bowl LVIII!
The Chiefs Have Found Their Identity
Andy Reid deserves all the credit in the world for what he’s done with this Chiefs team. After KC lost to the Raiders, Reid has completely changed the identity of this team and Patrick Mahomes has bought into it. Earlier in the season, Mahomes was playing hero ball looking for deep shots down the field. Jawaan Taylor kept getting exposed and nobody on the wide receiver group could make a play. It was a losing formula.
The Chiefs are playing their best ball at the right time. More importantly, they have scored points on their first drive of the game in every single postseason outing this year. They have built an early lead and are leaning on their ground attack. Whether you want to hear it or not, the offense runs through Isiah Pacheco.
Reid hates running the ball. He’s taken his ego out of it and has reinvented his team on the fly. A lot of coaches wouldn’t have been able to pull this off. Not with the flaws on the roster.
Pacheco:
Regular Season: 14.6 carries per game.
Postseason: 21 carries per game.
Run the ball and create long drives keeping the defense off the field. Let Mahomes be the trigger man to short routes to Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice. Trust no one else. That’s the formula right now. It’s on you to figure it out. Kansas City has had 16 drives of seven plays or more this postseason. Most of which coming in the first half to build an early lead.
Reid also deserves credit for getting his offensive line to play better. Taylor, as mentioned previously, has been a disaster after signing that mega contract. Donovan Smith isn’t much better but at least he lines up on side. KC has a major weakness at tackle and Reid has simply gotten that unit to get better as the season progressed. People sometimes forget that Reid got his coaching start coaching offensive lineman and rose through the ranks coaching that unit for Mike Holmgren in Green Bay. He’s very good at getting his linemen to play better over the course of the season.
This postseason, KC has allowed just two sacks and zero false starts. KC as a team has allowed just 90 penalty yards through three games. They’re well-coached. Simple as that.
Now you’re getting a team with an identity behind a coach that simply doesn’t lose with time to prepare. Reid is 30-6 when he has more than one week to prepare for a game. That’s a real stat. The Chiefs know who they are right now and they have one of the greatest football minds ever to do it on the sidelines. Why would they lose this game?
The 49ers’ Defense Is Fraudulent
Speaking of identity, the 49ers defense is having an identity problem. The loss of Demeco Ryans is real. Kyle Shanahan still runs the show in San Francisco and it feels as though the 49ers are a mixed jumbled mess on defense. They still have concepts of the Seattle cover 3 while trying to marry it with what Steve Wilks wants to do. They have been nothing short of a disaster on that side of the ball during the playoffs.
San Francisco is allowing 26 points per game on defense with an average margin of victory of three points. The 49ers haven’t played an A game this postseason yet. If anything, they have skated by with C+ performances finding ways to win. Are you getting away with that against the Chiefs?
Nick Bosa has two of the three total sacks during the postseason. Chase Young has been a total disaster. He has no interest in doing anything other than getting up the field. Multiple plays he’s been in the worst spot on the field, behind the quarterback not affecting the play. Do you trust this pass rush right now?
Frankly, this defense has cratered since Talanoa Hufanga went down with an ACL. What Kyle Hamilton does for the Baltimore defense is what Hufanga does for this one. It’s not the same unit without him in a multitude of ways. They don’t tackle nearly as well and have no answer for what Travis Kelce does. Can rookie Ji’Ayir Brown cover Kelce? It’s a tough ask but that’s what’s going to have to happen.
Fred Warner is going to have to play out of his mind and be in three spots all at the same time. Maybe he can do it. However, with the level of play this defense has shown us, they’re not winning this game. Not the defense that we’ve seen from San Francisco over the last few weeks.
On the flip side, doesn’t it feel like the Chiefs have the perfect defense to win this game? San Francisco is weak on the interior of the offensive line. Purdy is 6-foot tall and isn’t the same guy in a dropback pass game. Chris Jones has entered the chat. If Jones can win the battle and get action in the paint, it probably spells night, night for the 49ers.
Brock Purdy Is Not Beating Patrick Mahomes
Do I even need to say anything else? I’m sure 800 different people have told you the same thing. “I’m not betting against Patrick Mahomes”. I’m not going to shove more of that narrative down your throat. We’re all adults here. We get it.
However, I want you to also consider this. You’re not just betting on Mahomes. You’re betting on the kicking game to finish Mahomes’ drives. When Mahomes gets in field goal range, you trust Harrison Butker to make the kick. When Purdy gets in field goal range, does anybody have trust Jake Moody is making the kick? Why did San Francisco pick Moody in the third round again when they had no draft picks? It’s as dumb as it gets.
Moody has missed a field goal in each playoff win. You’re not just taking Mahomes. His kicker is far more trustworthy too when it comes to finishing drives. Can Purdy really beat Mahomes while having the shakiest kicker in the league? Sounds like a tall task.
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