Four years ago, Kansas City defeated San Francisco, coming from behind at halftime to do so. Sunday night, in Las Vegas, the two teams meet again in Super Bowl LVIII. The 49ers, the team of the 80's with coach Bill Walsh and quarterback Joe Montana, have lost in their last two trips to the big dance, as, in addition to losing to KC in 2020, the 49ers lost the Harbaugh Bowl to Baltimore, and some folks thought that, even though Jim Harbaugh isn't in San Francisco anymore, there would've been a rematch with the Ravens.
2nd year QB Brock Purdy isn't exactly the 2nd coming of Montana, but he's been in 2 NFC title games in as many years (1-1), and some think he might be the NFC's answer to Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes, who has played in the AFC title game in each of his 6 seasons in the league. Madison Avenue loves Mahomes, given his commercial endorsements for State Farm, Subway, Head & Shoulders shampoo, and, briefly, Heinz ketchup. Purdy? A big game on Sunday might net him some attention from advertisers.
After Kansas City beat Baltimore 12 days ago to punch their ticket, there were accusations coming from obvious non-fans that the game was rigged. It wasn't. Baltimore's defense disappeared in the 2nd half. The whining from conservatives, of course, was due to the Chiefs' current #1 fan, singer Taylor Swift, whom right wing screwballs think will make an announcement at halftime to endorse President Biden's re-election campaign. I wish they'd just get over themselves, but they're just too paranoid to think straight.
In beating upstart Detroit, Purdy earned himself a chance to break the 49ers' Super Bowl hex, after his injuries last season left them a game short of the big dance with a loss to Philadelphia. He has weapons like Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel. Mahomes, of course, has Travis Kelce, and a supporting cast on both offense & defense that isn't settling for "been there, done that". Hardly.
So what happens? This will be a shootout, unlike last time. Kyle Shanahan will play back the tape of Super Bowl 54 to remind his team of where they went wrong. There are even prop bets available on Swift, for cryin' out loud. If the 49ers obsess over avenging their previous defeat vs. Kansas City, it's the wrong road to take. They need to focus on the here & now to win their first title in nearly 30 years. Otherwise, it's going to be business as usual for Kansas City.
The pick: Kansas City by 3. Of course, I could be wrong.
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