Logo

MIAMI — Teams get here, of course. The 49ers and Chiefs are here, earned their way here, of course. But not the same way, of course.

Patrick Mahomes might as well have planned the itinerary, piloted the charter flight from Kansas City, checked his teammates into the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort & Spa in Aventura and cooked up some Florida seafood for his teammates during the week here. Has any player ever been more responsible for carrying his team to a Super Bowl than this 24-year old sensation?

Jimmy Garoppolo looks as if he could be starring in “The Bachelor’’ even though he is not starring for his 49ers. Oh, he has come up with some big performances this past season and the Bay Area loves him, even though everyone realizes, at times, and especially thus far in the playoffs, the 28-year old is a member of the band and far from a solo artist.

So, if hyping quarterback battles is your thing, steer clear of Super Bowl 2020 on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium. This does not figure to be a fair fight. If you are more into intriguing matchups on both sides of the ball, if the 49ers’ lethal defense vs. the Chiefs’ killer speed gets you going, have at it. If seeing how an historically efficient running game can carry the Niners to a title or if a transcendent athlete such as Mahomes can lift the Chiefs with his enormous physical gifts, this is must-see entertainment.

The 49ers (15-3) are looking to claim their sixth Lombardi Trophy and first since after the 1994 season, when they beat the Chargers at Joe Robbie Stadium — the same spot (with a different name) this game will be played. The most recent Super Bowl appearance for the 49ers came after the 2012 season, when Colin Kaepernick and the Niners lost a wild shoot out to the Ravens in New Orleans.

The Chiefs (14-4) won Super Bowl IV to help usher in the NFL-AFL merger but have not been back on the big stage in 50 years.

“Being in the right organization with the right coaches, the right teammates … being in this league, it’s not about one person,” Mahomes said. “It’s not about the quarterback. It’s about your team and how you go out there and play as a team and play together.

“So I think with both me and him, we’ve been put in a lot of great situations and we’ve tried to maximize that every day we get those opportunities. I think Jimmy would say the same thing.”

Well, for most of the week leading into the game, Jimmy coolly deflected questions investigating the notion he is a bystander — heck, he threw just eight passes in the NFC Championship game — as a rock-solid defense and powerhouse rushing attack carried the 49ers to rousing playoff victories over the Vikings and Packers.

“You want to throw but when you’re rushing the ball for eight, nine yards a carry it’s like, ‘Do we really want to throw?’ ” Garoppolo said.

“Did anybody notice how good we were running the ball?’’ 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said of the non-throwing NFC title-game victory. “We weren’t just running it to punt and try to win three to zero. Jimmy should never apologize for us running the ball too well.’’

Jimmy GaroppoloAPJimmy GaroppoloAP

There are no apologizes emanating from the Chiefs, only slack-jawed awe at the wonders of Mahomes. He has started four times in the playoffs and the Chiefs are averaging 37 points in those games. He is the only player in NFL history with more than 10 touchdown passes and no interceptions in the postseason. His career playoff passer rating of 115.0 is the highest in league history.

Mahomes last year became the league’s youngest Most Valuable Player. For an encore, he is the heavy favorite to win Super Bowl MVP honors. He has to win the game first, though.

Marquee matchup

49ers DE Dee Ford vs. Chiefs RT Mitchell Schwartz

These two were teammates for three years together in Kansas City and knocked heads many times on the practice field.

“My game is interrupting your set and your timing,’’ Ford said. “He’s very precise with his timing and his footwork and everything he does in the pass game and run game. My job is to manipulate that and throw off his timing. So that’s what I plan to do.’’

Schwartz might be the best right tackle in the league; Ford had 6.5 sacks this season in just 11 games. Geoff Schwartz, former Giants offensive lineman, is Mitchell’s older brother and a student of line play.

“Mitch should be fine,’’ Geoff told The Post. “Dee Ford has to get off the ball quick on my brother. If he doesn’t it’s over, Mitch will lock him down. It depends on who can figure out best what the other person is doing. Mitch would be better than that than Dee Ford.’’

4 Downs

Reid and right

Everyone loves Big Red. Andy Reid, with 221 victories in the regular season and postseason, is the winningest coach in NFL history to not have won a Super Bowl. In 21 years as a head coach with the Eagles and Chiefs, the 61-year-old has taken 15 teams to the playoffs and has experienced just three losing seasons. He lost five times in conference championship games and once in the Super Bowl, 24-21 to the Patriots, following the 2004 season. His Chiefs players wore red and white Hawaiian shirts on the flight to south Florida in his honor. A Super Bowl triumph is all he needs to secure a Hall of Fame invite.

“I’m not good with all of that,” the ever low-key Reid said. “I’ve had so many good experiences in my career. I’m not thinking about pressure or anything. Just taking it all in and getting ready to try to play a good football game. I’m going to enjoy this.”

Take your pick

This has never happened before: tight ends on each team with 1,000 receiving yards, making this the best Super Bowl matchup ever at this position. The 49ers’ George Kittle (85-1,053) owns the second-highest grade of any player in this game, according to Pro Football Focus, and the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce (97-1,229) is No. 4. Both are explosive, emotive, nearly unstoppable weapons capable of wrecking a game, breaking a tackle and parading into the end zone. Kittle has the added benefit of being a spectacular blocker in the run game.

Keep-away

The 49ers were the second-best rushing offense in the NFL, averaging 144.1 yards per game, and they’ve taken this to the extreme in the playoffs, ripping the Vikings for 186 yards and gashing the Packers for 285 — with relative unknown Raheem Mostert running for 220 yards and four touchdowns in the NFC title game. The Chiefs cannot allow a repeat of that production.

“A defense in general doesn’t want to get the ball run on them,’’ 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa said, “and when you literally can’t do anything to stop it, like some of the teams haven’t been able to do, it’s degrading for the defense and it’s tiring, it tires them out and it keeps us fresh. So it’s good in all facets.’’

No Limit

49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh likened the Chiefs to “a roster from the Olympic relay team,’’ and he’s not blowing smoke. Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman and Sammy Watkins can fly, and the 49ers will be hard-pressed to keep these speedsters in front of them. Hill, who runs 4.29 in the 40-yard dash, is only half-joking when he says, “If I’m healthy and my mind is in the right place, I’d go try out for the Olympics, put together a relay. We’d show these track guys, ‘Hey, we football players can do that, too.’ ’’

Quote of the day

49ers free safety Jimmie Ward said, “If we do line up for a relay, they probably win. But one thing about it, this is football. There’s such thing as a helmet and shoulder pads. And we hit, and we are very physical with how we hit.’’

The Number

The 49ers finished tied with the Bills for allowing the fewest pass plays of 20 or more yards.

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy