Kansas City Chiefs: 11-6, AFC West Champion
WC: 26-7 v Miami
Divisional: 27-24 @ Buffalo
Conference: 17-10 @ Baltimore
Super Bowl Record: 3-2
Last Appearance: Super Bowl 57 (38-35 W v Philadelphia)

How they got here:

If you followed along Kansas City's offense has done everything imaginable to ruin this for Kermit and the Swifties. So many drops, Toney lining up offsides to force them to play on the road, despite an incredible defense this really seemed like the year Kansas City was finally going to be not remotely close to the best team in the AFC. Then they get into the playoffs and put in some ****ing work. Mahomes scored 14 points in the first 2 drives, a field goal since and that was good enough to beat the ****ing Ravens at home. Pretty eye-opening no matter how you look at it.

Mahomes played on the road in the playoffs for the first time in his career (which in it of itself is an insane stat for a guy who is now playing in his 4th Super Bowl) and they put in work. They played on the road for the second time in his career. And they put in work. Patrick Mahomes remains the only active NFL player with equity to go down as the greatest to ever play.

San Francisco 49ers: 12-5, NFC West Champion
WC: Bye
Divisional: 24-21 v Green Bay
Conference: 34-31 v Detroit
Super Bowl Record: 5-2
Last Appearance: Super Bowl 54 (31-20 L v Kansas City)
Last Win: Super Bowl 29 (49-26 v San Diego)

How they got here:

Holy ****ing ****.

The Niners started the season 5-0 and in doing so looked like a generationally dominant team that was going to run away with the NFL.

Then they lost Trent and Deebo, lost 3 straight and looked like total ass doing so causing everyone to assume they were frauds.

Then they won 6 straight and in doing so looked like a generationally dominant team and Brock ****ing Purdy was the runaway betting favorite to win the MVP.

Then Christmas happened.

But all's well that ends well and they made the playoffs as the #1 seed.

Then the Green Bay game happened.

For 50 minutes Bork played like I would and the Niners looked finished. Then he pulled a hell of a comeback out of his ass and they won.

Then the Detroit game happened.

I literally just watched this game a couple hours ago and I still can't explain to you what happened and how except that somehow someway the Niners won. And that's cool!

What makes this Super Bowl so compelling

I can see why people hate both of these franchises for a thousand different reasons, but brace yourself for what will be the most watched televised sporting event (possibly most watched television event of any kind) in American history. And it probably lives up to that. Obviously the Swift element is...a thing. And we are going to have 2 weeks of lead-up for that which will be...a thing. But put that aside for a second and there are stories galore.

Whatever you think of Brock Purdy, last year he was the last pick of the draft. This year he is starting in the Super Bowl. Could he have pulled this off if any other team drafted him? Of course not. He fell ass backwards into an epic situation and the Niners fell ass backwards into a lucky draft pick. Trading 3 1s to move up in the most overrated draft in history only to have your franchise QB be some random guy from Iowa who only got the job because the two guys in front of him went down? If this weren't shoved down your throat for the better part of a year and a half it's the coolest story since Kurt Warner, bagman, who only got the job because the two guys in front of him went down. Btw, this time last year the guy broke his ****ing elbow and yet here we are.

Holy **** Patrick Mahomes. 6 years as a starter. Has made it to the AFC Championship 6 times. Has made it to the Super Bowl 4 times. Has a chance to get his 3rd ring and the ****er is only 28. He won't have Brady level longevity but we are witnessing absolute greatness like most of us have not seen in our lifetime. It sucks if you are a fan of any other team but the Chefs but still.

Rumors circulating this may be the last ride of the Walrus. Historically the man is both massive and massively underrated. His work with Philadelphia was both amazing and unlucky. His work with Kansas City has been nothing short of legendary. 4 Super Bowl appearances in 5 years with the potential for 3 wins. I would argue he is the actual greatest coach in NFL history.

Which is a good segue into the modern day iteration of Philadelphia Walrus. Ever since the Falcons implosion I would argue no coach in the NFL has more more criticism despite more success than Kyle Shanahan. The guy is an objectively brilliant offensive mind and in his 7 years as Niners coach they have gone to the NFC Championship 4 of the last 5 years and twice have made it to the Super Bowl. And they did this with QB luminaries like the Womp and the Bork. Kyle schemes like nobody in the NFL can but every time the Niners fell short it all fell on him despite the fact that they overperformed to get where they were in the first place.

This game is a rematch of Super Bowl 54 which still hurts my ****ing soul (Bosa was held on 4th and Tyreek, never believe different). These two teams don't have much history but the history they do have is massive. SB 54 kickstarted the Chiefs dynasty and the failure of Womp to close it kickstarted the Niners neverending hunt for a franchise QB that went from maybe Brady to maybe Rodgers to maybe Lance to....Purdy? Lots of trajectories changed 4 years ago and we come full circle.

Why the Chiefs will win the Super Bowl

This defense is good. Like, really good. Like, really really good. Pacheco has stepped up and the Niners run defense has been horrendous so far in the playoffs. Plus, you know, that Patrick Mahomes guy. Mahomes smoked the Ravens for the first 2 drives on the road which is as comparable as there is to a theoretical matchup with the Niners defense. The Niners have been pretty lax the entire playoffs to start the game and 1. both games are at home and 2. neither teams they faced are as good as Kansas City. There is no margin of error for lazy bullshit and if the Niners bring that energy to the Super Bowl this is going to be a ****ing rout.

Why the 49ers will win the Super Bowl

The Niners have an overwhelming amount of talent. The biggest knock against them is that they could not play from behind and the entire playoffs they had to come from behind. Were they lucky against the Lions? Absolutely. But they proved that even down 17 points they have a QB who is not going to be overwhelmed by the moment and a defense that can still step up when needed even if they failed catastrophically. As good as the Chiefs defense is they have yet to face an offense like the 49ers with as much efficiency and talent across the board as they have. Plus this defense is ludicrously talented. They may take 30 minutes to get jumpstarted but once they do they are locked in.











Gentlemen, let us Super Bowl.

KC 27 - SF 13

Epic OP.

I award thee with this:

Congrats for making it this far, OP.

As a fan of a team who hasn't won a playoff game since Clinton was in office, I am genuinely jealous of your team's consistency and success.

I won't be upset who wins as long as it's an entertaining game.

Both QB storylines are compelling to me as well.

Purdy as Mr. Irrelevant with a chance to win a championship and then Mahomes on his way to becoming to the GOAT. What's not to like?

Apart from still having the pain of the Lions being so close and blowing it, I think I'm just getting Chiefs fatigue at this point.

For the better part of my life, what was fun and exciting about the NFL is that it felt like dynasties were so fleeting that even the best teams ever assembled had like a 3-4 window to take advantage of their opportunities.

Then Tom Brady and the Patriots came along. Rule changes to protect Quarterbacks as well as the QB position being so reliant on decision making over physical tools means that the best QBs will just keep getting better as they get older.

This Chiefs team looked as vulnerable as they ever have with Mahomes and they still got to the Super Bowl. I'm a bit worried that the year is going to be 2035 and it's still going to be Mahomes and Reid and the Chiefs in the Super Bowl yet again which takes some of the fun out of the NFL where it always seemed like a great team or great run can come out of nowhere and disappear in the blink of an eye.

For those of you interested, Super Bowl squares are running again this year over in OOT. $10, $25, & $50 options as usual, but with a new $250 one that pays on every score change. Well over half of the 10s, 25s, and 50s are already gone so get over there and get signed up before they're gone.

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/3...024-a-1830936/

On one hand I agree with you, on the other the South will rise again. Houston and Indy have a 5 year window where at least one of them should be the AFC champ. Both of them are really ****ing good and setup for greatness assuming Stroud and AR weren’t mirages

Plus Baltimore is still the best team in football despite the stupidest schemed offensive game I’ve seen in a while

Plus the AFC West is catching up

Plus there’s Miami, who, shrug I guess?

If Reid does retire though and they end up hiring Johnson lol gl all

I both acknowledge:

The AFC has and will continue to have a lot of really good quarterbacks and teams in it besides Mahomes and the Chiefs

and

This has been true for Mahomes's entire run and they have been to 4 Super Bowls in 6 years

That's what is impressive to me. Looking back at Brady's SB appearances when he was with the Patriots, these are the QBs he had to get through

2002 - Gannon, Kordell
2003 - McNair, Manning
2004 - Manning, Big Ben
2007 - Garrad, Rivers
2011 - Tebow, Flacco
2014 - Flacco, Luck
2016 - Osweiller, Big Ben
2017 - Mariota, Bortles
2018 - Rivers, Mahomes (2nd playoff start)

That's not to take anything away from Brady or say other QBs haven't also had not so difficult paths to the SB.

But he definitely didn't have to run the gauntlet Mahomes did this year.

Everything?

Either option presents a nauseatingly long offseason discourse.

I understand the pain you're in friend. I was there not long ago, but time heals all wounds.

QBs play against defenses, not other QBs.

That being said Manning twice is impressive, Gannon was an MVP, Flacco won a SB and Big Ben was more than capable. Mahomes was still Mahomes, even if it were his 2nd playoff start, and was much healthier and a running threat than now. Brady can thank Ford for that win.

There's only so many HOF QBs to go around.

It's true they aren't playing against the other QB, but it certainly matters to an extent.

The pressure you are under when the opposing QB Josh Allen or Lamar is going to be much higher than if it were Mariota or Tebow.

Not sure I understand what you mean by Mahomes being more of a running threat back then. He's had more rushing attempts and yards this season than any of his previous seasons.

I'll be surprised if SF is still favored by game day.

all-in on chefs

It's destined that Taylor Swift will win the Super Bowl.

If that's the case, aren't we all winners?

Even though they have a system quarterback, their city doesn't have any good bbq, and their tight end is annoying - i wish the chiefs luck.

SB Sunday's Quiche of the Day for Niners fans?

Quiche of the Day for Chefs' fans?

Torn ACL for Omenihu

Sure, but only in someone's mind. In reality Mahomes needs to perform against what is put in front of him. I would suspect a playoff team with a poor QB would likely have a superior defense, thus providing more of a challenge to succeed from a play-by-play perspective.

For example I don't put a lot of merit in Mahome's 2 losses to Brady solely on the fact it was Brady. In the first game KC played an inch close enough to win the game, absent the brain dead offsides. In the SB Mahomes had likely never seen such an imposing D line and he was simply unprepared.

Yes, I was incorrect, at least on the frequency and yardage gained. Although this might have something to do with his being a statistically better passer in 2018.

Yup, moved the line a half point 9ers way.

good times, bros. hyped!