The teams for Super Bowl LVIII at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 11 have been confirmed, with the Kansas City Chiefs set to take on the San Francisco 49ers in the blockbuster Sin City matchup.
Both sides have their own storyline and narrative. For the 49ers, it’s their unlikely hero Brock Purdy — aka ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ as he was the final pick of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The second-year quarterback has led San Francisco back to the Super Bowl for the first time since they lost to the Chiefs at Super Bowl LIV at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami in 2019.
The 49ers are the favourites to prevail this time in the Super Bowl 2024 odds, but there is very little in it and it would be foolish to write Kansas City off.
Indeed, the Chiefs were below their exceptionally high standards during the regular season — and that left them as outsiders in the betting heading into the playoffs.
However, Patrick Mahomes and company have ramped it up in the post-season — with wins over the Miami Dolphins (26-7), the Buffalo Bills (27-24), and the Baltimore Ravens (17-10) to win the AFC Championship.
What’s more, the Chiefs were the proverbial underdogs withthe bookmakers for all three of those games while the Bills and Ravens were road fixtures — something that the Chiefs are not used to in the playoffs.
Therefore, the fact they are less favoured than the 49ers ahead of kick-off in Las Vegas will not bother Andy Reid’s men in the slightest.
There is a lot on the line for the Chiefs as well. This is their chance to become a dynasty, as a win at the Allegiant Stadium — which is the home to Kansas City’s fierce rivals, the Las Vegas Raiders — would see them lift the coveted Lombardi Trophy for the third time in five years.
That would see Mahomes reaffirm his claims as one of the best quarterbacks of all time, while he’d be just four rings behind the legendary Tom Brady at the age of just 28.
Travis Kelce has also entered the argument as one of the best tight ends in history, and a third ring for him would see him go just one behind Rob Gronkowski — whom many believe to be keeping Kelce off the top spot for the time being.
The Chiefs’ experience and know-how in the Championship Game is also a major factor that could see them defy the odds.
The likes of Coach Reid, Mahomes, Kelce, and Kansas City have been to three of the last four renewals of the Super Bowl, with their only defeat against Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Raymond James Stadium in 2020.
The Chiefs have already proved in this post-season that they are a big-game outfit, and their experience of being under the bright lights in Super Bowls is further proof that they will all be ready for the task ahead of them in Las Vegas.
There’s no doubt that Purdy and the 49ers will put up a good fight as San Francisco aims to win their sixth franchise Super Bowl and first Lombardi Trophy since 1994, but the Chiefs might be too strong regardless of what the bookies think.