SAN FRANCISCO (14-5) vs. KANSAS CITY (14-6) at Las Vegas
Sunday, 6:30 p.m. EST, CBS
OPENING LINE: 49ers by 2 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: 49ers 9-9-1; Chiefs 13-7.
SERIES RECORD: Chiefs lead 8-7.
LAST MEETING: Chiefs beat 49ers 44-23 on Oct. 23, 2022, in Santa Clara, Calif.
LAST GAME: 49ers beat Lions 34-31; Chiefs beat Ravens 17-10.
49ERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (3), PASS (4), SCORING (3)
49ERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (8), RUSH (3), PASS (14), SCORING (3)
CHIEFS OFFENSE: OVERALL (9), RUSH (19), PASS (6), SCORING (15).
CHIEFS DEFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (18), PASS (4), SCORING (2).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: 49ers plus-10; Chiefs minus-11.
49ERS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Brock Purdy. The third-youngest quarterback ever to start a Super Bowl, the 24-year-old Purdy can cap a remarkable rise from final pick of the 2022 draft to champion in less than two years. Purdy struggled in the rain in the divisional round against Green Bay and for the first half in the conference championship game against Detroit, but he has led back-to-back comeback wins. He has thrown for 519 yards and two TDs with one INT this postseason.
CHIEFS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Patrick Mahomes. He can further cement his legacy as one of the greatest players in NFL history with his third Lombardi in his first six seasons as a starter, and perhaps even capture a third Super Bowl MVP to go with it. Mahomes sacrificed stats for wins most of the season, relying on the league’s No. 2-ranked defense while the Kansas City offense was scuffling. But he’s been excellent in the playoffs, throwing for 528 yards and five TDs with no interceptions.
KEY MATCHUP: San Francisco DE Nick Bosa vs. Kansas City’s offense tackles. Bosa had two sacks in the NFC title game to give him a franchise-record 10 in his postseason career. If Bosa can’t get to Mahomes, he might be able to draw holding calls against one of the most penalty-prone units in the league. The Chiefs have been called for offensive holding a league-high 36 times in the regular season and playoffs. RT Jawaan Taylor is tied for the most with eight and LT Donovan Smith has four.
KEY INJURIES: Chief All-Pro LG Joe Thuney is unlikely to play after sustaining a pectoral injury in the divisional round in Buffalo. RB Jerick McKinnon is also unlikely to play despite being designated to return from injured reserve, where he has been since a procedure for a core muscle injury on Jan. 2. … The 49ers are relatively healthy with the only active players limited in practice this week being TE George Kittle (toe) and DL Arik Armstead (foot, knee). Both are expected to start Sunday.
SERIES NOTES: The teams met in the Super Bowl four years ago with Kansas City overcoming a 10-point deficit with three fourth-quarter touchdowns for a 31-20 victory in Miami. The Chiefs have won five of the past six in the series, including all three games with Mahomes at quarterback. They won 38-27 in 2018 and 44-23 last season.
STATS AND STUFF: San Francisco is making its eighth Super Bowl appearance — tied for second most ever — and is seeking its record-tying sixth championship. … The 49ers lost their two previous trips in the 2019 and 2012 seasons and haven’t won it all since 1994. … San Francisco’s 38 playoff wins are the most in NFL history. … The 49ers are the eighth team to reach the Super Bowl after overcoming a second-half deficit in the divisional round and the conference championship game. Four of the previous seven won it all. … Niners coach Kyle Shanahan is 8-3 in the playoffs, tied for the second-best winning percentage for any coach with at least 10 games. … San Francisco allowed 318 yards rushing the past two games, the most ever in the divisional round and conference championship game for a team that reached the Super Bowl … Purdy’s four playoff wins are one shy of Ben Roethlisberger’s record for the most in a player’s first two seasons. … Niners RB Christian McCaffrey has at least 50 yards from scrimmage and a TD in all six of his career playoff games. That’s one shy of the longest streak ever held by John Riggins, Marcus Allen, Terrell Davis and Leonard Fournette. … McCaffrey’s 25 TDs in the regular season and playoffs are the most for any 49ers player in a single season. … Niners rookie K Jake Moody missed a FG in their first two playoff games and has four missed kicks in his past four games. … The Chiefs are making their sixth Super Bowl appearance. They lost the first Super Bowl to Green Bay, beat Minnesota in Super Bowl IV, then waited 50 years before beating the 49ers four years ago. … The Chiefs are one of seven franchises to have reached consecutive Super Bowls more than once. The Patriots in the 2003 and 2004 seasons were the most recent to win two in a row. … Chiefs coach Andy Reid would tie Hall of Fame coaches Joe Gibbs and Bill Walsh for the third-most Super Bowl wins with his third. He is coaching in his fifth overall. … Mahomes can pass Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw, John Elway and Peyton Manning for the third-most playoff wins by a QB in NFL history with his 15th. … Mahomes needs two TD passes to move past Manning (40) and into the top five in NFL playoff history. … Kelce has an NFL-record 159 postseason catches, while his 1,810 yards receiving and 19 touchdowns trail only Jerry Rice in history. … Kelce has 257 yards receiving in the Super Bowl. He needs 67 to move into the top five and 108 to climb to No. 2 in history. … Mahomes has the Chiefs postseason rushing record with 458 yards. RB Isiah Pacheco is second with 451 yards. … Chiefs WR Rashee Rice needs 20 yards receiving to pass Torry Holt (242) for second among rookies in the playoffs. He needs 146 to break Ja’Marr Chase’s record. … Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed needs six tackles to break S Daniel Sorensen’s franchise playoff record of 72. … K Harrison Butker has scored a Chiefs-record 145 points in the postseason. He needs nine to pass Gary Anderson for fifth in NFL history.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
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