This year’s Super Bowl matchup offers one of the better matchups we’ve seen in years.
The matchup is fresh and features a dynamic, emerging star quarterback against a team full of history and a relentless defense. Oh, and San Francisco’s quarterback isn’t just some journeyman either.
With that hype, it does provide an insight into why the betting line currently gives the Chiefs a 1.5-point edge, according to the early line.
Kansas City has a dynamic quarterback with Patrick Mahomes. He should be considered a quarterback that will lead his team to the playoffs every year for the next decade and he’s only in his second full year as a starting quarterback.
The offense is dynamic for the Chiefs to go with a defense that has been improving. In 2018, the Chiefs hosted the AFC Championship game with a defense that allowed 5.8 yards per play. This year, that number has shrank to 5.4 for the season, including 5.2 yards per play allowed in the playoffs.
That defense only makes it easier to like Kansas City, since the offense is ranked second in the NFL in yards per play.
However, while I like the Chiefs overall, there’s more to like with San Francisco. The 49ers only struggled during one part of this season on the defensive side, and that’s when injuries piled up. The 49ers tied for first in yards per play allowed at 4.7. That’s a great number considering the downturn that happened in the late part of the season when there were several injuries.
Offensively, the 49ers ranked fourth in yards per play, with one of the best rushing games to go along with a passing game that does enough.
We should be worried about Kansas City’s slow start in the last two games. It’s starting to be a trend and against San Francisco, that will be the end of the Chiefs for the 2019 season.
