In Super Bowl LIV, the San Francisco 49ers will face the Kansas City Chiefs for the Vince Lombardi Trophy at 5:30 p.m. Sunday on FOX at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

I didn’t see either San Francisco or Kansas City making it to the Super Bowl this year. I thought the defending Super Bowl champs New England Patriots would defend their Super Bowl victory from last season. But it didn’t happen as there will be a new Super Bowl champion crowned today. The last time the 49ers were in the Super Bowl was in 2013 while the Chiefs last Super Bowl appearance was in 1970.

San Francisco

Being the No. 1 seed in the NFL playoffs, the 49ers hosted both of their games at home. The 49ers breezed passed the Minnesota Vikings with 27-10 victory in the divisional round and hosted the No. 2 Green Bay Packers. Honestly, with a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers, who led the Packers to a Super Bowl victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011, I thought the Packers could easily breeze past the 49ers.

The 49ers running back Raheem Mostert ran over the Green Bay Packers and led San Francisco to a 37-20 victory on Jan. 19 Mostert rushed for 220 yards and four touchdowns. The 49ers earned their seventh NFC championship title and advanced to their seventh Super Bowl.

The last Super Bowl the 49ers played in was against the Baltimore Ravens in 2013 at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The 49ers are 5-1 in the Super Bowl. San Francisco’s last Super Bowl win was in 1995 where they defeated the San Diego Chargers, 49-26. In the 1995 Super Bowl, Steve Young was the quarterback and passed for 325 yards and threw six touchdowns.

Kansas City

While the San Francisco 49ers have had success in the past seven years, the Kansas City Chiefs last Super Bowl appearance was in 1970, where the Chiefs defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 23-7.

The past four seasons the Chiefs have not had any luck making it past the AFC championship or the divisional round. One team that was in their way was the New England Patriots. The Patriots ended the Chiefs season in the 2018 and 2015 playoffs.

With the Patriots defeated by the Tennessee Titans and the No. 1 seed Baltimore Ravens defeated, it appeared the Chiefs could make it to the Super Bowl, the first appearance in 50 years. And they did. Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to 35-24 victory over the Titans. Mahomes threw three touchdowns for 294 passing yards.

Verdict

After watching the highlights of both the NFC and AFC championships, I predict the Kansas City Chiefs will prevail. Why? I can’t say no to Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes is a dual-threat quarterback, meaning he can both run and pass. The biggest thing for the Chiefs to win is to make sure Mahomes is well rested.

My prediction of the final score in Super Bowl LIV is 34-31 in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Patrick Murphy is a sports reporter for The Natchez Democrat.