The Kansas City Chiefs return to the Super Bowl to face the San Francisco 49ers
The GIST: Conspiracy theory be damned, the No. 3 Kansas City Chiefs and No. 1 San Francisco 49ers are Super Bowl bound following yesterday’s respective American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC) championship game wins. What happens in Vegas…
AFC — Kansas City Chiefs defeat Baltimore Ravens 17–10: Defending champs Kansas City will compete for the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the fourth time in the last five years after topping Super Bowl favorite, the No. 1 Baltimore Ravens.
- KC tight end Travis Kelce entered his reputation era, hauling in a touchdown and becoming the all-time postseason receptions leader, but Baltimore beat themselves in this one, making costly penalties and turnovers down the stretch.
NFC — San Francisco 49ers come back to beat the Detroit Lions 34–31: Call an ambulance, but not for them. Down by 17 points at halftime, the 49ers overcame that deficit (the largest in NFC Conference Championship game history) in a mere eight minutes to even things up and ultimately halt the Lions’ underdog run.
- Niners quarterback Brock “Mr. Irrelevant” Purdy once again put himself firmly in the conversation, using his arm and his legs to lead the historic comeback effort. So smooth.
Early Super Bowl preview: KC and SF never met in the regular season, but this is a rematch of Super Bowl LIV — which KC won 31–20 behind a 21-point fourth quarter. Though the 49ers will be making their second Super Bowl appearance in the last five years, Patrick Mahomes and KC still have the overwhelming advantage of experience.
- Will KC become the first team since the 2003–04 New England Patriots to repeat as champs? Or will SF revive their dynasty and lift the Lombardi Trophy for the first time since the 1994 season? We’ll have to wait until February 11th to find out.
