In McCaffery We Trust

By: Garrett Schreiber

Wow. What a terrible Super Bowl. The two obvious teams anybody would’ve picked to make it to the end made it. Neither of these two teams are very well liked outside of their own state or fanbases. For me, choosing between these two teams feels like choosing between the lesser of two evils, and that is why I believe that the 49ers are going to come out on top of the Chiefs on Sunday.

Headlining this 49ers team is Christian McCaffery, one of the few shining stars of this team (for me). McCaffery brought some excitement to the dead NFL MVP award, which has been won by a quarterback for the last 10 seasons. He got 21 touchdowns and over 2,000 yards between running and receiving. He already has four touchdowns in two games in the postseason and will surely add to his tally Sunday. 

Brock Purdy is the other player to keep an eye on in this game. “Mr. Irrelevant,” the last pick of the draft last season, has now led the 49ers to the Super Bowl. Purdy has had a great season this year, making a case for MVP alongside McCaffery, but he is not the reason for the success of the 49ers. Cam Newton said it best when he called Purdy a “game manager.” In his words, Purdy is not asked to win the game, but is instead asked just to not lose the game.

Of course, Purdy has been looking to prove people wrong. He has had an incredible postseason with 500 yards to back up his 31 touchdowns and over 4,000 yards in the regular season. However, one of the game defining drives of the NFC Championship was Purdy throwing a pass to Brandon Aiyuk, which bounced off of the Lions’ players facemask and miraculously was caught by Aiyuk, saving the offensive drive. If those types of flukes are to continue, it could spell disaster for the 49ers.

With all this being said, I still believe (and absolutely hope, because the Chiefs have acted more unlikeable than ever after practically bullying the Ravens’ kicker in warmups) that the 49ers have what it takes to take down Mahomes, Kelce and the Chiefs. Their defensive side of the ball and the pieces surrounding Purdy on the offense should be enough to prevent Mahomes from winning his third ring in six years.

I Guess I’ll Root For The ‘Red Kingdom’

By: Bex Heimbrock

Let’s face it, the Chiefs are going to win. I’m not even a Chief’s fan (Who Dey!) if anything, I’m a bona fide Chiefs hater, but anyone who thinks the Niners even stand a chance against Coach Andy Reid’s play-calling and stacked team is, frankly, delusional. 

Look at the stats. Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes (two-time MVP, by the way) is basically neck-and-neck with Niners’ Brock Purdy for passing yards. That’s okay, though, because Reid’s explosive defensive line was able to hold the Ravens at seven points for two full quarters, only allowing three points in the second half for a disastrous (I will always love you, Baltimore) final score of 17-10. 

I’m not going to lie – this is not a feel-good story about a scrappy team coming out of nowhere to take down Goliath. This year’s superbowl is more Goliath vs. Goliath. Two very well funded, well coached and well staffed teams are going head to head. A part of me wants the 49ers to win just so the Chiefs don’t get their second-in-a-row Lombardy Trophy. 

Still, the choice is obvious. The Chiefs are going to dominate the field in Las Vegas and win it all.