Note: The article was completed on February 8th, the Thursday before the Super Bowl. The Kansas City Chiefs won 25-22.
In the not-too-distant future, the San Francisco 49ers will take the field and square off against the Kansas City Chiefs in what will be the 58th Super Bowl. The 49ers will absolutely win the game by a sizable margin. And no, we don’t have any insider info or some way to fix the game. The 49ers are just clearly the better team and they will beat the Chiefs.
By and large, the 49ers will beat the Chiefs because of their not-so-secret weapon: Brock Purdy. Purdy, the colloquial “Mr. Irrelevant” in the football scene, was drafted with the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. Despite his underwhelming draft position, the 24-year-old quarterback has since broken the 49ers team record for passing yards in a season, beating out NFL legends Joe Montana and Steve Young. He also led the league in passer rating and yards per attempt this season, scoring a perfect passer rating in his Week 11 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He received a Pro Bowl nod for his efforts and the 49ers clinched the top seed in the NFC with a 12-5 record.
So the 49ers are clear NFL Champion material, but let’s take a look at the competition. The fact alone that this year was a bad one for Patrick Mahomes—sixth in total yards and eighth in total touchdowns— should say a lot. Despite Mahomes’ somewhat pedestrian numbers this season, he is still a top talent in the league. Along with Mahomes, the Chiefs had the No. 2 rank defense this year, and a run game led by Isiah Pacheco. Although the Chiefs had rocky moments, they finished strong with a 10-6 record and earned the #3 seed in their division.
But that’s neither here nor there when Brock Purdy is in town. Purdy, along with the 49ers’ defense, their weapons on offense, and coach Kyle Shanahan will crush the Chiefs in the big game. However, this supporting cast is also the source of much criticism for Purdy. Every day there are accusations of him being a “system quarterback,” but these accusations don’t factor in a few key points. First off, the other QB to play in this system, Jimmy Garopollo, put up relatively mediocre counting stats (never reaching 4000 yards), especially compared to Purdy this year. In addition, many of the greatest dynasties in NFL history have been coach-quarterback duos: Brady and Belichick, Mahomes and Reid, Roethlisberger and Tomlin. Why shouldn’t Purdy and Shanahan be on that list too?
Oftentimes, we get wrapped up in the day-to-day and game-to-game hustle, but let’s zoom out a little here. There’s a lot on the line for this game, especially considering the two quarterbacks playing in it. Patrick Mahomes could win his third ring and third Super Bowl MVP, and make Tom Brady’s MVP status more shaky than ever. Already having a sensational start to his career, and now the opportunity to win on the biggest stage, let’s see if Brock Purdy has it in him.
This article also appears in our print February 2024 edition.
