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After 284 games, the original field of 32 teams has been whittled down to two as the NFL’s showpiece event, the Super Bowl heads to Las Vegas for the first time in league history.
In the stadium nicknamed the Death Star, the league’s new empire, the Kansas City Chiefs will look to extend their dynastic run by claiming a third Super Bowl in five seasons.
That run truly began with a win over their opponents in this game, the San Francisco 49ers whom they defeated in Super Bowl LIV in Miami back in February 2020.
Quite a lot has changed on both teams (and in the world) since that game but one thing remains the same, both teams are chasing another Vince Lombardi Trophy.
There are no shortage of talking points to cover in the build up to the big game so read on with our mega Super Bowl LVIII Preview below!
When: Monday February 12, 2024 at 10:35 am
Where: Allegiant Stadium
Bet 💰: Bet On This Match
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Kansas City Chiefs vs San Francisco 49ers Odds
Kansas City Chiefs vs San Francisco 49ers Preview
Kansas City Chiefs
Once again, the Chiefs are seeking to become the first team to successfully defend their Super Bowl title since the 2004 New England Patriots and they have had to do it the hard way in NFL season 2023.
While they might try to play the “nobody believed in us” card, the truth is that the Chiefs have never really been too far off the top of the league despite their offensive struggles.
They began the season as $6.60 favourites in the Ladbrokes futures market and after dropping their Week 1 game to Detroit, won their next six and dropped to $5.00 heading into Week 8.
Some up and down play caused their price to fluctuate all season but they never went above $10 as they claimed another AFC West title.
It has not been a vintage Chiefs season, with Patrick Mahomes struggling to get on the same page as his receivers from time to time, but when those struggles were most prevalent, the defence was there to pick up the slack.
No team has scored more than 27 points on them all season, a remarkable feat in the modern, offensively slanted NFL but that defence will have their hands full in the Super Bowl.
However with star tight end (and occasional pop-star’s boyfriend) Travis Kelce discovering the fountain of youth this postseason, Chiefs fans can take plenty of solace in the fact their offence is capable of scoring points if this game does become a shootout like last year’s Super Bowl against Philadelphia.
This postseason run has had its share of challenges, first with a bitterly cold night helping them over the line at home to Miami in the Wild Card round before the first true road playoff win of the Mahomes era against Buffalo.
In the AFC Championship, it was not a pretty performance, but the Chiefs jumped out to an early lead and had the maturity to sit back and let the Ravens self destruct while they packed their bags for Vegas.
San Francisco 49ers
Ever since the full time whistle in the NFC Championship Game 12 months ago, San Francisco had told anyone who would listen (and some who would not) that they were the best team last season before being undone by injuries to the quarterbacks.
Brock Purdy was cleared to start Week 1 and the 49ers entered the season on the fourth line of betting at $9.50 in the Ladbrokes futures market.
They quickly assumed outright favouritism after a 5-0 start with some dominant wins, including a 42-10 beat down of fellow NFC contenders Dallas, after which their odds dropped to $4.75.
Injuries to some key players on offence saw them lose three straight heading into their bye week but after the week of rest they were back with a vengeance.
They won their next six and were once again on top of the market at $3.20 heading into a Christmas night clash with Baltimore.
That was far and away their worst performance of the season as they committed five turnovers but they rebounded to finish 12-5.
Christian McCaffrey lead the league in rushing yards with 1459, finishing almost 300 yards clear of the runner up and scored a massive 21 touchdowns to lead the league off 339 total touches.
Having earned the weekend off, San Francisco were almost washed away by the red hot Packers in a rain storm, but Purdy helped the team overcome an early injury to receiver Deebo Samuel while McCaffrey scored two touchdowns as the 49ers snuck home 24-21.
Then the Detroit Lions came to town for the NFC Championship and it looked like San Francisco would be ending their season one game earlier than they had hoped, falling behind 24-7 at halftime.
However the team came storming back in the second half, rattling off 27 unanswered points to once again pull off a dramatic victory and book the franchise’s eighth trip to the Super Bowl.
Content provided by Ladbrokes
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