All the ingredients are in place for a classic, as the No. 2 seed in the AFC meets the top seed in the NFC. The two teams are stacked with talents on both sides of the ball—they both ranked in the top five offensively during the regular season and the 49ers ranked second in total defense—and in Andy Reid and Kyle Shanahan they have two of the best play callers in the game.
According to Oddschecker, the Chiefs are a 1.5-point favorite over the 49ers and are 19/20 to cover the spread, while the 49ers are 21/20 underdogs.
Here’s a look at the main statistical trends ahead of the biggest game of the football season.
The danger of a small spread
The Chiefs are 1.5-point favorite ahead of Super Bowl LIV, only fifth team in history to go into the NFL championship game with a spread smaller than two points.
The Chiefs are a league-best 12-5-1 against the spread this season—covering the spread on 70.6 percent of occasions by an average of 4.6 points per game—and a league-best 10-4-1 against the spread as favorite.
San Francisco, meanwhile, is 11-6-1 against the spread, the fourth-best record in the league and a perfect 5-0-0 as the underdog.
In the history of the Super Bowl, the favorite has lifted the Lombardi Trophy on 34 of 53 occasions, but teams that began as favorites by three points or less are only 8-7.
Underdogs have covered in 12 of the last 18 Super Bowls, going 11-6 against the spread under the current playoff format.
Expect a comeback
Patrick Mahomes and Jimmy Garoppolo are a combined 7-1 after trailing by at least 10 points this season. By comparison, the rest of the NFL has a combined 29-208-1 record in the same scenario.
The Chiefs came back from 24-0 against the Houston Texans in the divisional round and erased a 10-point deficit against the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game.
The second quarter could be decisive
Throughout the season, both teams have put their foot down in the second quarter. The Chiefs have a league-best plus 142 scoring margin in the second period of games, while the 49ers are second-best at plus 84.
San Francisco has outscored opponents by 47 points in the first quarter this season,
A shootout on the cards?
The over/under line in terms of total points scored is set at 54, which is in line with the recent historical trends.
The Super Bowl has averaged 44.8 points per game in the last decade, with at least 50 points scored in half of the 24 Super Bowls played since San Francisco last lifted the Lombardi Trophy in 1995.
The 49ers and the Chiefs ranked second and fifth in scoring offense in the regular season scoring 29.9 and 28.2 points per game respectively, which bodes well for the prospect of seeing a high-scoring game.
San Francisco’s stifling defense may have something to say about that, but a repeat of last season’s low scoring affair—just 16 points were scored as the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams—appears unlikely.
The Miami factor
Of the 49ers’ five Super Bowl wins, two have come in Miami, including the most recent one in Super Bowl XXIX. Twenty-five years ago, San Francisco thrashed the San Diego Chargers 49-26 at the Joe Robbie Stadium, which has since been rebranded Hard Rock Stadium and will host Super Bowl LIV.
Will Miami prove the place to be for the 49ers again?
Running towards the MVP
It’s been 22 years since a running back was named Super Bowl MVP, as Denver Broncos’ Terrell Davis ran all over the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII, racking up 157 yards and three touchdowns.
Raheem Mostert, however, could break that streak on Sunday. The 49ers running back set a new franchise record and the second-most in NFL postseason history as he rushed for 220 yards in the NFC Championship and San Francisco will again turn to him on Sunday.
The 49ers had the league’s best rushing offense behind the Baltimore Ravens and if Mostert has a big game he could hoist both the Lombardi Trophy and the MVP award come Sunday night—at 8/1 he’s third favorite to win the award behind Patrick Mahomes and Jimmy Garoppolo.