Tim Folliard
Sports Writer
After dominating performances, the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will meet for Super Bowl LIV. The teams were able to win with two different styles of offenses in their conference championship games. The most notable statistics from Sunday’s matchups were the Chiefs accounting for 292 yards through the air and the 49ers with 285 yards on the ground.
In the AFC Championship game, Kansas City faced off against the Tennessee Titans. The Titans got off to a strong start and took a 17-7 lead in the 2nd quarter. It looked as if the Chiefs were going to be the next team that season were to end at the hands of the Titans.
The Titans reached the championship game after pulling off upsets of the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens. Those wins ignited their fan base as the Patriots were the defending Super Bowl champions and the Ravens were the owners of the league’s best record.
But the Chiefs turned that 7-17 deficit into a 35-17 lead in the 4th quarter. Three of the four touchdowns scored in the comeback came from 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. In the comeback, Mahomes threw touchdown passes to Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins. The most impressive Mahomes touchdown came when he turned what looked like a sack, into a 27-yard touchdown run. He ended the day with 347 total yards and 4 touchdowns.
The Chiefs defense also came to play. The Chiefs only allowed Titans’ running back Derrick Henry to get 69 rushing yards. In the two previous playoff games, Derrick Henry averaged 188.5 yards on the ground.
The final score ended up being 35-24, sending the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl appearance since 1970.
Unlike the Chiefs, the 49ers never trailed. The 49ers jumped out to a 27-0 lead against the Green Bay Packers and did not look back. The 49ers used their strong running game to take the game out of the Packers hands.
The running game was led by Raheem Mostert who had a breakout game with 220 yards and 4 touchdowns on 29 carries. Mostert, who was cut by six NFL teams including the Chicago Bears, uses his setbacks as motivation and is grateful for his opportunity with the 49ers.
“When I got cut, been on several different teams and the journey’s been crazy.” Mostert said in a postgame interview, “Not everybody can deal with that type of stress and pain and agony that I went through. But, like I said, I kept the faith in myself and whoever gave me the opportunity. And this organization has done a great job with that.”
Mostert’s performance caused the 49ers only throw the ball 8 times for 77 yards. The 49ers defense created three turnovers, including two interceptions, that prevented the Packers from making a comeback.
The 37-20 victory sent the 49ers to their first Super Bowl appearance since 2013.
This Super Bowl should be a higher scoring game compared to the contest last-year where the two teams scored a total of 16 points. The game will be played in Miami on February 2nd.
The Candor 
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