Which team to pick? It could come down to special teams, where the Chiefs have a slightly better return game, a younger kicker, and much better punter. Field position could be the biggest key. All in all, I think one or two big offensive plays will decide the game on offense. That’s why I’m leaning towards the Chiefs, the team that’s younger, faster, and deeper at tight end and wideout.
WHAT: Super Bowl 54, for the championship of the National Football League
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. (ET), Sunday, February 2
WHERE: Hard Rock Stadium; Miami Gardens, Florida (64,781)
NFC champions (visitors): San Francisco 49ers 13-3, NFC West champions, No. 1 seed
AFC champions (home): Kansas City Chiefs, 12-4, AFC West champions, No. 2 seed
TV: FOX with Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, booth; Erin Andrews, Kristina Pink, sidelines
RADIO: WESTWOOD ONE With Kevin Harlan, Kurt Warner, booth; Laura Okmn, Tony Boselli, sidelines
REFEREE: Bill Vinovich (second Super Bowl)
About the Super Bowl
–Miami and New Orleans have hosted ten Super Bowls each–Miami is getting its 11th this year–but both cities have used two different stadiums to host the game. In all, 25 different facilities shave hosted Super Bowls, with 18 games being played indoors. The Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans has hosted the most Super Bowls, with seven; and it is already scheduled to host Super Bowl 58 in February of 2024.
–There have also been six Super Bowls held at college-campus stadiums–three at Tulane (4, 6, 9) and one each at Arizona State (30), Rice (8), and Stanford (19). The warmest Super Bowl was 7 (Miami-Washington) at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (84 degrees). The coldest was 6 (Dallas-Miami) in New Orleans–an outdoor game at Tulane played in 39-degree chill.
–This year’s Super Bowl will be the 18th to be played in February, and the 16th consecutive game to be pushed into the year’s second month. The first February Super Bowl was 36 (Rams-Patriots), which was moved back by necessity (that season’s Week Two slate of games was postponed due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and made up in early January). Due to fewer playoff rounds and fewer teams in the league at the time, the earliest Super Bowl by date was 11 (Raiders-Vikings), which was played on January 9, 1977. The latest games took place on February 7, which has occurred twice (44, 50). Next year’s game will take place on February 7.
–Last year, New England participated in its 11th Super Bowl (6-5), breaking its record for the most by any franchise–relegating Dallas (5-3), Pittsburgh (6-2), and Denver (3-5) to second place with eight each. San Francisco is making its seventh appearance this year (5-1). However, the Patriots have five losses in the big game–tied for the most with Denver. Tied for the second-most defeats are Buffalo and Minnesota (0-4 each).
–The NFC representative (before 1970, the pre-merger NFL champion) has won 27 Super Bowls, only one more than their AFC opponents (or pre-merger AFL champions). It has been rather even lately with the two conferences splitting the last 12 games. But the AFC champion had won four of five Super Bowls before Philadelphia’s win two years ago.
—Only one really big comeback in this game. Only four Super Bowls have featured comebacks of ten or more points by the winning team: Washington (22), New Orleans (44), and New England (49). The big comeback was the Patriots’ 25-point rally in Super Bowl 51.
–Since the current postseason format was instituted in 1990, only seven Super Bowls–including the recent Philadelphia-New England match-up–have featured the No. 1 seeds from each conference. Three years ago, Atlanta was the #2 NFC seed, breaking a streak of three Super Bowls that saw the top seeds square off. This year’s game features both #2 seeds.
—Kansas City is the designated home team and will have jersey choice. Teams with jersey choice are 21-32 in Super Bowls, but teams wearing white jerseys (whether they had the choice or not) have won 13 of the last 15 games. San Francisco will wear white tops and gold pants this year.
–-As the designated home team, Kansas City will have its logo painted in the right-side side end zone and occupy the far-side bench at Hard Rock Stadium. San Francisco, the designated visiting team, will have its logo painted in the left-side end zone and occupy the near-side bench.
–Teams that win the coin toss are 23-30 in Super Bowls. Ever since deferring the choice became an option, teams that have done so have lost seven of ten times. Teams that have led at halftime of the Super Bowl are 39-11. Three games have been tied at the half–Super Bowl 49 (Seattle-New England, 14-14), Super Bowl 39 (Philadelphia-New England, 7-7), and Super Bowl 23 (Cincinnati-San Francisco, 3-3). Teams that score first are 36-17 in Super Bowls. The eventual winner has scored first in eight of the last nine Super Bowls.
–There have been ten kick-return scores in Super Bowl history. But there have been only four returns by members of the eventual winning team. In Super Bowl 41, Chicago’s Devin Hester became the only player to run back an opening kickoff for a touchdown. Two players have run back the second-half kickoff for a score–Baltimore’s Jones and Seattle’s Harvin.
—Surprisingly, there has never been a punt-return touchdown in a Super Bowl. The longest runback was 61 yards by Denver’s Jordan Norwood in Super Bowl 50 against Carolina.
—There has never been a shutout in a Super Bowl.
—There have been nine safeties in Super Bowl history. The most recent came on the first scrimmage play of Super Bowl 48 when a snap sailed over Peyton Manning’s head and out through the end zone only 12 seconds into the game. Teams that have scored safeties in Super Bowls are 6-3. There have been only four field goals of 50 or more yards in Super Bowl history–and the teams that have kicked them are 0-4 in the title game. The longest is a 54-yarder kicked by Buffalo’s Steve Christie against Dallas in Super Bowl 28.
—Only two of 53 Super Bowls have been completely free of turnovers: Super Bowl 25 (Bills-Giants) and Super Bowl 34 (Titans-Rams. The fewest combined penalties in any Super Bowl were the two committed by Dallas and Pittsburgh in Super Bowl 10. Four teams have played an entire Super Bowl without being flagged: Miami in Super Bowl 6, Pittsburgh in Super Bowl 10, Denver in Super Bowl 24, and Atlanta in Super Bowl 33. Those teams are 1-3.
–There have been 12 missed extra points during Super Bowls and just nine two-point conversions. There have been six fumble returns for Super Bowl touchdowns (including two by Dallas in Super Bowl 28 in Atlanta). Teams are 4-2 when accomplishing that feat, including wins by the last four straight teams that have done so. There have been 15 interception returns for scores in Super Bowls (including two by Tampa Bay’s Dwight Smith in Super Bowl 37), but only one by a member of the eventual losing team: Atlanta’s Robert Alford, who did it against New England in Super Bowl 51.
–Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes and San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo are each starting their first Super Bowl. Quarterbacks who have started only one Super Bowl during their careers are 15-26. It’s the first match-up of quarterbacks making their Super Bowl debuts against each other since Baltimore’s Joe Flacco and San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick met in Super Bowl 47.
–As is always the case with Super Bowl opponents, San Francisco and Kansas City haven’t played each other that often. The league’s schedule formula only interconference teams meeting every four years. The Chiefs have won three of the last four meetings, including a 38-17 game last year, and the home team has won ten in a row between these two. San Francisco leads the overall head-to-head lifetime series, 7-6.
–-There have been 55 players to win the Super Bowl with more than one team. They include Baltimore Colts’ linebacker Ted Hendricks, quarterback Earl Morrall, and center Bill Curry, as well as Ravens’ players Robert Bailey, Billy Davis, Dannell Ellerbe, Corey Graham, Marcus Nash, Shannon Sharpe, Torrey Smith, and Harry Swayne. Ellerbe, Graham, and Smith were all on the Philadelphia team that won Super Bowl 52.
—Thirty head and assistant coaches have won Super Bowls with more than one team. Those include Ravens’ assistants Dean Pees, Wilbert Montgomery, Milt Jackson, Jim Caldwell, and Russ Purnell. Twenty-two individuals have won Super Bowls as both a player and a coach, including Baltimore assistants Matt Cavanaugh, Todd Washington, and Bennie Thompson.
—Last year, Los Angeles’ Jared Goff was only the fourth different Super Bowl starting quarterback to wear #16 and the first since San Francisco’s Joe Montana in Super Bowl 24. Quarterbacks that have worn the #16 jerseys are 7-2 in Super Bowls, losing only with Len Dawson in the first Super Bowl and Miami’s David Woodley in Super Bowl 17. New England’s Tom Brady wears #12 – the most frequent starting-quarterback number in Super Bowl history – and those signal-callers are 16-13 in Super Bowls.
—This year, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes becomes the first Super Bowl starting quarterback to wear #15 since the New York Giants’ Jeff Hostetler in Super Bowl 25. Quarterbacks with that number are 3-2 in the big game. San Francisco’s Jimmy Garoppolo is only the third different Super Bowl quarterback to wear #10, a number that has produced two wins (both by Eli Manning) and three losses (all by Frank Tarkenton).
–-there have been seven Super Bowls that have been played just one week after the conference title games, and those games have had a final average margin of 11.4 points. The other Super Bowls, played after a two-week break, have not been drastically less competitive, as many believe. They have had an average margin of nearly 15 points. There are no plans in the future to reduce the gap between the conference title games and the Super Bowl to one week. The last time there was a short break was before Super Bowl 37. Eight or fewer points have decided six of the last nine Super Bowls.
–-In 53 previous Super Bowls, quarterbacks have been named the game’s Most Valuable Player 29 times, including after nine of the last 13 games. The MVP trophy was named after late commissioner Pete Rozelle starting with Super Bowl 25–the first Super Bowl to take place after his death.
–Before Super Bowl 5, the winner’s trophy was affixed with the name of late Green Bay and Washington’s head coach Vince Lombardi. The trophy is a sterling silver trophy created by Tiffany & Company. It’s a regulation-size silver football mounted in a kicking position on a pyramid-like stand of three concave sides. The trophy stands 20.75 inches tall, weighs 107.3 ounces, and is valued more than $25,000. The words “Vince Lombardi Trophy” and “Super Bowl LIV” are engraved on the base, along with the NFL shield.
–The Lombardi Trophy will be carried to the post-game victory platform by a yet-to-be-announced football dignitary. This practice was instituted at Super Bowl 40 in Detroit (Seahawks-Steelers). Those who have performed this task in the past have included former Baltimore Colts coach Don Shula, Navy quarterback Roger Staubach, and Colts receiver Raymond Berry.
–Nineteen pairs of fathers and sons and 29 sets of brothers have played in Super Bowls. The relatives include Ravens’ defenders Peter Boulware (Michael, with Seattle), Cornell Brown (Ruben, with Buffalo), Ma’ake Kemoeatu (Chris, with Pittsburgh), Jamie Sharper (Darren, with Green Bay) and Arthur Jones (Chandler, with New England). The oldest player to ever appear in a Super Bowl was ex-Ravens kicker Matt Stover, who was with Indianapolis at the time of Super Bowl 44 (42 years, 11 days). The youngest player was Ravens’ running back Jamal Lewis, who was 21 years, 155 days old at Super Bowl 35.
–Veteran referee Bill Vinovich will work his second Super Bowl as lead official. He was the referee at Super Bowl 49 (Patriots-Seahawks). Retired referee Jerry Markbreit holds the record with four Super Bowl assignments. Norm Schachter, Jim Tunney, Pat Haggerty, Bob McElwee, and Terry McAulay have done three Super Bowls each.
–Fox will televise this year’s Super Bowl (number nine). Last year, CBS dd its 20th, breaking a tie with NBC for the most Super Bowl broadcasts. The two networks each aired Super Bowl I with different announcers and camera crews. Fox has done eight Super Bowls. ABC, which is not part of the current Super Bowl telecast rotation, has shown seven. CBS will show next year’s game, which will be played on February 7 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The game will begin at the usual 6:30 ET time. The Super Bowl has kicked off at 6 p.m. or later (ET) each year since Super Bowl 26 (Bills-Redskins). The last Super Bowl to be played entirely in daylight was Super Bowl 11 (Vikings-Raiders) in Pasadena.
–Fox’s Joe Buck will call the play-by-play for his sixth Super Bowl. Last year, CBS’Jim Nantz handled the play-by-play on his fifth Super Bowl. Two years ago, NBC’s Al Michaels worked his tenth Super Bowl (six with ABC, four with NBC), which is one short of Pat Summerall’s record of 11. Summerall did the color analysis on four additional Super Bowls. Dick Enberg called eight Super Bowls, while Curt Gowdy did seven. Buck has done five games, while Ray Scott has done four. Greg Gumbel and Jack Buck have one title game under their respective belts.
—Kevin Harlan will handle the Westwood One radio call for a tenth straight year. Harlan succeeded the legendary Marv Albert. Ex-Maryland quarterback Boomer Esiason worked with Harlan for 18 consecutive Super Bowl assignments, but Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner took Esiason’s place last year. Warner was 1-2 in Super Bowls, splitting two as the Rams’ quarterback and losing Super Bowl 43 with Arizona.
—The highest-rated Super Bowl was 16 (49ers-Bengals), which posted a 49.1 reading for CBS. Super Bowl 10 (Cowboys-Steelers) pulled a 78 percent share, also on CBS, meaning that’s how many television sets in the country were in use for the entire game. But the highest number of average viewers were tuned in during Super Bowl 51 (Patriots-Falcons) on Fox, during which over 172 million fans watched at least a part of the broadcast. Over four million fans have watched Super Bowls in person. The largest crowd was nearly 104,000 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to watch Pittsburgh and the Los Angeles Rams (14). The smallest crowd (61,946) showed up for the first Super Bowl between Green Bay and Kansas City at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
–This year’s Super Bowl will pay out a record $124,000 per man to the winning team and $62,000 per man to the losing players. Those figures are up a respective $6,000 and $3,000 from last year. This year’s game marks the seventh straight year the payouts have increased.
—This year, a 30-second advertising spot on television will cost $5.6 million.
–The honorary coin-toss captains have yet to be announced. In the past, that task has been performed by military veterans, former Presidents, and newly-elected members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame class. Also, the Vince Lombardi Trophy will be presented to the winning team after the game by a Hall-of-Famer. Last year, it was Joe Namath.
–Demi Lovato has been tapped to sing the national anthem. It will be signed for the deaf audience by Christine Sun Kim. “America The Beautiful” will also be performed. Both songs have been sung at the Super Bowl since 2009. Gospel singer Yolanda Adams will sing it this year. Pop stars Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will perform at halftime, the first Super Bowl appearance for each. The pregame concert will be headlined by Dan & Shay, DJ Khalid, and Pitbull.
Prediction
This is both a typical and an atypical Super Bowl match-up. It’s typical because one team has a dominant offense and the other sports a stout defense. But it is atypical in that both teams are quite good (or at least getting better) on the sides of the ball for which they are not as well-known.
Kansas City has an offense that’s more in line with how the NFL game is played today, featuring a pass-dominated look. San Francisco features a stingy defense that fell off slightly as the year went on, but it is still one of the league’s best units. But it’s worth noting that the Chiefs’ defense improved noticeably from the season’s midpoint. The Niners’ running game, on the other hand, proved just as capable of putting points on the board as any team’s aerial attack.
Which team to pick? Ir could come down to something as simple as special teams, where the Chiefs have a slightly better return game, a younger kicker, and much better punter. If this game is as close as I think it’s going to be, then field position could be the game’s biggest key.
But with the parity in the league these days, I feel one or two big plays will decide the game on offense. And that’s why I’m leaning towards the Chiefs. They are younger and faster/deeper at tight end and wideout.
Kansas City 31, San Francisco 23
