By Jack Higgins, ‘25
As the 2023 NFL season comes to a close, football fans all over get to enjoy yet another Super Bowl. This evening, on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas, Brock Purdy, the final selection of the 2022 Draft, will be leading his team for a chance at their first Super Bowl since 1995. On the other side, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce will appear in the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years, hoping to cement their status as a dynasty. From off-field drama to Nickelodeon broadcasting the game, this year’s duel between two NFL powerhouses promises to be entertaining.
Entering this season, the 49ers were projected to be one of–if not the–best teams in all of football. Many analysts had projected San Francisco to win the NFC, which they did, taking down the Lions in the conference championship game. Their coveted running back, Christian McCaffrey, was traded to the 49ers in the middle of the 2022 season. In his first full year with the team, he achieved almost MVP-level stats as a running back, getting the ball 339 times and achieving 2,023 scrimmage yards and 21 touchdowns. On top of McCaffrey’s insane year, his other teammates deserve recognition too. Tight End George Kittle tallied 1,020 receiving yards which paced all tight ends. Wide receivers Brandon Aiuyk and Deebo Samuel combined for over 2,200 receiving yards and almost 20 touchdowns.
Of course, the main story of that star-studded 49er’s offense is second-year quarterback Brock Purdy. Drafted with the final selection of the 2022 NFL draft, he was expected to be Trey Lance’s backup moving forward. As fate would have it, in the middle of the 2022 season, both Trey Lace and Jimmy Garappallo sustained season ending injuries. Unfortunately, after Purdy ended the season strong, the 49ers lost in the NFC Championship. At the beginning of the 2023 season, Purdy’s performance was in question . Purdy ended 2023 with 4,280 passing yards and 31 touchdowns with only 11 interceptions. The NFL hasn’t witnessed an emergence of a top-flight playmaker this sudden since the ascent of Tom Brady.
Across the field, San Francisco’s rival Chiefs have plenty of their own reasons to feel confident. The Kansas City Chiefs ended the 2022 season with a Super Bowl win against the Philadelphia Eagles. At the start of this season, many fans expected another season like the last one. And that is exactly what they got–for a time. The Chiefs started off the 2023 season as successfully as they did the year before, getting to their bye-week with a record of 7-2. Although they ended the season with a respectable 11-6, they were not playing at the level fans had come to expect, especially on offense. Patrick Mahomes, a reliably solid QB, saw a spike in interceptions and a drop in touchdowns. Travis Kelce showed a similar decline, falling under 1,000 receiving yards for the first time since 2015. Happily for KC fans, wherever the offense struggled, the defense was there to minimize the damage. Led by defensive lineman, Chris Jones, this defense let up the second fewest points in the NFL this season. At the start of Jones’s season he was having a contract dispute which held him out the first game. After that issue was settled, the defense really took off. Jones led his team with 10.5 sacks which put him on the First Team All Pro. The Chiefs star cornerbacks, L’Jarius Sneed and Trent McDuffie, made opposing quarterbacks jobs very difficult as they turned the field into a no fly zone. Both of these players were instrumental to the success of this team.
With so many people looking forward to this game, we asked students here at Chaminade what they thought about the upcoming rematch. “I am looking forward to the game,” said Junior John “Jack” Leonard, ‘25. “It’s pretty cool how this matchup happened only a few years ago. I hope that we have another great game just like the other Chiefs 49er’s Super Bowl.” Classmate Dante Vinti, ‘25, echoed this sentiment, adding “This rematch from 2020 will give [Brock] Purdy a chance to prove himself.” For Benjamin Halsey, ‘25, the true value of this rematch will depend on the intensity each team brings to the game. “It will be exciting to see these two teams face off again with the highest stakes on the line, and both teams looked unbeatable going into this weekend.”
Even though the regular season did not end ideally for the Chiefs, they stood strong in the playoffs and beat the Dolphins, Bills, and the number one seed Ravens. This winning streak propelled Kansas City into the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years. San Francisco, coming in on the crest of a relatively more successful season, earned a bye to the divisional round by winning the NFC. After narrowly defeating the Packers in the divisional round, The team came back from a daunting 24-7 deficit against the Lions in the NFC championship to win. Both teams are heading into the game with lots of momentum and, if they can keep up the intensity, it will be very exciting to watch this 2019 Super Bowl rematch.
Moreover, If high-level, high-stakes gameplay isn’t enough drama for the average viewer, this year’s event offers plenty of additional distractions. Earlier in the 2023 NFL season, news broke that Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift had begun dating, generating an unusual degree of general media attention and broad public interest the season. Since Swift is a world-wide music superstar, this put Travis Kelce and the Chiefs into the spotlight of even non-football fans. As a result, this Super Bowl is receiving a lot more media attention than usual, which is another reason this game is so anticipated.
Along with celebrity drama, there is also drama that is happening in football itself. Since both teams need practice facilities near the game venue, the NFL has given the facilities at Allegiant Stadium (where the game is being played) to the Chiefs. The 49er’s, on the other hand, are using the practice facilities at the University of Las Vegas. What is so controversial about it is that the grass on the UNLV practice field is a very low grade, which could hinder the players practice or lead to injury. This story has recently been brought upon by media outlets, though it remains to be seen if there is anything to the concern.
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