Super Bowl: NFL celebrates centennial with Chiefs-49ers duel

The stands at Hard Rock Stadium will turn red on Sunday at the 54th Super Bowl, the first in three years without New England on the bill. A major international sporting event which will start at 6.30 p.m. local time (11.30 p.m. GMT).

And then there were two. 🏆 @ SuperBowl | #SuperBowlLIV pic.twitter.com/KlEvkiZ1Sx

Tom Brady's Patriots were titled in 2017 against Atlanta, then defeated by Philadelphia in 2018, before being crowned for the sixth time in their history in 2019 at the expense of the Los Angeles Rams, at the end of a tasteless match, called "Super Bore".

This year, if the suspense is great around this Chiefs-49ers, everyone agrees that there will be a show on the lawn, between the team which produced the best offensive game this season, carried by the arm magic of Mahomes, and the one who asserted herself as having the best defensive line, coupled with a formidably effective racing game.

An opposition of styles between two teams who want to regain their past glory.

Kansas City's boom years go back to the first games of the Super Bowl. After losing the inaugural edition in 1967 against Green Bay, the Missouri franchise won the fourth in 1970 against Minnesota. It is therefore a shortage half a century long which must be stopped.

Mahomes, "superstar" of the Chiefs

San Francisco, who can equal New England and Pittsburgh, ruled American football in the 1980s, winning four titles under the leadership of one of the greatest quarterbacks in history, Joe Montana. The fifth coronation in 1995 was the work of Steve Young, author of six throws for touchdowns.

Their potential heir is named Jimmy Garropolo. Aged 28, he will play his first Super Bowl. A tournament he knows well though, having won it twice ... watching Tom Brady play, his replacement for the Patriots.

In 2017, he decided to stand on his own two feet to land in San Francisco. He is now facing the challenge of his career, even if he is not necessarily the key element of his team.

Because these 49ers have other advantages, with the running back Raheem Mostert, author of four touchdowns in the conference final against Green Bay (37-20), and an airtight defense led by rookie Nick Bosa and veteran Richard Sherman.

Their defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh, knows that victory will depend a lot on their ability to thwart Patrick Mahomes.

"He's a superstar at all levels and he's going to be tough to handle," said Saleh of last season’s MVP, which has the luxury of having excellent receivers, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, and more. the tight-end Travis Kelce.

New faces

It remains to be seen whether Mahomes, who can become the second youngest sacred quarterback player in history at 24, will be able to resist the pressure. Even if his five victorious assists against Houston in the second round of the play-offs (51-31) to erase a 24-0 deficit, was brilliant proof of composure.

"I will try to have fun, to play as I have done all season," he said. "This is a unique opportunity that I hope to have several times in my life. I am only at the beginning of my career."

Relaxed, Mahomes is no less ambitious. He knows that he is, with other talents like Lamar Jackson (Baltimore), the future of a League about to turn the page on Brady, Roethlisberger, even Rodgers. At the level of coaches too, the faces are (almost) new at this stage, even if they do not lack experience.

Andy Reid, the most famous thick mustache in the NFL, 61, is the most successful coach ever to win a Super Bowl. "He has had an incredible career," said Mahomes. "Obviously, we want this game, the most important one, to appear on his resume."

Opposite, Kyle Shanahan, 40, is the great craftsman of the 49ers' renaissance. Three years ago, then Atlanta's offensive coordinator, he thought he had won the Super Bowl 28-3 in the third quarter against New England, before losing after extra time (34-28).

A bitter memory that he hopes to see disappear, under the eyes of Mike Shanahan, twice winner of the Super Bowl with Denver. A father and his son, sacred coaches, would be a first.

With AFP

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