The San Francisco 49ers finished the regular season with a 13-3 record — good enough for the No. 1 seed in the NFC. It came right down to the wire, though.
The 49ers and Chiefs did *just* enough for first-round byes, and it proved crucial
49ers vs. Chiefs is the 7th straight Super Bowl between top-two seeds.
Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images
Their last four games of 2019 (three of which they won), were decided in the final seconds. San Francisco’s Week 17 finale against Seattle was literally an inch away from being a loss. Seahawks tight end Jacob Hollister was tackled right next to the goal line on a fourth-down play with nine seconds left. Had it been a touchdown, the 49ers would’ve lost the NFC West and entered the postseason as the No. 5 seed.
The Kansas City Chiefs also secured a first-round bye by the skin of their teeth. They won their last six games during the regular season — including a ref-assisted victory against the Patriots — to finish the year 12-4. That would’ve landed them the No. 3 seed in the AFC, but New England inexplicably lost to the tanking Dolphins in Week 17. Kansas City hopped the Patriots and ended up with the AFC’s No. 2 seed.
Both the 49ers and the Chiefs barely earned first-round byes that kept them from having to play on Wild Card Weekend. The extra week off is a big reason why both teams navigated the postseason to make it to Super Bowl 54.
That’s been the norm, lately. It’s been years since a team that didn’t earn a first-round bye made it to the Super Bowl. Kansas City and San Francisco are the latest examples, and showed exactly why a top-two seed is so valuable.
The 49ers and Chiefs got healthy with time off
The 49ers were banged up in the second half of the 2019 season. They started the year 8-0 with an indomitable defense, but slowed down when key contributors like Dee Ford, Richard Sherman, Kwon Alexander, and Jaquiski Tartt had to deal with injuries.
An extra week off gave those players time to return to 100 percent in time for the playoffs. Now the San Francisco defense is back to wrecking shop.
The rejuvenated 49ers beat both the Vikings and Packers by 17 points. They notched nine sacks and five turnovers in the pair of wins.
Kansas City also benefitted from time to get healthy. Or rather, to stay healthy.
Patrick Mahomes suffered a dislocated kneecap in Week 7 and was out of action until Week 10. Prior to that, speedy receiver Tyreek Hill went down with a shoulder injury in Week 1 and missed a month.
The Chiefs’ electric offense slowed down without Mahomes and Hill at 100 percent. Even after their return, it took time for Kansas City to get rolling again. But now they’re back to their usual explosive selves. The Chiefs eclipsed 400 yards of offense in both of their postseason wins, their first time with back-to-back 400-yard performances since September.
Now, the 49ers and Chiefs are hitting Super Bowl 54 with relatively clean bills of health. Kansas City coach Andy Reid had zero injuries to report from the AFC Championship, and the most significant problem for San Francisco is a shoulder injury for Tevin Coleman — just one part of the 49ers’ stable of running backs.
Neither team had a particularly tough slate of playoff opponents
If the Patriots managed to win in Week 17, Kansas City would’ve played the Titans on Wild Card Weekend. If the Chiefs won, it would’ve been a matchup with either the Ravens or the Patriots, and another game after that.
Instead of that slate, the Chiefs only had to beat the Texans and Titans — the fourth- and sixth-seeded teams in the AFC, respectively.
The 49ers’ path was a little tougher, but not much. They had to go through the Vikings (No. 6) and Packers (No. 2) to get to Super Bowl 54.
Neither had to play a playoff game on the road.
Most importantly, the Chiefs got to avoid the 14-2 Ravens and the defending champion Patriots. The 49ers didn’t have to face the Saints or their divisional rival Seahawks. Those were some of the biggest favorites of the postseason when the field was set after the regular season ended.
Kansas City earned its spot in Super Bowl 54 by blowing out teams in January with unstoppable offense. San Francisco got there with ferocious defense and a steady dose of Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman. Securing first-round byes certainly helped both teams along their respective paths, though.
It’s been years since a team without a bye made the Super Bowl
The Joe Flacco-led Ravens were the last NFL team to play on Wild Card Weekend and still advance to the Super Bowl. That was way back in 2013.
The 49ers and Chiefs will meet for the seventh consecutive Super Bowl between teams that entered the playoffs with a top-two seed. Clearly, homefield advantage and the benefit of a week off have reigned supreme, as of late.
It’s a relatively new phenomenon, though. Six of the eight Super Bowl champions between 2005 and 2012 didn’t earn a first-round bye. Since then, it’s been nothing but No. 1 and No. 2 seeds getting through the conference championships.
It’s impossible to know if San Francisco and Kansas City would’ve been able to buck the trend. Thanks to some favorable Week 17 results, neither team had to find out.
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