Published 17:48 IST, January 29th 2020
Super Bowl 2020: 5 stories to follow as Chiefs look to end Super Bowl drought
The San Francisco 49ers will look to throw a spanner in the works as they face fan-favourites Kansas City Chiefs at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Sunday.
The National Football League (NFL) is halfway into the much-awaited Super Bowl week as the Chiefs vs 49ers clash beckons at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. A flashy offence led by reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes will look to carve open a steely 49ers defence led by Nick Bosa and Dee Ford. As we near the Super Bowl 2020, here are five fun facts about the main event.
Super Bowl 2020: Chiefs look to end second-longest Super Bowl drought
A total of 9 teams in the NFL are yet to taste any degree of success in the Super Bowl. However, among the myriad teams to have won it so far, the Kansas City Chiefs have endured the second-longest Super Bowl drought, second only to the New York Jets. The Jets have now gone 51 years without winning another Super Bowl.
Super Bowl 2020: Jimmy Garoppolo’s search for first ‘real’ Super Bowl ring
The San Francisco 49ers traded for Jimmy Garoppolo in the middle of his fourth season as backup to Tom Brady. By that time, Garoppolo already had two Super Bowl rings to his name. However, Garoppolo did not throw a single pass in those conquests. Come Sunday, Jimmy Garoppolo will have the opportunity to add the first ‘real’ Super Bowl ring to his collection. In doing so, he could also convince the rest of the 49ers fans that coach Kyle Shanahan was right to rope him in, back when Shanahan was considering then-Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Super Bowl 2020: All eyes on Patrick Mahomes, the fifth-youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl game
Had he not been injured in Week 7, Patrick Mahomes would have been right up there with Ravens' Lamar Jackson to contend for the MVP honours. Patrick Mahomes pulled the strings in Chiefs’ post-season wins over the Texans and the Titans. When he takes to the field at the Hard Rock Stadium this weekend, Patrick Mahomes will be the fifth-youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl game. Interestingly, Jimmy Garoppolo will also be making his first start in a Super Bowl. The last Super Bowl to feature two quarterbacks making their first Super Bowl start was Super Bowl XLVII (Joe Flacco and Colin Kaepernick) 7 years ago.
Super Bowl 2020: 49ers look to draw level with Patriots, Steelers in Super Bowl wins
As Kyle Shanahan draws up the plans to stifle the Chiefs, the San Francisco 49ers will look to write their name in the history books. If they come out on top at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the 49ers will be just the second team to have six Super Bowl victories to their name. Even more impressive is the fact that they will be the third team in the history of the NFL to reach the Super Bowl after winning four of fewer games the season before. The 49ers had a dismal 4-12 record back in 2018.
Super Bowl 2020: History beckons for both Andy Reid and Kyle Shanahan
A vast majority of NFL fans consider Chiefs coach Andy Reid the greatest coach to have not won a Super Bowl so far. At Super Bowl LIV, Andy Reid will become just the 24th head coach in the history of the NFL to appear in multiple Super Bowls. His last Super Bowl outing saw his Philadelphia Eagles side succumb to Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots.
There will also be history at stake for Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan will be a part of the first father-son duo to make it to separate Super Bowls. His father Mike Shanahan was the offensive coordinator of the 49ers in 1994, before leading the Denver Broncos to consecutive titles in 1997 and 1998.
Updated 17:48 IST, January 29th 2020