According to sports journalist Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press,

Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs are on their way to Las Vegas to potentially achieve a difficult back-to-back victory as they take on the San Francisco 49ers in a Super Bowl rematch from four years prior.

The Chiefs beat Lamar Jackson and the No. 1-seeded Baltimore Ravens 17-10 in the AFC championship game Sunday to advance to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years. A few hours later, Brock Purdy rallied the No. 1-seeded 49ers to a 34-31 victory over the Detroit Lions in the NFC title game.

The Chiefs, with a record of 14-6, are striving to achieve the feat of being the first team since the New England Patriots led by Tom Brady to win consecutive championships in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

Purdy — who was still two years away from being the last pick of the 2022 NFL draft the last time the teams played in the Super Bowl — will try to lead the 49ers (14-5) to a record-tying sixth title in their eighth appearance.

On February 12th, the teams will face off at Allegiant Stadium. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the 49ers are currently favored by 2 and 1/2 points.

On February 2, 2020, Mahomes and the Chiefs were able to come back from a 20-10 deficit in the fourth quarter and defeat the 49ers 31-20, earning coach Andy Reid his first Super Bowl win. However, the following year, Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prevented Kansas City from repeating their victory.

The Chiefs will be the third team in history to participate in four Super Bowls within a five-year period. The only other teams to achieve this feat were the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s, the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s, and the Patriots in both the 2000s and 2010s.

Mahomes rallied the Chiefs for a 38-35 comeback win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl last year. They beat Miami 26-7 in the wild-card round and defeated the Bills 27-24 in Buffalo last week in Mahomes’ first career playoff game on the road besides Super Bowls.

Last year, the Eagles dominated the 49ers in the NFC championship game. During the game, Purdy sustained a serious elbow injury that ultimately required surgery. However, he made a strong comeback for the season opener and played a crucial role in securing a first-round bye for the 49ers. Purdy was instrumental in their recent 24-21 victory over Green Bay and also helped rally the team from a 17-point deficit against the Lions.

The only teams with more Super Bowl victories than San Francisco are New England and Pittsburgh. San Francisco’s most recent win was in 1994.

Reid will be the head coach for a team in the Super Bowl for the fifth time, tying with Tom Landry for the third most appearances. The only coaches with more Super Bowl appearances are Bill Belichick with nine and Don Shula with six. Reid previously coached the Eagles when they lost to the Patriots in a repeat match 19 years ago.

Kyle Shanahan, the coach of the Niners, will make a comeback to the Super Bowl after previously losing to Reid in his first attempt. Shanahan had been the offensive coordinator for Atlanta during their defeat to Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl 51, where they lost after holding a 28-3 lead.

Mahomes, a recipient of the NFL and Super Bowl MVP titles twice, will be the starting player in his fourth Super Bowl. This places him in a tie with Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Peyton Manning, Roger Staubach, and Jim Kelly for the third-highest number of Super Bowl starts. Only Brady, with 10 starts, and John Elway, with five, have more.

The main concern is if Taylor Swift will be able to attend the Super Bowl in Las Vegas to support her boyfriend on Feb. 11. Swift, who joined Kelce on the field to celebrate their win against the Ravens, has a performance scheduled in Japan only a day before the game.

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Check out Rob Maaddi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/robmaaddi.

— AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Source: wralsportsfan.com