The Kansas City Chiefs won for the second consecutive week on the road, winning the AFC Championship Game on Sunday in Baltimore, Maryland, defeating the Ravens 17-10. The road to Las Vegas was much different for the Chiefs and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, as the team reached its sixth consecutive conference title game, but played away from Arrowhead Stadium for the first time in the streak.
Kansas City’s defense was superb in slowing down expected league MVP Lamar Jackson and the top-seeded Ravens, with KC improving to 14-6, while ending Baltimore’s season two wins shy of the franchise’s third Super Bowl championship. The Chiefs, winners of two of the last four NFL championships, are attempting to become the first team since the 2003-2004 New England Patriots to repeat as champions.
Hours after the Chiefs celebrated their road win on the East Coast, an upset appeared to be brewing on the opposite coast, with the upstart Detroit Lions leading San Francisco by 17 points at the half. However, the top-seeded 49ers rallied behind quarterback Brock Purdy to a dramatic 34-31 win at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, pushing San Francisco to its eighth Super Bowl appearance.
On Sunday night, the 49ers opened as 2 1/2 point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook in Las Vegas. Overnight money coming in early on Kansas City had dropped the spread to one point in favor of San Francisco by Monday morning. The game will be a rematch from the February 2020 battle in Miami, when Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs overcame a 20-10 fourth quarter deficit to win the franchise’s first championship in 50 years. The following year, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended the Chiefs hopes of a repeat title. Kansas City, with this year’s return to the Super Bowl, joins the 1970’s Steelers, 1990’s Cowboys, and the 2000’s and 2010’s Patriots as teams to reach four Super Bowls in a five year span.
The Raiders new home at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas will host Super Bowl 58 on Sunday, February 11th.