After months of games, plenty of unexpected twists, big scores, freezing temperatures and 1 massive culture crossover event, we’ve reached the Super Bowl. And it’s a repeat of a match up from the recent past as the San Francisco 49ers square off against the Kansas City Chiefs in Las Vegas. Will the game match the glitz and glam we come to expect from Sin City? Check out my preview of the action on and off the field.

Quarterback – Brock Purdy vs Patrick Mahomes

2022’s Mr Irrelevant (that’s the moniker given to the last player selected in the draft) vs potentially the best quarterback to ever play the game. Doesn’t seem that fair, and in all honesty, It’s probably not. But when discussing the game, there’s no other place to start, and it could prove a battle that proves pivotal.

Purdy is very much the underdog, and while he likely won’t outduel Mahomes, his key focus will be on not sinking his team, and providing enough to make sure the game doesn’t get away from the Niners. His first play-off outing this season was a little ropey against the Packers in the Divisional round, but he made the big plays when they mattered on the final drive. He was better overall against the Lions in the Conference game, and again he came up big when the team needed to dig themselves out of the big hole they found themselves in at halftime. Against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, Purdy will need to deliver throughout. We saw him use his legs against Detroit to pick up some key first downs (much like we’ve come to expect from Mahomes) and that might be crucial here. Purdy’s first, and primary, job this Sunday will be to make sure the Niners keep the scoreboard ticking over as they can’t afford to start slow like they have in previous weeks. The Chiefs defence has the ability to overwhelm any offence in the league if they get out into a lead so it’s imperative that Purdy doesn’t let that happen or get rattled when the heat starts ramping up. It’s a massive test for the sophomore quarterback, but he’s on the biggest stage so if ever there was a time to deliver, it is now.

No quarterback is better at being clutch than Patrick Mahomes. If there’s a quarterback you want when it matters most, it’s him. While the Chiefs offence hasn’t been at its best this season, Mahomes has continually done enough to get them over the line. Whether it’s during scripted plays (he was almost perfect on the first 2 drives in the AFC Championship game against the Ravens) or during off-script plays (we’ve all seen the plays were he runs and runs and runs before completing an almost impossible pass to Travis Kelce), he is central to everything this Kansas City offence wants to do. He might be throwing more short passes than ever before, but he’s still destroying teams while doing it. Baltimore provided a stern test in the Conference decider last time out, and San Francisco will be an equally stern, albeit in a different way, examination of Mahomes. This is his 4^th Super Bowl in his young career, and with a win, he would collect a 3^rd Lombardi. He’s not even 29 yet! Only 4 other quarterbacks have lifted 3 Lombardi’s, so Mahomes has a chance to enter a very elite group and likely cement his place in the upper echelon of quarterbacks in history.

The Playcallers – Kyle Shanahan vs Steve Spagnuolo

You could almost class this as the Irresistible Force against the Unmoveable Object. Kyle Shanahan runs one of the most effective and slashing offensive schemes in the history of the NFL with a diverse range of playmakers and a quarterback who can run the system exactly as he wants. On the opposite side, Steve Spagnuolo runs a terrifying and seemingly unrelenting defensive scheme that can stop any offence it wants (they gave up an average of 17.3 points per game in the regular season and even less so far in the play-offs). “In Spags We Trust” adorned Chiefs defenders’ chests after they completely shut down the MVP Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in the Championship game. Of all the match-ups this Sunday, this may well be the one that decides it all. Something has to give, and the loser of this battle may well see their Super Bowl dreams shattered. Spagnuolo will likely try to give the Niners offence a whole variety of different looks early to try and keep Shanahan and Purdy guessing and off rhythm like they did against Baltimore. There’s probably lessons they can learn from the Lions first half performance last week when they largely held the Niners in check. But Shanahan and his offence can, and likely will have to, change up their attack as they go and utilise every single weapon they have. The Chiefs have been more suspect defending the run which is an area the Niners would love to attack. Both playcallers know this is the pivotal clash, but who will scheme their way to win this mini-battle?

On the outside – Chiefs passing game vs the Niners secondary

We talked good on good, what about less good on less good? That would be the Chiefs wide receivers against the Niners cornerbacks and secondary. Let’s start with the match-up that will dominate this bigger battle (which isn’t wide receivers on cornerbacks but it flows from there). Travis Kelce vs Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, with a safety likely thrown in the battle for good measure. I’d largely expect Kelce to win more than his fair share of chances, but it will be up to the Niners linebackers to make sure he doesn’t completely dominate like he did against the Ravens where he caught 11 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, and he also set the all-time postseason records for receptions, passing the great Jerry Rice. All the other Chiefs receivers, except Rashee Rice, only caught 11 passes. Slowing Kelce down will be key to whether or not the Niners defence stands a chance in this game.

Onto the receivers and cornerback, the aforementioned Rice (Rashee, not Jerry) is the most dangerous target the Chiefs have on the outside and he’ll more than fancy his chances against the San Francisco cornerbacks who have been picked on relentlessly throughout the season. But after that, the Chiefs lack consistency and reliability. Marques Valdes-Scantling is probably good for 1 deep catch a game but little beyond that. Throughout the season, it looked like the wide receivers, and the offence as a whole, would derail the Chiefs’ chances of a repeat Super Bowl win. But they’ve been doing enough throughout the playoffs to get back here, and they just need one more decent showing. If they get anything beyond the bare minimum from this group, their chances of winning will have increased significantly.

For the Niners, they’ve really struggled defending the pass and slowing down other teams. Had it not been for some very costly drops at critical moments by Detroit, they might not even be here as they generally tore straight through the San Franc defence. They have an inexperienced and quite frankly, underperforming group of secondary players who just have to not get destroyed on a regular basis. They will be helped out immensely if Nick Bosa and the pass rushers can get after Mahomes as they won’t be able to hold up for long enough otherwise.

On the ground – Christian McCaffrey vs the Chiefs linebackers

The league’s premier running back will be central to the Niners chances of scoring big and scoring often. Sure, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk will all feature heavily (and I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of them make the crucial play if needed) but everything the Niners want to do on offence runs through CMC. That’s mostly on the ground through an outside zone type of running game where the offensive line can get on the move and CMC gets presented with different zones that he can shimmy through. He will also be asked to do plenty on short passes which aim to function much like runs rather than pushing the ball down the field. Expect CMC to see plenty of the ball, for him to see it early, and for him to get it in the key moments. Much like the Chiefs will rely on Mahomes, the 49ers will go to their best player in the big moments with it all on the line.

And the Chiefs will be more than happy to rise to the challenge. Bucking the trend from around the league, the Chiefs have developed a deep and impressive linebacker group. Nick Bolton is probably the headline act, but Drue Tranquill and Leo Chenal were big contributors against the Ravens and Willie Gay might be back for this one too. They aren’t gamewreckers like the Niners linebackers, but they’ll be expected to keep a close eye on CMC at all times and get him stopped as quickly, and effectively, as they can. Mike Edwards will also be a big factor when he drops down into the box from his usual safety position, so expect the Niners offence to be designed in such a way as to keep as many of the Chiefs linebackers off the field and away from CMC as possible.

So there we are. It promises to be a tremendous Super Bowl with 2 of the best teams of recent years clashing again on the biggest stage. We’ve looked at 4 of the key battlegrounds where this game will be won, but what will be the ultimate result? For all his years of hard work, innovation and near misses, it feels like Kyle Shanahan is due. It would be an unbelievable story to see Brock Purdy lift the Lombardi after the game, with CMC, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Fred Warner and company all reaching the pinnacle of American Football. But how can we see beyond Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid and all their experience? Like Thanos, Mahomes is inevitable. And I think at the end of the day, they might well be the champs once more.

But it’s not just any old game of football, the Super Bowl has so much more. If you’re a rookie, or just not sure what to expect, here’s some of the details about to expect from the game away from what is happening on the field.

The Venue

After years of being vehemently against betting in all its forms, money has finally spoken, and consequently, we have our first Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The game is being played at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders (whose fans will be just delighted that one of the Chiefs, division rivals, or 49ers, old city rivals, will be lifting the Lombardi in their stadium).

The spectre of betting does cast a long shadow over the game. The NFL has stressed that no player, whether playing in the game or not, is to bet on the game. Will that hold? Time will tell. But both teams felt there was enough potential distractions in Sin City that they are both based a fair distance outside the city.

Where and when can you watch it?

The game will be shown live on both ITV and Sky Sports, both of whom will have their own dedicated crews presenting the game. Expect pundits, former players and a recognisable face or 2 throughout the broadcasts to deliver the highlights, reaction and hot takes.

If you’re watching either in America or through an American stream, such as the one found through DAZN, the game is being carried by CBS so we’ll be getting Jim Nantz and Tony Romo calling the game, with Tracy Wolfson and Evan Washburn reporting from the sidelines and Gene Steratore adding insight into the officiating decisions/debacles. This will be Nantz’s 9^th Super Bowl which is a tremendous achievement for the legendary play-by-play announcer.

Kick off will be around 11.30pm UK time, although an exact time is hard to pin down with all the pageantry that goes on beforehand. Best to settle in early and soak it all in. Watching the commercials is half of the fun anyway, let’s see who the big winner is on that front (the early pacesetter is the fabulous Paramount advert featuring Patrick Stewart, Tua Tagovailoa and eh, Arnold from Hey Arnold! whose famous pigskin shaped head plays a comical role). The estimated going price for a 30 second commercial slot is a cool $7 million, similar to last year’s going rate.

The National Anthem

A significant part of the pre-game ritual is the singing of the US national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner”. The honour this year falls to Reba McEntire, affectionately known as the Queen of Country. Also pre-game, there are versions of “America the Beautiful” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (also known as the Black national anthem). These will sung by Post Malone and Andra Day respectively. Expect plenty of emotion and passion from all involved throughout the 3 songs. And beyond that, expect fireworks, fighter jet fly-overs and famous faces galore.

The Halftime Show

Topping Rihanna from last year was always going to be hard and it’s the job of Usher to rise to such a challenge. It might not the option many expected, or anticipated, but he is a big name that has sold more than 80 million records and had 18 top 10 hits in America.  Expect to roll through some of his classic songs like *checks Wikipedia* Yeah!, Burn, Love in this Club and OMG. In convenient timing, Usher also just dropped a new album so expect a song or two from that to be shoe-horned in. The 8-time Grammy winner does have a huge list of great past collaborators so expect a guest appearance, lots of flash and slick dance moves, especially as it’s Las Vegas. It’s maybe not the most inspired choice ever, but at least it’s not Maroon 5.

Taylor Watch

It’s been a polarising story all season but it’s one we should ultimately be embracing to some degree. Taylor Swift is almost certainly the biggest celebrity in Western culture, and potentially globally, and all of a sudden, she’s hooked on the NFL because of her boyfriend, who just happens to be playing in this game (it’s Travis Kelce in case you’ve been living under a rock). Why is that a bad thing? TV crews are dedicating minimal time to her every week in the grand scheme and she’s having no impact on the product on the field or on our screens. If anything, it’s allowing those without any previous interest in the NFL, but with an interest in Swift, to get involved. For those watching the 6 Nations at the moment, Willem Dafoe got a significant airing on Saturday in the Wales-Scotland game, and I saw no complaints (just classic memes).

There’s every chance she might not be there as she’s due to perform in Tokyo the night before, but I think it’s a safe bet to assume she’ll appear at some point (especially given her nonchalant attitude towards private jet use). Usher will be hoping it’s well into the second half, and the Niners will be hoping she’s not on the field celebrating at the end of the game.