Editor’s Note: Thank you to everybody reading this. After I post this Week to Week Notes will have previewed every NFL game from the start of the ‘22 NFL regular season to now, with this being the 2nd Super Bowl. Writing about the League that gets played Week to Week is a dream come true. It’s by far my favorite sport to try to take the most seriously in this unserious sports blog, so while I’m sorta thrilled that I get to re-enter society, a part of me is already looking forward to the ‘24 NFL season. I hope all you football fans come back next fall. Is it over now? Well, no, not in my eyes, Week to Week Notes has no offseason. Tomorrow’s Saturday Sports will include a bit about the Irish taking on the Italians, Local NY Hoops & Puck, and our first edition of this year’s golf. I also CAN’T WAIT for some Yankees baseball, sorry I’m rambling, let’s get on with it…
OMG | Super Bowl LVIII Breakdown | Prediction & Taylor Swift Props | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Today’s tune is OMG by Usher featuring Will.I.Am because Usher will be performing at the halftime show. I’m also going to do another Usher tune for Saturday Sports tomorrow and then by Sunday’s Stumblin’ Along, I don’t want to be ushering you out of his performance at half-time so I’ll hope to make you Smile (Vol II).
The choice to go with Usher at half-time sorta makes sense for both parties. Usher will have a couple of viral social media moments and from Roger Goodell’s perspective, he’s a big enough headliner that people of my age or older will remember how much of a star he was in the ‘00s. He had some major club anthems.
When Usher was at his peak playing in all the clubs, I wasn’t of age, however, I was going to dances in school. This tune came out in March of ‘10, so I’d have been a sophomore in high school and it surely played at Homecoming in the fall. The whole concept of dances while you’re in high school now sounds pretty hilarious, but when you’re just starting to realize in life that the weekends mean everything, they’re a huge deal. All the fellas would get dressed up in button-downs and ladies would wear their best dresses to dance in the middle of the school gym in front of their teachers chaperoning. You don’t start high school until you show up to a Homecoming as an 8th grader or freshman smelling like Axe body spray and see upper-classmen grinding to Usher on the same hardwood floor you played Pickleball just hours before. It is truly jarring, but enough of that…
Let’s talk ball…
Super Bowl LVIII
Arseholes
Edge: Tie
This Super Bowl features two of the best Arseholes sorry I mean Tight Ends in football. Travis Kelce is not only a household name because of Taylor Swift, but a future sure-fire Hall of Famer. The #1 Sports Podcaster in America is essentially unguardable in 1 v 1 matchups. While he does run very crisp routes, the veteran TE’s connection with Mahomes is the real key. Mahomes uses Kelce as a security blanket because he knows the Travis can deviate or freestyle routes and find a soft spot in the defensive coverage regardless of how they attempt to guard him. Kelce is coming off a monster AFC Championship Game where he caught 11 passes for 116 yards and a TD. His 156 playoff catches now eclipse Jerry Rice’s postseason catch record. Rice still owns the NFL postseason records for receiving yards (Kelce trails by 435 yards) and TDs as Rice had 22 to Kelce’s 19 scores. While his brother Jason is likely going to retire, I think we’ll at least get another year or two out of Travis because having a chance to break any of Jerry Rice’s records is a remarkable feat.
The 49ers have a great TE as well in George Kittle. Kelce said of Kittle, “He’s the best TE in the league and deservingly so. This year he is playing lights out, the best football of his career…I couldn’t be more honored to go up against George in another Super Bowl.” Kittle is one of the best blocking TEs in football and is coming off a 1,020 receiving yards regular season. He and his wife, Claire, are another NFL power couple. Kittle founded Tight End University in ‘21, which is a 3-day program where he and his fellow TEs around the league (including Kelce) where attendees bond, collaborate with, and learn amongst their peers while participating in a variety of activities including film study, on-field drills, recovery, rehabilitation, and more. Not only is TEU a TE Summit meeting of minds, but their sponsors go to charities, so it’s a good cause. By the way, neither one of these TEs are Arseholes, they seem like good guys.
QBs
Edge: Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes is on a trajectory that will make him one of the best QBs of all time. At 28 years old, Mahomes already has 2 Super Bowls in his trophy case and this will be his 4th time playing in America’s Biggest Game. Patty Mahomes loves playing in Las Vegas, which may be because the Raiders have had such a porous secondary, but he’ll be very comfortable with the conditions. While his ‘23 regular season may have been his statistical worst, Mahomes has played great in the playoffs and has proven he knows how to win.
Just 2 years ago the 49ers QB, Brock Purdy, was selected with the last pick in the ‘22 NFL Draft. Mr. Irrelevant has become relevant as he took over QB1 duties in San Fran last year after the guys ahead of him on the depth chart went down with injuries. While Purdy does play with a cast of all-stars, it is still his responsibility to play point guard and he does everything that he is supposed to. While he may not have as good of legs as Mahomes, the Iowa State alum has a great feel for the pocket. One knock on Purdy entering this season was that he was just a system QB who threw dump-off passes and he has proven otherwise, as his 63.2% of passes further than 20 yards was the best in football in ‘23. Purdy is a blossoming 24-year-old QB who seems to know how to win, but Mahomes has actually done it.
RBs
Edge: 49ers
Isaiah Pacheco is from South West Jersey so he’s likely a Phillies fan. He played for the Scarlett Knights and was a gem the Chiefs drafted in the 7th Round of the ‘22 NFL Draft. Including last postseason, the RB with a nickname of “Pop”, joins an elite company of RBs with 75+ scrimmage yards to start their playoff career. Pacheco runs angry and his 40-time during the NFL combine clocked at 4.37 seconds, which is extremely fast. While he may not be as fast as the former #10 of KC (Tyreek Hill), Pacheco is a big piece to the KC offense. During the playoffs this season, he has seen an uptick in carries, twice getting 24 handoffs which are career-highs.
As important as Pacheco is to the Chiefs offense, Christian McCaffrey is more like a vital organ for San Francisco. Since joining the 49ers at the ‘22 trade deadline, McCaffrey has suited up for the Niners 32 times and has scored 39 TDs (including the postseason and his 1 passing TD). The Stanford alum is the son of Ed McCaffrey, a stud WR of the 90s who won 3 Super Bowls with the 49ers & Broncos. McCaffrey’s fiancée is Olivia Culpo, who I don’t know much about, but know that women love her. Another important part of the 49ers backfield is McCaffrey’s leading blocker, Kyle Juszczyk. The swiss-army knife FB is married to Kristin Juszczyk, who gifted Taylor Swift her Chiefs custom jersey jacket. Do you think they have texted each other in the lead-up to the Super Bowl or is Taylor cutthroat until after the game? She do be like that sometimes.
WRs
Edge: 49ers
The Chiefs WR core is a mixed bag. When the team could no longer afford to keep Tyreek Hill, they decided to put their financial resources into other aspects of the team so they went cheap in terms of Mahomes’ pass catchers. Kansas City did however spend a 2nd Round pick on rookie WR Rashee Rice who has developed throughout the season into Mahomes’ best WR target. Rice this postseason has caught 20 passes for 223 yards and 1 score. Outside of Rice, KC has Marques Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney (who may be a healthy scratch), and Mecole Hardman. These guys have a ton of talent so it wouldn’t shock me if they made a big catch or scored a TD on an end around, but they are unreliably inconsistent.
The Niners have the edge at WR as Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk make up one of the more underrated receiving cores in the NFL. After 3 quality seasons in San Francisco, Brandon Aiyuk had his best year yet in ‘23, as his 17.9 yards per catch was 2nd best in the NFL only to George Pickens. Aiyuk is a great deep threat, which was shown in the NFC Championship Game when he caught that game-changing ball off the Lions defender’s helmet. While Aiyuk may have had the better stats this season, I still think of Deebo Samuel as their WR1 and an unconventional one at that. Not only is Deebo a surehanded pass catcher, but he is great in the running game as well. When the Niners played the Chiefs in that Super Bowl right before COVID, Samuel as a rookie ripped off 3 rushes for 53 yards while also snagging 5 balls as well. Samuel and Aiyuk are dynamic playmakers in different ways.
Big Uglies
Edge: Tie
The Chiefs’ big uglies entered the season with a ton of continuity in their interior. Their guards - Joe Thuney and Trey Smith have played next to their center Creed Humphrey dating back to ‘21. Offensive line cohesion is one of the most important things in football that always gets overlooked because we’re all obsessed with fantasy football stats. Thuney is questionable to play on Sunday which would mean Nick Allegretti would get plugged in. On the outside, this is Jawaan Taylor and Donovan Smith’s first seasons in Kansas City. Despite the new tackles, the Chiefs allowed only 28 sacks on the season, good for 2nd best in the NFL. Thuney, who was an All-Pro in ‘23, would be a huge loss if he can’t go.
The Niners’ offensive was considered below average by most metrics like PFF. The biggest name of the bunch is their future Hall of Famer LT Trent Williams. At 35 years old, Williams is still playing at a very high level as this past regular season he was named to the 1st Team All-Pro for the 3rd consecutive season. The Niners’ interior is made up of a group of Aaron Banks, Jake Bendel, and Jon Feliciano. Banks and Bendel have been starting at LG & C for the Niners for the past two years, while Feliciano came from the NY Giants this past offseason. If San Francisco has a weakness, it may be Feliano and RT Colton McKivitz on their right side of the line. McKivitz in the regular season allowed 47 QB pressures (10th most) and 9 sacks (tied for 4th most).
Pass Rushers
Edge: Chiefs (Slightly)
The Kansas City Chiefs pass rushers combined to sack the QB 57 times in the regular season in ‘23. That was good for 2nd most in the NFL, only behind the Baltimore Ravens. The majority of the sacks came from the 10.5 each that Chris Jones and George Karlaftis had this season. Chris Jones is an All-Pro DT and one of the biggest game wreckers among interior linemen. Offensive lines many times have to gameplan double teams to handle him, which allows a developing sack artist like Karlaftis to come off the edge freely. So far this postseason, Karlaftis has 2.5 sacks. The Chiefs will be without Charles Omenihu, who had a mini-breakout season with 7 sacks after spending the past 2 seasons with the Niners. Omenihu was placed on the IR with a knee after the AFC Championship.
The 49ers were also top 10 in the NFL in sacks this season. Nick Bosa headlined their bunch with 10.5 sacks of his own. The Ohio State alum also had a huge NFC Championship Game, sacking Jared Goff twice. For the 2nd year in a row, DT Javon Hargrave will face the Chiefs in the Super Bowl. After an 11-sack campaign with the Eagles in ‘22, Hargrave had the 2nd most on the Niners with 7. One guy to mention is Chase Young, who San Francisco traded for midseason. Young has a world of talent, but thus far into his career, the #2 Overall Pick from ‘20 seems to lack effort. The Super Bowl is the type of game where a guy like Young could show up, dominate with 3 sacks, and it’s all we remember about this guy when he doesn’t do much next year. I’m giving the edge to KC see here, even though SF has the bigger names.
Linebackers
Edge: 49ers
The Chiefs’ linebacking core is made up of Nick Bolton, Willie Gay, and Drue Tranquill. Bolton and Gay have both missed some time this season with injuries, which forced Tranquill into a bigger role than was likely expected as he was the team’s leading tackler from the LB position group. Tranquill also pitched in with 4.5 sacks so he can blitz. In last year’s Super Bowl, Nick Bolton caused, picked up, and scored on a Jalen Hurts fumble. Bolton was the team’s leading tackler in ‘22 but missed half the season this year with a wrist injury. Willie Gay is their best linebacker in pass coverage and will likely match up with George Kittle or Christian McCaffrey a ton.
The 49ers linebacking core is made up of an All-Pro in Fred Warner and someone who played like an All-Pro this postseason in Dre Greenlaw. The 2 stud LBs have combined for 252 tackles this season. While Warner is known as the best linebacker in coverage in football, Dre Greenlaw has him beat in the INT column this postseason as he had two against the Packers. Fred Warner vs Travis Kelce may very well decide who wins the Super Bowl this year. In ‘19 when these two faced off in the Super Bowl, Kelce was limited to only 6 catches for 43 yards, however, one of those catches was for a TD that sparked the Chiefs’ 21 unanswered 4th Quarter points in their 31-20 win. Warner’s wife Sydney Hightower has been cleared to fly to Las Vegas. She is currently 35 weeks pregnant. She was a former Bachelor contestant who Warner slid into her DMs… This might be an interesting storyline for some!
Defensive Backs
Edge: Chiefs (Slightly)
I have to be fair and balanced, the Chiefs’ star CB L’Jaruis Sneed also has a baby on the way. His American model wife, Bella Wu, is expecting to pop at any minute so this will 100% be brought up as a storyline. Sneed has missed a bit of practice this week, but will not miss the game on Sunday. This regular season, Sneed didn’t allow a TD while going up against some stud WR1s. He is not only great in coverage but is also a great tackler for a corner. Opposite of Sneed is Trent McDuffie, who wasn’t too shabby either with his 82.9 PFF grade this season. When the Mahomes era first started in KC, the Chiefs defense was constantly in shootouts because of their subpar secondary. Sneed and McDuffie are an under-the-radar elite duo of corners.
The 49ers top CB, Charvaius Ward, won a Super Bowl with KC back in ‘19. He played for the Chiefs from ‘18 to ‘21, before joining the Niners last season. This past season was his breakout year as he was named 2nd Team All-Pro with 5 INTs and an NFL-high 23 pass deflections. The Niners lost star S Talanoa Hufanga midseason with a knee. This forced rookie S Ji’Ayer Brown into the starting lineup. Brown his starting role in San Francisco’s Divisional Round win over the Packers but got the nod in the NFC Championship game against the Lions. Brown is the only rookie starter for San Francisco’s defense and it’ll be interesting to see if Mahomes targets the inexperienced DB.
Special Teams
Edge: Chiefs
One of the biggest plays of last year’s Super Bowl came on Kadarius Toney’s 65-yard punt return, the longest punt return in Super Bowl history. Head coach Andy Reid has been noncommital on whether Toney will even play in this year’s game. Toney had an awful ‘23 regular season with a ton of dropped passes, but when he gets the ball in space he can dance. If Toney is a healthy scratch, expect Richie James, who started his career with SF, to be the returner. Chiefs kicker, Harrison Butker, has been perfect in the playoffs thus far and has a ton of postseason experience as he has kicked for KC since ‘17.
For the Niners, Ray-Ray McCloud is their kick and punt returner. While he has never taken one to the crib, McCloud has been dependable throughout his 6-year career as a returner. One thing to keep in mind for this game is that San Fransico has a rookie kicker in Jake Moody. The Michigan Man was solid in the regular season, however, he did miss his only game-winning attempt in Week 6. Not that I want to put a bad mood into the internet air, but he also has missed 2 kicks this postseason. Just something to keep in mind if this game is close.
Head Coach
Edge: Andy Reid
Andy Reid and Kyle Shanahan are two of the best head coaches in the NFL. After decades of failing to win the Super Bowl with Philadelphia and pre-Mahomes in KC, Reid finally got the monkey off his back when he beat Kyle Shanahan in Super Bowl LIV. Reid is 3-0 all-time against Kyle Shanahan. This will be the 4th head coach rematch in Super Bowl history and the winning head coach of the first matchup has gone 3-0, as Chuck Noll beat Tom Landry twice, Jimmy Johnson beat Marv Levy twice, and Tom Coughlin beat Bill Belichick twice. (Source: CBS Sports)
Prediction & Props
Taylor Swift Props
Last week my grandma sent me some of the Taylor Swift prop bets on the Super Bowl…The betting lines come from The Record of Bergen County.
Will Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift get engaged at the Super Bowl?
Yes: +920 | No: -2200
So if you put down $10, you win $92 if Travis gets down on one knee. Non-romantics would have to throw $220 down to get $10 back in return…For non-bettors, that’s what those odds mean, they go off if you put down $100 as the standard. It would be a bit extra and sorta soon, but would probably crash the internet for a week. I also think if Taylor Swift got married the United States would see a Baby Boom the likes of which would compete with Post WWII. I’ll go Yes.
Will the MVP mention Taylor Swift in his speech?
Yes: +600 | No: -1100
This one is tough to tell because if the Niners win, you can rule it out entirely. With the Chiefs MVP likely either being Mahomes or Kelce, there is a decent shot. Of course, if Kelce wins that’s a given. I’d lean No here because if Mahomes wins I’d expect him to keep it to just the fellas in the locker room and coach Reid.
Will Taylor Swift make it to the Super Bowl in time?
Yes: -110 | No: -110
So I suppose this is because Taylor is on her Eras Tour this week in Tokyo and has to travel back to Las Vegas. Put me down for No here. The Fellow Swifites and I are on to her, she was hinting she’d be showing up fashionable late when she made a late entrance at the Grammys last Sunday. Duh.
Will Taylor Swift be shown during the National Anthem?
Yes: -120 | No: +110
Okay, we’ll end with hedging that bet above by saying she will be on time in her box. Yes, they will 100% show her during the National Anthem if she makes it in time.
YouTube Rabbithole
11-year-old star media member, Jeremiah Fennell, is also covering his 2nd Super Bowl. In an interview with the NFL Network, he said,“I started to do this at the age of 7 years old because I wasn’t able to play sports due to some medical issues, but I still like the sports environment. So I decided to hone my craft in journalism at the age of 7. And I started my YouTube channel. And, yes, I do think I can keep this as a career because I do still love the sport and I do know a lot about it, so I think that interviewing people can be a long career for me.” He works for the 33rd Team on YouTube and has been interviewing big-name NFL Stars like a pro since he was 10. He had the chance to ask Travis Kelce what his touchdown celebration would be (below). Apologies if the sound isn’t great, there is a better sound quality of him clicking here, the NFL won’t allow the video to be posted for copyright reasons.