Super Bowl 2020: How to Watch San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs, Kickoff Time, Live Stream
There is a pleasant arithmetic symmetry to the fact the NFL's 100th season will conclude with either a team ending a 50-year wait for a Super Bowl title, or one hoisting the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in a quarter of a century.
The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers meet in Super Bowl LIV in Miami on Sunday in their first-ever postseason meeting.
The Super Bowl's return to South Florida for the first time in a decade—Sunday will be the 11th time the region has hosted the Super Bowl, more than any other city—is a positive omen for the 49ers.
It was in Miami that San Francisco won their last Super Bowl, thrashing the San Diego Chargers 49-26 at Super Bowl XXIX.
A win on Sunday would end the 49ers' 25-year wait for a Lombardi Trophy and put them level with the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers on six titles, the most by an NFL franchise.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, have had to wait twice as long to call themselves Super Bowl winners. Kansas City last won football's biggest prize 50 years ago and hasn't been back to the big dance ever since.
In Andy Reid's seventh season with the franchise, however, the Chiefs have all it takes to end the longest wait for a Lombardi Trophy in the NFL among previous winners.
After a slow start, Kansas City rediscovered the kind of form that lit up the league last season and matched its 12-4 record, clinching a fourth consecutive divisional title.
Inspired by Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs came from behind in their two playoff games, erasing a 24-0 deficit against the Houston Texans in the divisional round and a 10-point gap against the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship clash.
The reigning NFL MVP has thrown for 615 yards and eight touchdown passes in two postseason games.
Mahomes would become the second-youngest quarterback to even win a Super Bowl—after Ben Roethlisberger in Super Bowl XL—should the Chiefs win on Sunday.
Accomplishing the feat will be far from straightforward, as Kyle Shanahan has assembled a dominating defense in San Francisco.
The 49ers defense ranked second in the league in total defense, first against the pass and sixth in takeaways.
In Richard Sherman and Nick Bosa, to name but two of his stalwarts, Shanahan can count on a mixture of experience and youth, which has made his team dominant in the secondary and the pass rush.
San Francisco was equally threatening on the offensive side of the ball, scoring at an average of 29.9 points per game during the regular season and 32 points per game in the playoffs.
The three-headed monster of Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida and Tevin Coleman has been impossible to stop. No other team in the league runs the ball as well as the 49ers, so much so that Jimmy Garoppolo has thrown for only 208 yards in his two playoff games combined.
In the NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers, he completed just six passes—and it wouldn't be surprising to see him on the periphery of the game again on Sunday.
The Chiefs and Mahomes, meanwhile, sit at the opposite end of the spectrum, relying on a pass-heavy offense.
Kansas City scored 28.2 points per game during the regular season—the league's fifth-best scoring offense, while San Francisco was second—and put up a jaw-dropping 43 points per game in the playoffs.
Shanahan, however, insisted his decision to lean heavily on the running game was not a negative indictment of his quarterback.
"There were times, especially in that Green Bay game, we had a better chance at getting a 30-yard gain running it just from some of the looks we were getting and things like that," he told reporters on Tuesday, as per NFL.com.
"Jimmy should never apologize for us running the ball too well."
Super Bowl LIV is not only a tale of two offenses, but also a tale of two coaches.
Shanahan hopes to emulate his dad Mike, who won Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII as head coach of the Denver Broncos, while Reid searches for his first Super Bowl ring.
Shanahan was Atlanta's offensive coordinator when the Falcons surrendered a 28-3 lead in Super Bowl LI to the New England Patriots, while only five coaches have more wins in the NFL than Reid: who is yet to win the Big Game.
For one of them, the wait will end in Miami.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of Sunday.
Super Bowl LIV date and time
The 54th installment of the Super Bowl takes place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Sunday, February 2.
It is the first time the Miami area has hosted the showpiece event of the NFL season in a decade and the 11th time overall—more than any other region and city in the U.S.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET.
Super Bowl LIV TV coverage
The game will be broadcast nationally by FOX with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on the call, while Erin Andrews and Chris Myers will be the field reporters.
Super Bowl LIV stream
A live stream will be available via FOX's digital platforms and via the FOX Sports GO app, as well as fuboTV.
Series record
The 49ers lead the all-time series 7-6, but the Chiefs have won three of the last four meetings, including a 38-27 victory in Kansas City in September 2018 when the two teams last met.
The two franchises have never met in the playoffs.
San Francisco is 5-1 in Super Bowls, while Kansas City is 1-1.
Super Bowl LIV odds
According to Oddschecker, the Chiefs are 4/5 favorite, while the 49ers are 28/25 underdogs.
Kansas City is a 1.5-point favorite against the spread and is 22/25 to cover, while the 49ers are 19/20 to cover and the over/under line in terms of total point scored is set at 54.
