Super Bowl 2020: 49ers vs. Chiefs Box Score and Stats Predictions

The 32-team field vying for Super Bowl LIV championship glory has been whittled down to the final two.

The San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs have both arrived in Miami, experienced the glitz and glamour of Opening Night and now have just a matter of days to tune up ahead of their championship collision.

On paper, this looks like an all-time classic. The 49ers captured the NFC's top seed. The Chiefs were second in the AFC and may have snagged No. 1 if not for Patrick Mahomes dislocating his kneecap in mid-October.

The football gods don't always give us the best two teams in the final round, but it feels like they did this time.

So, what happens next? We won't know for sure until Sunday, but the eye test and statistical analysis offer enough insight to make educated guesses about what's ahead. We'll dive into those predictions below.

Super Bowl LIV

Date: Sunday, Feb. 2

Location: Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Kickoff Time: 6:30 p.m. ET

TV: Fox

Odds: Chiefs -1.5, Over/Under 54.5 (via Caesars Sportsbook)

Score Prediction: 49ers 28, Chiefs 24

Stat Predictions

Top Passer: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

It's easy to look at the quarterback battle and view it as two players from different weight classes.

On one side, it's the heavyweight champion (i.e., the reigning MVP) Mahomes, whose playoff production looks like it must have been tallied in Madden (615 passing yards, 106 rushing yards, nine total touchdowns in two games). On the other, it's the lightly used Jimmy Garoppolo, who has seemingly barely broken a sweat in this year's playoffs (17-of-27 for 208 yards, one touchdown and one pick).

A healthy Mahomes is every bit as dangerous as he's appeared in the postseason, but Garoppolo packs a mightier punch than most seem to think. He had three different outings with at least 300 passing yards and four touchdowns this season, including when he outdueled Drew Brees in New Orleans during San Francisco's 48-46 Week 14 win.

"When the 49ers have ended up in a shootout this year, Garoppolo has stepped up," NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Didion wrote. "When they've needed him to just manage the game and make the occasional throw downfield, Garoppolo has stepped up. No matter what the scenario, Garoppolo has delivered."

This is a long-winded way of saying the quarterback battle may not be as lopsided as it seems. That said, if you're predicting which passer accumulates more production, Mahomes has to be the answer.

Prediction: Mahomes throws for 267 yards, three touchdowns

Top Rusher: Raheem Mostert, San Francisco 49ers

Usually, the best method for identifying the top rusher in Kyle Shanahan's offense is tossing a handful of names into a hat and drawing one at random.

Raheem Mostert, Tevin Coleman and Matt Breida each orchestrated 100-yard efforts this season. Jeff Wilson Jr. even contributed five touchdowns. It's a true running back by committee, and the 49ers head coach has shown he'll ride whichever hand is the hottest.

But given Mostert was boiling-hot in the NFC Championship Game (29 carries for 220 yards and four touchdowns), Shanahan has reasons to consider tweaking the formula. If Mostert is utilized like a featured back (or even something close to it), he's an obvious choice to tally the game's highest rushing total.

Mahomes has actually outrushed Chiefs running back Damien Williams (29 carries for 92 yards) this postseason, but neither figures to have the carries needed to post a big number. And while Kansas City's defense just contained Derrick Henry, it still allowed the seventh-most rushing yards this season.

Prediction: Mostert rushes for 107 yards, two touchdowns

Top Receiver: Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs

San Francisco's offense can operate like the video-game player who irritates the heck out of you by finding something that works and exploiting it over and over again. If that happens through the air on Sunday, then George Kittle, Deebo Samuel or Emmanuel Sanders might have a huge individual line, even if the team's passing numbers aren't overwhelming.

More likely, though, is Kansas City's combination of rocket-armed quarterback and jet-propelled receivers producing a fireworks display on the stat sheet.

Tyreek Hill, the fastest of all burners, should be at the heart of those pyrotechnics. His speed is such that even a low catch total can't prevent him from reeling off yards in bunches. During a Week 9 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, he only needed six receptions to strike for 140 yards and a score.

As Bay Area News Group's Jon Becker noted, Hill has no rivals in the speed department:

"He's been timed at a blistering 4.25 in the 40-yard dash and Next Gen Stats had him with the fastest speed of any player this year at 22.64 miles per hour (while chasing a teammate!). Over the past two years, those analytics have Hill with an NFL-leading 59 plays of at least 20 mph, far more than Buffal'’s Robert Foster, who had 33 plays of at least 20 mph. Hill's speed and big-play ability—58 catches, 860 yards and seven TDs in just 12 games this year—make him the most dangerous of Chiefs receivers who've helped their team score the third-most points in the NFL (29.8)."

While San Francisco's stacked defensive front will keep the heat on Mahomes, his ability to break containment and extend plays will allow his speedsters more time to separate. That should be all Hill needs to break at least a couple of big ones.

Prediction: Hill catches four passes for 101 yards, one touchdown