The 49ers and Chiefs rematch in the Super Bowl could look much different than the first time.
The San Francisco 49ers are set to face off against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2024 Super Bowl, which is a rematch of their battle four years ago where the latter came back to beat the former for quarterback Patrick Mahomes’s first career ring.
Fast forward four years and Mahomes is in his fourth Super Bowl appearance, looking to win his third ring, while the 49ers have reached the final stage for the first time since their collapse in 2020.
How does Super Bowl LVIII compare to Super Bowl LIV when breaking down the 49ers and Chiefs rosters?
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San Francisco has kept a majority of its younger core, but has undergone a number of key roster changes over the past four seasons, including the additions of quarterback Brock Purdy, running back Christian McCaffrey, and left tackle Trent Williams.
Overall, 15 of San Francisco’s 22 starters are different from their last Super Bowl team, with Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Kyle Juszczyk, Arik Armstead, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, and Dre Greenlaw being the lone holdovers.
As for Kansas City, they’ve undergone a significant revamp as well, as they’ve had to work around the salary cap after extending Patrick Mahomes on a major deal.
Currently, 20 of their 22 starters were not on that Super Bowl team, with Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce being the lone holdovers.
However, the Chiefs have navigated the waters even with the roster turnover by drafting well, which has led them to four Super Bowl appearances in the past five seasons.
Still, this may be one of Kansas City’s weakest rosters over the five-year stretch, as the losses of Tyreek Hill and JuJu Smith-Schuster in consecutive offseasons have diminished the Chiefs’ receiving core to younger and more unproven pieces.
Nonetheless, Kansas City has found different ways to win games, with Mahomes serving as the ultimate game manager, consistently keeping his team within reach, especially in the playoffs.
Now, the 49ers, on-paper, appear to have a stronger roster than their counterparts, and their regular-season success bodes well for their playoff hopes, as only one of their 12 wins wasn’t by double-digits.
But, in the playoffs, San Francisco has consistently started slow before mounting comebacks in each of their two wins, contrary to their regular-season formula.
While they’ve pulled off the victory in both games, doing so against Mahomes and a vaunted Chiefs defense will be much harder to accomplish, as Kansas City has thrived in situations where they’ve held a lead or have been within one possession of taking the lead.
With their strong roster, the 49ers have a number of different ways they can win this game, a key difference from their last Super Bowl, but can they execute well enough early on to create enough of a gap to keep the Chiefs at bay? We’ll find out on Sunday.
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