Niner Noise
FanSided

3 stats that will determine if 49ers will win Super Bowl 54

By Elvis Jerez

HOUSTON, TX - JANUARY 30: The Vince Lombardi Trophy is seen onstage during Super Bowl 51 Opening Night at Minute Maid Park on January 30, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - JANUARY 30: The Vince Lombardi Trophy is seen onstage during Super Bowl 51 Opening Night at Minute Maid Park on January 30, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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It’s finally here. Today, the San Francisco 49ers face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 54. Niner Noise looks at three stats which could determine a 49ers victory.

For some reason, it seems longer, much, much longer than seven years ago since the San Francisco 49ers made a Super Bowl appearance.

Perhaps it was the devastating loss of that Super Bowl in and of itself.  Maybe it was the ensuing mass exodus of skill players who jumped ship at the first chance they got.  Players were going to the Jacksonville Jaguars for cryin’ out loud!  The Jags!  Long before they ascended to, “Sacksonville” status.

It might also be the top-to-bottom, though much-needed, yet gut-wrenching rebuilding of the franchise.  Then there’s the nauseating merry-go-round of head coaches and quarterbacks that left everybody wanting.

And the rollercoaster of emotions the 49ers Faithful have endured over the last three years sound something like this:

  • We finally have a solid GM in John Lynch!
  • And Kyle Shanahan just became the head coach? Nice!
  • We crushed it in the first draft!
  • Dang, this Ruben Foster kid might be trouble, but he’s a stud. Let’s give him a chance.
  • Well, so much for that!
  • Oooh, it’s C.J. Beathard time! Let’s go!
  • See two previous comments.
  • Holy wow, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo guy was a gift from heaven, five in a row, baby!
  • Another stellar draft, things are looking up!
  • Sweet, now we’ve got running back Jerick McKinnon on top of that, woohoo, this is our year!
  • Yeah, that didn’t last long.
  • Wait, how many players do we have on IR?!  No, seriously, I can’t count that high.
  • Now Jimmy’s out?! All year?!!
  • You know what? Wake me up next year. Maybe.
  • Okay, at least backup quarterback Nick Mullens looked legit.
  • (muted) Yay, another solid draft, and we got EDGE Nick Bosa, thank you, Arizona Cardinals.
  • McKinnon is done for again?! Before the preseason?! I’ve read this book.
  • Our bye is in Week 4?!
  • We’re playing against how many playoff teams in the last eight weeks?!
  • I don’t know; I’m feelin’ kinda sleepy again.  But maybe. Just maybe.
  • Well, we won our first game in Week 1. At least we can’t go winless this year.
  • I see you, 2019.
  • 8-0? No, seriously, did I fall asleep somehow?
  • You know the rest.

Oh, that’s right, that’s why it feels like forever since the 49ers made a Super Bowl!

For a team to be competitive in the year following a 4-12 record is pretty remarkable.  For the 49ers to go 13-3, with the number 1 seed, a bye week, home-field advantage, win the NFC Championship, and go to Super Bowl 54- that’s the type of thing you see in a Hollywood script.

But that’s not enough.

Not for this team.  The 49ers have something to prove to themselves and the world, so come Sunday; they will lay it all out on the line against a very worthy opponent in the Kansas City Chiefs.  Here are a few stats that should fuel the Faithful fire.