NFL Research offers the best nuggets leading up to Super Bowl LIV. Here are the most eye-popping statistical accomplishments that could help determine the winner.
» Who has the experience edge in Super Bowl LIV? On the coaching side, this will be Kyle Shanahan’s third career postseason game as a head coach and Andy Reid’s 29th postseason game as a head coach (fourth-most in NFL history). But between the white lines, the 49ers have seven players with Super Bowl experience to the Chiefs‘ two (not including Jimmy Garoppolo, who was active but did not play in two Super Bowl wins with the Patriots).
» If we are the company we keep, Jimmy Garoppolo, Patrick Mahomes and Super Bowl glory could be synonymous for seasons to come. Including Garoppolo and Mahomes, only four quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era have a win percentage of at least .700 and a passer rating of at least 90 in their career (minimum 25 starts, including playoffs). The others — Hall of Famer Joe Montana and Tom Brady — have combined for 10 Super Bowl championships and seven Super Bowl MVP awards.
» Patrick Mahomes is the passer rating king. Highest career passer rating in NFL history, including playoffs (minimum 1,000 pass attempts)? Patrick Mahomes: 109.6. Highest career postseason passer rating in the Super Bowl era (minimum 125 pass attempts)? Patrick Mahomes: 115.0. The current single-game Super Bowl record for passer rating by a quarterback is 150.9 by Phil Simms, who led the Giants to victory in Super Bowl XXI. Mahomes has just one career game with a passer rating that high (154.8 in Week 2, 2018 vs Steelers). However, Super Bowl LIV may just be Patrick’s “Mahomes away from home.” No player in the Super Bowl era has a higher passer rating (minimum 600 pass attempts) in games away from their home stadium — on the road or at neutral site — than Mahomes’ 112.5 (including playoffs).
» Patrick Mahomes will be 24 years and 138 days old when he takes the field for Super Bowl LIV on Sunday. With a win, Mahomes would become the youngest player to win both an NFL MVP award and a Super Bowl championship, surpassing Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith (24 years, 233 days old on last day of his MVP 1993 season). The youngest quarterback to accomplish this feat? Hall of Famer Brett Favre, who did so with a Super Bowl XXXI victory at age 27.
» Patrick Mahomes has more pass yards (209) and pass touchdowns (five) in the second quarter of two playoff games than Jimmy Garoppolo (208 yards, one touchdown) has in two complete games this postseason.
» Not only are Kyle Shanahan and his father Mike set to become the first father and son to both appear in the Super Bowl as a head coach, but they will also be the first such duo in a championship game in NFL, NBA, or MLB history. Miami has been kind to the Shanahans in Super Bowls. Mike Shanahan’s last Super Bowl win as a head coach was Super Bowl XXXIII in Hard Rock Stadium (then Pro Player Stadium), and the elder Shanahan was the 49ers‘ offensive coordinator for their Super Bowl XXIX win at Hard Rock Stadium (then Joe Robbie Stadium).
» The 49ers won’t wear their 1994 throwback uniforms in Super Bowl LIV, but the team on the field will still look similar to the Super Bowl XXIX champions. Both teams had a Shanahan running the offense. Both have a quarterback acquired in a trade (San Francisco traded for Steve Young in 1987 and Jimmy Garoppolo in 2017). Both teams invested multiple first-round draft picks on the defensive line and spent money on Pro Bowl free agents (1994 49ers had LB Ken Norton Jr. and CB Deion Sanders, 2019 49ers have LB Kwon Alexander and CB Richard Sherman). And both teams will face the AFC West champions in a Super Bowl in the same stadium (then Joe Robbie Stadium, now Hard Rock Stadium).
» Andy Reid has 207 career regular season wins and 14 career playoff wins, both most all-time by a head coach to never win a Super Bowl or NFL championship. Class of 2020 Hall of Famer Bill Cowher holds the record for the most wins by a head coach (including playoffs) prior to winning his first Super Bowl (152). Not only would Reid (221 wins) shatter that record with a win in Super Bowl LIV, but he would also become the first head coach to win his first Super Bowl after 20 or more seasons as a head coach (2019 is his 21st season).
» Over the last two seasons, Travis Kelce had 2,565 receiving yards and George Kittle had 2,430. Those represent the most and second-most receiving yards in a two-season span by a tight end in NFL history. Super Bowl LIV’s clash of tight ends will be the first Super Bowl matchup between the AP First-Team All-Pro (Kittle) and the AP Second-Team All-Pro (Kelce) tight ends.
» Deebo Samuel has been an integral part of Kyle Shanahan’s offense during his rookie season, leading all 49ers wide receivers in receptions (62) and receiving yards (890), including playoffs. In fact, only one 49ers player has recorded more receiving yards than Samuel during his rookie season: Hall of Famer and Super Bowl XXIII MVP Jerry Rice (927 in 1985).
» Tyreek Hill is the sixth player in NFL history with at least 20 touchdowns of at least 40 yards over his first four seasons (including playoffs). The other five players are all enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Randy Moss, Bob Hayes, Jerry Rice, Lance Alworth and Gale Sayers.
» Pass rusher Dee Ford has been the key to the 49ers‘ Dee-fense this season. With Ford on the field, the 49ers have 32 sacks on 202 dropbacks (15.8% sack rate) and have allowed a 69.6 passer rating (including playoffs), according to Next Gen Stats. With Ford off the field, the 49ers have 25 sacks on 441 dropbacks (5.7% sack rate) and have allowed a 90.2 passer rating (including playoffs).