Super Bowls in South Florida have been about quarterbacks. That trend will continue
Super Bowl LIV kicks off Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium, the NFL’s first South Florida title game since the New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts here after the 2009 season.
With this weekend’s game, Kansas City’s Chiefs vs. the 49ers of San Francisco, South Florida will have been the site of the most Super Bowls (11) ever.
Let’s see what most of those games had in common ... check out the winning quarterbacks: Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, John Elway, Steve Young, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath and Bart Starr.
Seems to take a star quarterback to win the biggest game in the Florida sun.
Kickoff: 5:30 p.m. (Central) Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
TV/Radio: Fox (Ch. 4), KCFX (101.1 FM)
Line: Chiefs by 1
Blair Kerkhoff’s prediction: Chiefs 33-30
So many factors: Andy Reid off a bye (18-3 in the regular season); game-in-a-game battle between supreme tight ends Travis Kelce and George Kittle; 49ers’ pass rush; Mecole Hardman’s return skills; two excellent kickers.
Add it up and it’s easy to see how oddsmakers have called this one virtually even. But the Chiefs have the major advantage. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has accomplished much in his two seasons as a starter. He’s been an NFL MVP and a Pro Bowl MVP and he’ll look to add another honor in the biggest game of his young career.
Give the Chiefs a victory by a razor-thin margin.
This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Super Bowls in South Florida have been about quarterbacks. That trend will continue."