After a remarkable 34-31 victory over the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, the 49ers are heading to Super Bowl LVIII to face the Kansas City Chiefs.
In a rematch of Super Bowl LIV, San Francisco will be hungry to get its revenge against Kansas City.
On the latest edition of “Hitner’s Hot Take,” NBC Sports Bay Area’s Donte Whitner explained why he believes the 49ers will finish the job when they face the Chiefs in Las Vegas.
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“I know that the Kansas City Chiefs have championship DNA,” Whitner admitted. “They have a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Patrick Mahomes. They also have a tight end that’s pretty incredible in Travis Kelce. I wholeheartedly believe that this is the [49ers’] revenge game for that [2020] loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
“The Kansas City Chiefs no longer have the speedster in Tyreek Hill, and the 49ers no longer have game-manager Jimmy Garoppolo. Right now, [the 49ers are] going to rely heavily on Brock Purdy, who’s coming off a phenomenal game. Did you see how he tucked the ball, improvised, throws over the middle- Jauan Jenning’s one-hand, [Kyle] Juszczyk on the sideline? The 49ers will finally capture their sixth [Vince] Lombardi [Trophy] and bring it home to San Francisco.”
Mahomes and the Chiefs are rolling, having won five consecutive games to reach the Super Bowl.
However, there’s no denying the 49ers’ overwhelming talent and back-to-back displays of resiliency.
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Before San Francisco’s comeback win over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC divisional playoff round, the 49ers, under coach Kyle Shanahan, were 0-30 when trailing by seven points or more entering the fourth quarter and 0-19 when trailing by 17 points or more in the second half.
Whitner believes the 49ers’ comeback ability will bode well against the decorated Chiefs.
“After falling behind early to the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round, the 49ers fought back to win Kyle Shanahan’s first come-from-behind victory as the San Francisco 49ers’ head coach,” Whitner recalled. “And after falling behind by 17 points in the NFC Championship to the Detroit Lions, the 49ers fought back and had a dominant second half -- perseverance at its finest.
“I say all of this to say that this is the year the 49ers finally clinch the Lombardi.”
The 49ers’ 31-20 loss to the Chiefs in 2020 still stings many in San Francisco’s current locker room.
But while sporting a roster decorated with NFL All-Pros and Pro Bowl selections, the 49ers definitely are capable of winning the big one.
Whitner knows so.