When it comes to defense and special teams, the San Francisco 49ers are better than the Kansas City Chiefs as both teams prepare for Super Bowl LIV (54).
The strength of the 49ers, as illustrated by the picture of NIck Bosa quieting Seattle fans, is the defensive line. The near impossible task for the Chiefs’ offensive line is to neutralize the pressure applied by Bosa and teammates Dee Ford, DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead.
Let’s break it down a little further from a fantasy football point of view (POV).
DEFENSIVE LINE
The four 49er linemen have combined for 21 tackles and seven sacks in two playoff games. Based on FFtoday.com, the San Francisco 49ers had the No. 4 defense in the NFL with an 8.4 fantasy football points per game average.
Though Bosa may be the emotional leader of the 49er defensive line, tackle Deforest Buckner led the line with 35 tackles and 25 assists during the regular season. Armstead had 10 sacks, Bosa 9 sacks and Buckner 7.5 sacks.
Kansas City’s defensive line, led by Frank Clark and Chris Jones, is good, but none of their lineman played in all 16 regular season games. In the playoffs, they have almost matched the 49ers with 8 sacks to San Francisco’s 9 sacks.
LINEBACKERS
Each championship team has one linebacker who has excelled in the playoffs. Damien Wilson leads all linebackers with 11 tackles and 4 assists. San Francisco’s Fred Warner has 6 tackles and 7 assists. Dre Greenlaw gives the 49ers the edge at linebacker with his 8 tackles and 2 assists.
SECONDARY
Richard Sherman and Emmanuel Moseley are the perfect tandem in the 49ers’ secondary. During the regular season, Sherman had 48 tackles, 13 assists, 11 pass deflections and 3 interceptions. Moseley had 42 tackles, 8 assists, 8 pass deflections and 1 interception.
Kansas City’s secondary has been porous at times, but has two standout defensive backs. Tyrann Matthieu has 63 tackles, 12 assists, 13 pass deflections and 4 interceptions. Bashaud Breeland has 36 tackles, 11 assists, 7 pass deflections and 2 interceptions.
PUNTING AND RETURN TEAMS
Each team’s punting unit is identical in efficiency. Kansas City’ s Dustin Colquitt and San Francisco’s Mitch Wishnowsky average 41.6 net yards per punt.
San Francisco gets a slight edge in the return game. Richie James Jr. is averaging 17 yards per kickoff and 12.3 yards per punt return. Mecole Hardman of Kansas City is averaging 22.8 yards per kickoff and 4.o yards per punt return..
ADVANTAGE – San Francisco 49ers
The key is the line play of Kansas City’s offense against San Francisco’s defense. The 49ers’ defensive line has proven they can pressure their opponents into making mistakes. They should win this battle against the Chiefs “O” line and quarterback Patrick Mahomes
NEXT UP – A fantasy perspective on the receiving corps of the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.