A record-breaking 200.5 million people are projected to watch Super Bowl LVIII—featuring a face off between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs—at 5:30 p.m. CST on Sunday, a jump from the 115 million record set just last year.
A substantial number of new viewers, however, will likely not be watching the game. They will not be waiting for the Usher half-time show, sponsored by Apple Music. They will be looking for Taylor Swift.
Since the beginning of her relationship with Chief’s star TE Travis Kelce in September, Swift’s association with the NFL has increased the league’s brand value by $122 million and substantially increased female viewership of the NFL. But for Swifties who are planning to watch the Super Bowl to catch a glimpse of Taylor, there are two problems: First, it will be a tight fit for Swift to make it to the Super Bowl, since she has a concert in Tokyo the night before and jet parking in Vegas is not extensive. Second, even if Taylor can make it to the game, the NFL will likely not broadcast her for longer than 25 seconds.
Given that the average Super Bowl lasts three hours and twelve minutes, that is a long time to be waiting for little-to-no Taylor.
The good news is, this Super Bowl is not likely to be a boring one, if you know what you are looking for. Both the Chiefs and the 49ers have talented, accurate and smart QBs in Brock Purdy and Patrick Mahomes. Two players from the 49ers, Purdy and RB Christian McCaffrey, are finalists for the NFL MVP award. The game itself is a four-year delayed Super Bowl rematch between two frequent playoff contenders. So, for the Swifties who are trying to kill the three hours, eleven minutes, and 35 seconds without Taylor—and for the fans of the game who just want to stop hearing about the singer—here’s what to be watching out for in Super Bowl LVIII.
Chiefs Up: Mahomes Throws Daggers… If The Receivers Can Catch Them
Fans of the Super Bowl should be familiar with this iteration of the Kansas City Chiefs, since this will be the team’s fourth appearance at the championship game in the last five years, winning one against these Niners in 2020 and a second against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023.
Although the team is a veteran Super Bowl contender and is led by two-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, NFL fans watching the regular season would be perplexed to see the Chiefs in Allegiant Stadium, since they led the league in percentage of dropped passes this year with 44 drops (6.9%). Failure on the parts of receivers to catch laser-accurate passes has cost the Chiefs more than one game this season, including a devastating slip from WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling during a Super Bowl rematch with the Eagles.
While their end of season record was decent (11-6), the regular season performance from this team has been underwhelming. The continuing success of the Chiefs, paired with the un-extraordinary regular season and controversy over penalties, are likely a few of the reasons that the Chiefs have recently replaced the Dallas Cowboys as the most hated team in the NFL.
The playoffs have changed the momentum for the Chiefs, in terms of both winning records and slip ups, including a near-perfect game against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship to make it to the Super Bowl. And the Chiefs may have shaped up their receiving game, led by rookie WR Rashee Rice, at just the right time, since the 49ers’ defensive line—which will be held together by four-time Pro Bowl DE Nick Bosa—has not consistently performed, yielding 772 yards of offense in two postseason games. This will be a redemption game for Bosa, who was a key part of the 49ers defense the last time the two teams met in the Super Bowl. This side of the ball is where the weaknesses of both teams are in full view, and it looks like the Chiefs have the advantage right now.
But two things need to happen for the Chiefs to take full advantage of the recent 49ers performance: They need to avoid substantial penalties. And they need to catch the ball.
49ers Up: Brock Purdy Is No Longer “Mr. Irrelevant”
Coming off of a 12-5 season and earning the No. 1 seed in the NFC conference this year, the San Francisco 49ers are favored to win on Sunday, but by only a 2-point spread. The 49ers are favored to win the game for the same reason that they are favored in the court of public opinion (not including die-hard Chiefs fans or Swift lovers): They have just consistently played a better game.
Unlike the Chiefs’ offense—which will likely rely on Mahomes and Kelce even if the receiving corps has improved in the playoffs—the 49ers offense is deep, including RB Christian McCaffrey, WR Deebo Samuel and WR Brandon Aiyuk, although it is yet to be seen if TE George Kittle will play. The real difficulty will come in the 49ers offensive line—which has been spotty—against the Chiefs defensive line, which has been, in a word, excellent. There have been injuries to some key players in the Chiefs defense that may keep them from the game, which could become a key factor.
Even so, it would be a mistake to underestimate the 49ers offense for one other reason: QB Brock Purdy. In 2022, Purdy was the last draft pick (No. 262) in 2022—a pick that is unfortunately nicknamed “Mr. Irrelevant.” Although he has not yet proven himself to be one of the all-time greats of the NFL, he has proved that nickname wrong. In two years, he has gone from the very last draft pick to a finalist for NFL MVP. As a starting QB, he is 21-5, this season also setting a franchise record for passing yards (4,280). The combination of Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey will be particularly formidable if all three play the full game—their record together in such games is 15-1.
Drinking From a Firehose: What Does It All Mean?
That is a lot of information to process, and if you are just watching the Super Bowl to see Taylor Swift or Usher perform, the statistics may not be exciting. So here are the takeaways:
There is a QB underdog story to be found in Brock Purdy, which gives narrative weight to the clash against the “hated, overrated” Chiefs. Yes, we have Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift adding an external layer of intrigue. But that is not actually needed to make this game interesting, because both teams are good. Like, really good. And the areas where they are strong and weak complement each other so that it is an even match on either side of the ball.
It is just going to be a good game. The Super Bowl has not been about the game for a lot of us in a long time. This is a good year to get back to that.
