Christian McCaffrey – San Francisco is fortunate to have arguably the best running back in the NFL with Christian McCaffrey. The 49ers will need a big game from him if they want to keep up with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. McCaffrey finished the regular season with 1,459 rushing yards, which led the NFL by a wide margin. He has also been crucial for the Niners in their two playoff games, scoring two touchdowns in both of them. Kansas City’s defense has been slightly below average against the run this season, as they were ranked 18th in rushing yards allowed during the regular season. Meanwhile, the Chiefs were fourth in the league in passing yards allowed, meaning the 49ers will want to use McCaffrey to take advantage of Kansas City’s weaker run defense. McCaffrey has been the focal point for the Niners’ offense all season, and I expect this game to be no different.
Nick Bosa – When people are talking about the staples of a dynamic 49ers defense, Nick Bosa is naturally brought up and for good reason. He’s one of the top defensive options in the NFL, and his impact on that side of the football is going to be massive in disrupting what the Chiefs want to do on offense. Both of these teams have had lockdown units on both ends of the field leading up to this game and I do have confidence that Kyle Shanahan and company can get it done on the offensive end of the field. I also can’t doubt Patrick Mahomes, and if Bosa and the 49ers are able to at least minimize the impact of an already legendary quarterback, they’re going to walk out of Las Vegas with the trophy.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling – Two weeks in a row, both on the road against the top two seeds in the AFC, Valdes-Scantling hauled in the game-sealing catch. MVS picked up 100 receiving yards on four receptions in those contests, meaning that half of his catches have iced a Chiefs’ postseason victory. The sample size may be just two remarkable receptions, but the former Green Bay Packer has become Kansas City’s best closer since the Kansas City Royals had Kelvin Herrera, Greg Holland and Wade Davis in their bullpen in the mid-2010s. That’s game-changing in a big way, especially in a single-elimination tournament where every play matters. For San Francisco, leaving Valdes-Scantling all alone in crunch time may literally make the difference between a sixth Super Bowl win or a third straight appearance resulting in defeat. If I were a defensive coordinator going up against the Chiefs, I would put my top two secondary options on MVS in order to prevent him from breaking my team’s heart. I would not be surprised if he delivered the dagger in Las Vegas.
Taylor Swift – Call me crazy here, but I don’t see anyone making as big of an impact as the artist who just won twoa Grammy awards. Taylor Swift, Kansas City tight end’s Travis Kelce’s significant other, has broadened the scope of the NFL in a dramatic fashion this year – and won’t stop at the AFC Cchampionship. She’s generated an additional $330 million for the NFL per Yahoo! and figures to be a prominent on-screen appearancefigure, assuming she is able to make it from a concert on the other side of the world taking place just a day prior. The number of tweets of NFL fans angrily wishing Swift off their screen or Swifties idolizing the singer could be in greater quantity than tweets about the game itself. If that’s not a difference-maker, I don’t know what is.