The San Francisco 49ers came just yards shy of winning a Super Bowl when running back Frank Gore was gracing the backfield. And while things didn't exactly go Gore's and the Niners' collective way back in Super Bowl XLVII against the Baltimore Ravens, the future Hall of Fame running back is convinced his former squad will pull off the win in Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs.
"I just think they've got the overall better team," Gore told Melissa Jacobs of The Football Girl podcast regarding the 49ers. "Kansas City has an explosive offense, a great quarterback in Patrick Mahomes. But just the matchup, how it looks, me knowing ball, I just don't see what with the pass-rushers San Fran's got, I can't see a team which likes to throw the ball just beat them."
There's little doubting Mahomes' explosiveness and abilities, sure. The 2018 NFL MVP has posted a 131.5 passer rating with eight pass touchdowns against zero interceptions in Kansas City's two playoff games this postseason. But Mahomes hasn't exactly faced a defense like that of San Francisco, which ranked first in the league in total pass yards against (2,707) and net pass yards per attempt (4.8).
Needless to say, this is shaping up as one of those proverbial "unstoppable force versus an immovable object" matchups to watch.
Still, Gore is convinced the 49ers have the edge here, utilizing a strong pass rush to force Mahomes into early throws, perhaps cutting down on the net amount of production the elite signal-caller might produce in the game.
"They've got pass-rushers that rotate and stay fresh, going against a [Chiefs] line that can get tired," Gore continued. "And I just think they can win it."
Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
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