Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Kay Adams asked her
Good Morning Football co-hosts which of February's Super Bowl LIV participants is
most likely to return to the big game. Will it be the champion Kansas City Chiefs or the runner-up San Francisco 49ers?
Running back
Raheem Mostert sounded confident on Wednesday that it would be his 49ers. Not only did he predict a return trip to Florida, he expects his squad to walk away with the Lombardi Trophy this time.
"I feel like we're going to be back this year,"
Mostert said, "and we're actually going to win it. That's our goal; that's our mindset. We don't care what happened in the past. The past is the past, and we're going to move on, and we're going to dominate this game the way we know how to."
Two of Adams' three co-hosts picked the defending champs, though.
First, let's take a look at the two who picked the Chiefs over the 49ers. Peter Schrager credits each team's ability to keep its coaching staff mostly intact. But he notes that it is much tougher to lose the Super Bowl and get back.
"I love Raheem Mostert, but he's got to look around his running backs room and say, 'Ok, well, Matt Breida's not there anymore. I'm not sure what else we've got. Joe Staley (is) not protecting that side anymore.'"
It is worth noting that the 49ers replaced Staley, who retired in April, with seven-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle
Trent Williams.
"He'll look across at the defensive line," Schrager continued, "'I like
Javon Kinlaw, but that's not DeForest Buckner, who we had last year.' I am not sure that the Niners are even the favorites in the NFC right now."
Kyle Brandt took it a step further and said not only is he unsure that San Francisco is the favorite in the NFC, but he's not even sure it is the favorite in the NFC West anymore.
"It's really hard to get back after you lose," Brandt said. "It's especially hard when you're in a division that good."
Nate Burleson, however, did pick the Niners.
"The one thing that you can't game plan for is a dominant defense," explained Burleson. "You might be able to game plan for Pat Mahomes. You might. I know it's a reach, but you might. You can't game plan for getting beat up game in and game out.
"If that defense for San Francisco returns the same way, I'm going with San Fran returning first."
The San Francisco 49ers will be without several playmakers on Sunday when they face the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. That includes tight end George Kittle on offense and cornerback Richard Sherman and pass rusher Dee Ford on defense.
The good news is that some reinforcements — at least on offense — appear to be on their way.
Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Mohamed Sanu are expected to make their 49ers debuts. Aiyuk, a rookie, will be making his NFL debut.
Help for 49ers: WR Mohamed Sanu, who played under Kyle Shanahan in Atlanta, is expected to
As you've probably read by now, two of three Good Morning Football hosts — Kyle Brandt and Nate Burleson — predicted that the San Francisco 49ers would miss the playoffs this season.
"That Super Bowl-loss hangover is real," Burleson explained as part of his reasoning.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport isn't so sure. At least, not when it comes to the 49ers. He feels San Francisco may be uniquely built to overcome predictions of a decline.
"I thought the Niners had kind of a really good offseason," Rapoport said on KNBR's Murph & Mac show Tuesday morning. "It wasn't like very exciting. The Trent Williams trade was exciting.
Bill Barnwell of ESPN made a case for all 32 NFL teams to make it to Super Bowl LV. Yes, even the Jacksonville Jaguars, who, according to ESPN, have the lowest odds to get that far. The San Francisco 49ers were able to reach the big game last season, which surprised many analysts, and came close to winning it all.
What is the key to the 49ers' Super Bowl hopes? Staying healthy.
"To get back and over the top, they need quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to stay healthy and some of his receivers to join him," wrote Barnwell. "We already know how great the defensive line can be, but the 49ers' defense took a step
