The Kansas City Chiefs have gotten off to a perfect start to their season, winning their first five games for the fifth time in franchise history. With their bye week now behind them, the Chiefs will face a grueling 12-game stretch to end the season. Despite dealing with numerous injuries, the bye week came at a crucial time for the team. However, the question remains whether they can withstand the physical demands of such a demanding schedule as they aim to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls. Their first major test comes this Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl.
Fancy travel bags for Mahomes and Kelce
Kansas City Chiefs star players Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce arrived in California with the entire team for the game against the San Francisco 49ers, a rematch of the last Super Bowl. When fans saw the players get off the private plane, they noticed that Mahomes and Kelce were carrying strange bags. Mahomes arrived in a full suit and red bag, sporting his team colors, while Kelce arrived in a blue jacket and blue pants, glowing mainly because of the bright blue of his clothing.
Despite injuries to three star offensive players (Rice, Pacheco and Brown), the Chiefs are 5-0 for the fifth time in franchise history. However, in a bad omen, the Chiefs failed to reach the Super Bowl in the four previous instances this century (2003, 2013, 2017, 2018). Kansas City is now one of two remaining undefeated teams in the NFL (along with the Minnesota Vikings), and both teams will have tough matchups after a well-deserved bye week.
Super Bowl rematch preview
Compared to the Super Bowl game eight months ago, the Chiefs receiving corps has undergone significant changes, primarily due to injuries. In that last Super Bowl eight months ago, eight Chiefs players caught a pass for Patrick Mahomes; of those eight, only half (Kelce, Gray, Watson and Hardman) are still on the team, and between the three of them, they have fewer combined catches (20) than Kelce alone (24). So get ready to see Travis involved from the first offensive series.
The 49ers are still without Christian McCaffrey, but George Kittle has taken his place in terms of touchdowns, scoring five times in the last four games. Brandon Aiyuk hasn’t scored yet, but how about he demands to be paid. Deebo Samuel continues to be an excellent weapon for Brock Purdy, who is playing at an extraordinary level and silencing all the naysayers.
The challenge for Brock Purdy and the 49ers is significant. Historically, 36 starting quarterbacks have lost in their Super Bowl debut, and of those, only six have made it back to the big game, none this century. This year’s starting quarterbacks in similar situations include Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow, Jared Goff and Jimmy Garoppolo, who lost his Super Bowl with the 49ers.
