Who is Playing in the Super Bowl in 2020?

Updated: September 20, 2023

The Super Bowl is one of the largest and most-viewed sporting events in the United States and the world. Every year millions of people watch and listen to two of the best football teams in the world battle for the Lombardi Trophy and the claim of being the champion of the National Football League.

So who will be playing on the NFL’s biggest stage in 2020?.

The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers will be facing off in Super Bowl 54.

We will take a look at both of these teams and the trip they took to get here and how they can both win the championship in their own way.

The San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers started off their Super Bowl run by winning 8 straight games to open up their season.

Their first loss came at the hands of their division rivals in the NFC West, the Seattle Seahawks, in an overtime loss at home.

The Niners would then go on to win 5 of their next 7 games, including wins over the Seahawks in Seattle, the Green Bay Packers, and the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans.

Led by their quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, the Niners would only drop games to the league heavyweight Baltimore Ravens and a shocking loss to the Atlanta Falcons on a last second touchdown by Julio Jones.

The Niners finished their regular season with a 13-3 record and the NFC West divisional title in hand.

This season was the Niners best since 2011 when they also won 13 games.

It was a sort of redemption season for the team that had only won 25 games for the last 5 seasons.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan turned around a team that hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2013.

Once the Niners got to the playoffs, there was no turning around for them. They easily handled the Minnesota Vikings 27-10 in the Divisional round and once again ran through the Green Bay Packers with a 37-20 victory over Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

The Niners aren’t like many of the explosive teams that make it to the Super Bowl, as they only totaled 191 passing yards in both of the playoff games.

The real explosion factor of this San Francisco team is their stout defense.

This defensive unit that is led by players like cornerback Richard Sherman, linebacker Fred Warner, and rookie defensive end Nick Bosa, finished the season ranked 8th in points allowed and 2nd in yards allowed.

This defense is one of the tougher units in the league, with a dominating front seven that includes sizable defenders Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner.

If the opposing quarterback is even able to get the ball off, Richard Sherman is likely blanketing their top target.

If the 49ers expect to win the Super Bowl, their defense MUST be able to handle their toughest task yet.

While their opponent may not have the best defense, but their opponent’s offense can strike quickly and take advantage of miscues.

San Francisco has to play extremely disciplined football in all three factions of the game if they want to make sure that they win the game.

The offense has to be able to move the ball through the air, as their opponent will likely be keying the run. The defense has to be able to stop their opponent’s high-octane offense and stop them consistently.

And finally, special teams has to keep the ball out of the hands of their opponent’s most dangerous home run threat on kickoffs and punts.

San Francisco is trying to win their sixth Super Bowl and tie the New England Patriots for the most Super Bowl victories in NFL history.

The Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are making their first trip to the Super Bowl in…well, ever.

Technically, the Chiefs participated in and won the fourth NFL-AFL Championship, which was later called Super Bowl IV.

The Chiefs haven’t been to a Super Bowl since 1969, meaning they have not played in a championship game since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.

Last season, in 2019, the Chiefs were one game away from reaching the Super Bowl, losing to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

This season, the Chiefs had another great season with their MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes at the helm. Even though Mahomes missed several games after dislocating his knee cap in a win over the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs were still able to keep course for the Super Bowl.

Once Mahomes returned from his injury, the Chiefs were able to rail off 6 straight wins and waltzed their way to a 4th straight AFC West Title.

In the AFC Playoffs, the Chiefs had quite a scare in the first half against the Houston Texans, falling behind 24-0 at one point. The Chiefs then scored 28 straight points in the second quarter, tying a playoffs record held by the Washington Redskins.

Kansas City finished off the Texans by crushing their playoff hopes in a 51-31 rout.

They then had to face off against the surprising Tennessee Titans, fresh off knocking out the heavy Super Bowl favorite Baltimore Ravens.

Tennessee, like Houston, took an early lead, only to see it dwindle away.

The Chiefs defense, which has been extremely hit and miss, was able to hold league leading rusher Derrick Henry to only 69 rushing yards and contain the Titans run-heavy offense in a 35-24 win in the AFC Championship Game.

This Chiefs offense features several explosive threats including wide receivers Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, rookie Mecole Hardman, and top target tight end Travis Kelce.

This unit, led by Mahomes, can score quickly and often. The defense has been up and down, but when all of their top performers are playing at their best, it is a dangerous unit.

Safety Tyrann Mathieu is one of the smartest defensive players in the league and has been a pleasant upgrade for the Chiefs and big man Chris Jones has been a problem for opposing offensive lines ever since he came into the league.

If the Chiefs want to beat the Niners and secure their first Super Bowl victory in the “modern era” of football, they’ll need to play a solid game on the defensive side of the ball and try to stop the explosive Kansas City offensive attack.

The defense will have to find a way to slow down the Niners’ run game and force Jimmy Garoppolo to throw the ball against their secondary.

Who Does Vegas Have Winning Super Bowl 54?

Sportsbook Bovada had the Kansas City Chiefs favored slightly over the San Francisco 49ers when betting opened up for Super Bowl 54.

The Chiefs were 1.5 point favorites over the Niners with an over/under currently set at 54.5.

The trend is moving toward taking the over on the point spread, due to the high power offenses of both teams, so keep an eye on the point spread to keep moving up if the over is taken.

The Chiefs remain -120 moneyline favorites while the Niners remain even-money underdogs.

If the Niners won, it wouldn’t really be much of an upset due to the strength of both teams.