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For 30 minutes Sunday, it looked as if the Detroit Lions might reach their first-ever Super Bowl. But then the San Francisco 49ers stormed back to steal the NFC Championship, ensuring a title-game rematch with the vaunted Kansas City Chiefs.
It wasn’t necessarily a pretty postseason journey for the NFC’s No. 1 seed, as the 49ers barely survived the upstart Green Bay Packers before falling behind 24-7 against Detroit. So how, exactly, did they surge all the way back to the Super Bowl, guaranteeing their second crack at a Lombardi Trophy in the last half-decade? Here are 10 reasons:
1. Kyle Shanahan has an all-star lineup
General manager John Lynch can be thanked for assembling such a sterling roster, but it’s the special pairing of so much talent with Shanahan’s schemes — specifically an offense designed to generate space and spread the ball to an array of multipurpose playmakers — that really makes the 49ers click, week in and week out.
2. Brock Purdy is Shanahan’s best QB
And it’s not particularly close. Jimmy Garoppolo advanced to a Super Bowl as Shanahan’s former figurehead, but at 24, through one-and-a-half seasons as the starter, Purdy’s already proven much more dynamic, not only as a play-extender but a downfield thrower. He’s had his erratic moments, but all in all, the poise and polish on this kid is hard to dismiss.
If Purdy’s been the ceremonial MVP as the point guard of Shanahan’s attack, McCaffrey has been the engine, refusing to go down as both a runner and receiver. He is a true safety valve and an undisputed momentum-maker at an otherwise devalued position, and if anyone’s poised to claim Super Bowl MVP honors on this team, it’s him.
4. The defense rallies, and wears teams down
Detroit put up 31 points Sunday, so it’s not like the 49ers are invincible. But they settled in down the stretch in the NFC title game and have been noticeably physical all year, not so unlike the…
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Author : Cody Benjamin
Publish date : 2024-01-29 15:45:41
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