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This past NFL season had so many great story lines. Lamar Jackson was so close to accomplishing his Cinderella story. The Detroit Lions bit and grit their way into the NFC Championship. We had Taylor Swift showing up to games, rookies proving their worth, and mafia members moonlighting as quarterback agents. 

After it all, we’re stuck with a Super Bowl featuring… the Chiefs. Again. And the 49ers, who do deserve to be here. But after all the hope and promise this season had, it feels a little anticlimactic. Aaron Rodgers probably disapproves. 

Great stories and disappointments aside, we have to accept the matchup for Super Bowl LVIII, coming up on February 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers face off in what may end up being a showdown between mastermind playcalls and quarterback magic. 

We’ve been here before; this game is a rematch of Super Bowl LIV, but since it’s been a few years the Chiefs and 49ers are comprised of almost entirely different rosters. Maybe, at the very least, this won’t turn out to be a dud like Super Bowl LIII.

Confused between the numbers? Can’t remember which Super Bowl is which? Me too. Do any of them stand out unless your favorite team’s playing? Or maybe it’s the ones that don’t feature the Patriots or the Chiefs that are actually memorable… 

Either way, here’s a breakdown of what to expect this year and how we ended up here. Whether you’re actually a football fan or watching for any other reason, Super Bowl LVIII promises entertainment for everyone. Here’s to hoping we remember this Super Bowl in the future. 

How We Got Here

Kansas City Chiefs

Surprise surprise. With Patrick Mahomes doing his Patrick Mahomes thing, the Chiefs reached the AFC Championship game for the sixth time in a row and are now making their fourth Super Bowl appearance in the last five years. The AFC finally got rid of Tom Brady, and he was promptly replaced by a new super villain—although the only thing you can really hate about Mahomes is his undeniable talent. 

Together, Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid are building a dynasty in Kansas City. It’s a tough truth to accept, but we probably will see this duo in the Super Bowl for many years to come. Reid, who looks like a friendly Midwestern Lorax, is talented in his own right and will likely keep adding Super Bowl rings as long as he has Mahomes commandeering his ship. 

There were chinks in the armor this season, though. While the Chiefs’ defense was among the best in the NFL, the offense didn’t get hot until the postseason. At times, Mahomes struggled to connect with his receivers. This team made it to the Super Bowl, but they lost to the Broncos in October… that gives some perspective to their 11-6 season. 

In the end, they’re the Chiefs. With a little Mahomes magic and some Lorax pep, they’ve peaked at the best time and have found themselves once again competing in February. 

San Francisco 49ers

It’s also not too much of a surprise that the 49ers are here, but that’s because their team was regarded as the top in its conference for most of the season. Besides a weird dip when the 49ers lost three games in a row as Deebo Samuel was out, the team has dominated. Did anyone else in the NFC really have much of a chance? 

Lost in the talk of the Chiefs’ dynasty is the fact that the 49ers have consistently made it to their conference’s title game, too; they’ve now appeared in the NFC championship game four years in a row.

This year, the team easily secured the #1 seed in the NFC with a 12-5 record and they’re stacked with game-changing players on both offense and defense. During the postseason, quarterback Brock Purdy has eliminated any lingering doubts, bringing his team back from behind against the Packers and the Lions. 

Purdy’s success has been regarded as a mix of natural talent and great coaching. Purdy was Mr. Irrelevant—the last pick of the NFL draft—in 2022, and it only took him two seasons to bring his team all the way to the Super Bowl, but a lot of that is likely due to the 49ers head coach, Kyle Shanahan. 

The Shanahan coaching tree is growing and Kyle has already made his mark in the NFL. All that’s missing from his claim to being one of the best head coaches of all time? A Super Bowl win. In fact, Kyle Shanahan has the highest career postseason winning percentage of any coach in the league without a championship ring. 

Unfortunately, this Golden State mastermind’s Super Bowl track record isn’t so hot: he was the head coach of the 49ers when they lost to the Chiefs four years ago in Super Bowl LIV, and he was the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons when they gave up a 28-3 lead to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI… but no one remembers that, right? Right. 

Who has more to prove, Purdy or Shanahan? Their futures depend on each other, but similar to the Chiefs, the 49ers are likely going to be in the running for years to come as long as Shanahan’s the head coach. 

What to Watch For

If You’re a Football Fan

This game will say a lot about the legacies that the Chiefs and 49ers are trying to establish, and it’ll say a lot about their head coaches. 

With a Chiefs win, it’s tough to deny that the team is officially entering its dynasty era. If the 49ers win, it’ll be their first Super Bowl success in thirty years—since some dude named Steve Young was quarterback. One team’s trying to assert their dominance, another’s trying to make a comeback. 

Kyle Shanahan is regarded as one of the best coaches in the entire NFL, and that’ll be cemented if he finally gets a Super Bowl ring. He built a talented roster around a competent quarterback, whereas Reid’s team features a competent offense and a talented quarterback. Which game scheme is more successful in the end? 

Whoever wins, NFL teams will be trying to replicate their blueprint for years to come. 

If You’re Into Betting

Not to condone gambling, but it’s true that the Super Bowl is one of the biggest sports betting events of the year. Plenty of people watch just to see how their bets turned out, and Super Bowl LVIII has no shortage of intrigue. 

Even non-gamblers can be tempted by all the different ways you can lose money on this game. If I am going to lose ten bucks it might as well be betting on whether Taylor Swift is able to make it, what kind of shoe Usher will wear during his halftime performance, or what color of Gatorade the winning head coach will be showered in at the end (pro tip: it’s most often orange). 

What makes this year especially interesting is that the big game is taking place in Las Vegas, the gambling capital of the world, amid the NFL’s increasing embrace of sports betting. We can expect a lot of Draft Kings commercials, and probably some news afterward of more players being suspended for gambling due to the NFL’s confusing policies. 

The league even had to release a memo reminding 49ers and Chiefs players and personnel that they can’t gamble at all while they’re in Las Vegas (sports betting or otherwise), since they’re traveling for a team-related activity and not there on personal time. Team members aren’t allowed to even be seen in a sportsbook area unless they’re just “passing through” to get to somewhere else. I’m curious whether the slot machines at the airport count. 

Even if it causes some trouble, the NFL will probably continue to embrace sports betting. Ticket prices for this year’s Super Bowl seats are higher than ever, partially due to the game’s location, which means the NFL will be interested in future Las Vegas Super Bowls.  

If You’re Here for the Music

Typically, non-football fans watch the Super Bowl for two reasons: the commercials, and the halftime show. The NFL fully knows this and tries to snag the biggest stars for halftime, although apparently singers aren’t paid for their performance. 

This year, Usher headlines the halftime show, which means it’s time to rock out to songs you probably recognize from weddings and (depending on how old you are) high school prom. The biggest questions are which songs Usher has in his setlist, if he’ll announce a new tour, and if he’ll have a surprise guest join him on stage (although no surprise guest could ever be better than Rihanna’s last year). 

Of course another musician to watch is someone who’s not even performing. There are all kinds of conspiracy theories out there now that the Super Bowl is rigged and the Chiefs are playing just because the NFL makes money off the Taylor Swift Effect. The problem is, Swift is touring in Japan in the days leading up to the game and might not be able to make it to watch her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, score touchdowns. 

If you feel like it, you can bet on whether Taylor Swift’s private jet will be able to bring her back to the States in time. It’s only a 12-hour flight. 

If You Just Want to See the Commercials

Is it just me or is it all of a sudden a thing for major companies to be airing previews for their Super Bowl commercials? 

If you’ve been watching TV the last couple of weeks, chances are you’ve seen at least one of these weird previews. The ones that hint at a celebrity appearance, like State Farm’s Arnold Schwarzenegger commercials, or the ones that say “more to come 2.11.24” like a really ominous wedding announcement. 

It’s undeniably good marketing. Everyone’s enticed by Super Bowl commercials, so why not tease them? Give a little bit of leadup, so people will make sure they’re present to witness the entire thing. It’s the same as movie previews, I guess. 

But why are so many companies suddenly doing it? Are they all copying each other? (Probably.) Are we entering a new era of advertising? (Probably.)

It’s exhausting but also something to watch. Like the game of football itself, commercials have needed to adapt to shifting trends and changing times. This new wave of Super Bowl teasers is likely here to stay, and we’ll have to get used to it—just like we’ll probably have to get used to Patrick Mahomes appearing in every single Super Bowl for the next decade.