Super Bowl 58 Preview: What you need to know ahead of the big game

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Will it be Mahomes & Kelce or Mr. Irrelevant?

It’s Super Bowl Sunday, and Scott McCabe has got you covered with all the key nuggets of information you need to know about tonight’s Super Bowl 58 clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers.

What is the Super Bowl?

The Super Bowl is the culmination of the NFL season, where the top two teams in the National Football League battle it out under the bright lights for the Vince Lombardi trophy.

The NFL is split into two conferences, the AFC and the NFC, and within each conference, there are four divisions. At the Super Bowl, the top seed in the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs, plays the top seed in the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers, for a chance at becoming Super Bowl champions.

This year will be the 58th Super Bowl in NFL history. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots have the most Super Bowl victories in NFL history, with six wins each.

The Chiefs and 49ers are no strangers to one another; both teams previously met in Super Bowl 54, with Mahomes guiding the Chiefs to a 31-20 victory over the Niners. The two-time MVP will be looking to replicate his impressive Super Bowl 54 performance tonight.

When and where is Super Bowl LVIII taking place?

Super Bowl 58 is at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. The stadium is the home of the Las Vegas Raiders, but it will act as neutral ground for tonight’s fixture.

This state-of-the-art stadium cost nearly $2 billion to build, opened its doors in 2020, and can seat between 65,000- 70,000 fans. Kickoff is at 11:30pm Irish time, with R&B and pop singer Usher performing at the Super Bowl halftime show.

Super Bowl 58

The tale of two quarterbacks

Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs

For those new to American Football, Patrick Mahomes is one of the best talents the NFL has ever seen. At the age of 28, the two-time NFL MVP led the Chiefs to five consecutive AFC Championship games, three Super Bowls (winning two of them), and has two Super Bowl MVP titles.

Mahomes always comes up with the big play, and he’ll likely be the difference-maker in tonight’s game. If the Chiefs win tonight, this will be their fourth Super Bowl in franchise history.

Brock Purdy, Quarterback, San Francisco 49ers

Brock Purdy’s rise to NFL stardom is nothing short of remarkable. Purdy played his college football at Iowa State and was selected with the 262nd pick in the NFL Draft, a pick coined as Mr. Irrelevant, as it’s far fetched that a player drafted this late will ever see the field.

However, through the most unlikely of circumstances, Purdy has cemented himself as the starting quarterback of this 49ers team, leading them to the NFC Championship game last year and now a Super Bowl in 2023. If Purdy is triumphant tonight against the Chiefs, this will be his first Super Bowl victory and sixth Super Bowl victory in 49ers history.

Notable things to look out for

Kansas City Chiefs: The Chiefs have several players that could dominate in Super Bowl 58. First off, running back Isaiah Pacheco is worth keeping an eye on. He’s got over 1,000 rushing yards and recorded ten touchdowns this season. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce always shows up in the big games and is one of Mahomes’ favourite targets; he’s got three touchdowns in his last two games. On defence, watch out for defensive duo George Karlaftis and Chris Jones, who both have 10.5 sacks each this season.

San Francisco 49ers: The 49ers have one of the best overall rosters in the NFL; it’s stacked from top to bottom. On offence, the Niners will rely on running back Christian McCaffrey, who was recently voted offence player of the year. McCaffrey has a whopping 18 touchdowns this season and this Chiefs defense will be doing everything they can to contain him.

In the receiving core, Purdy has plenty of passing options; from tight end George Kittle and wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, you can expect some explosive plays from this trio.

Taylor Swift: We couldn’t do a Super Bowl 58 article without mentioning Taylor Swift. Nobody knows for sure if Swift will be in attendance to cheer for her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. Still, her dedicated fan base known as ‘Swifties’ have done the math, and it is possible for her to attend tonight’s game, even though she is currently on her world tour and performed in Tokyo on Saturday night. If the 14-time Grammy winner is in attendance, you can guarantee you’ll see her on the big screen.

Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs (L) celebrates with Taylor Swift after defeating the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game at M&T Bank Stadium. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Super Bowl 58 – The Irish Connection

Current Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker played in the 2016 Aer Lingus College Football Classic when Georgia Tech took on Boston College in the Aviva Stadium. Butker will be chasing his third Super Bowl victory tonight, and is one of the best kickers in the NFL.

The 2024 Aer Lingus College Football Classic returns to Dublin this August, with Butker’s former team Georgia Tech taking on Florida State University at the Aviva Stadium on August 24th. General tickets will be available on March 14th. You can register your interest for the 2024 game here.

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