The Super Bowl is on February 2, featuring the NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers and the AFC Champion New England… wait what? They’re not in it this year?

This year it’s the Kansas City Chiefs representing the AFC, led by Patrick Mahomes on offense and Tyrann Mathieu on defense. Dubbed the “Joe Montana Bowl” by fans, Super Bowl 54 will be played in Miami, Florida on Sunday at 6:30 PM EST.

But how did we get here?

Starting off in the AFC, Kansas City exited the playoffs last year in the AFC Championship in a thrilling overtime game against the eventual champions, New England Patriots.

They ended up having a troubled offseason, with pro-bowl wideout Tyreek Hill fighting a domestic violence case. Bottom line, he was left untouched by the league and played week one. 

The Chiefs’ draft and free agency was quiet, except for the trade of their star pass rusher, Dee Ford, who is often blamed for their AFC Championship loss last year. He was replaced by Seattle pass rusher Frank Clark.

That’s about it for Kansas City, but what about their competition?

Well, the Baltimore Ravens had the best record in the conference and NFL as well as the likely MVP, Lamar Jackson, but got bounced out in their first game by the Tennessee Titans. The same fate occurred in New England the week prior.

The Houston Texans had a 24 point lead over Kansas City after they won against Buffalo in overtime the week prior, but they took their foot off the gas and let the reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes outscore them 51-7 after that. Ouch.

Tennesse lost their touch in Kansas City in the championship and bang, here they are. 

The NFC was more interesting overall. Week 17 decided every division winner’s placement, which is both entertaining and rare.

The Eagles and Cowboys fought in two different stadiums for the crown, while Philly held on in New York and would host the loser of that Sunday night’s game: San Francisco at Seattle Seahawks, for the division.

The game came down to one inch. Rookie Dre Greenlaw stopped tight end Jacob Hollister one inch away from the goal line, allowing the 49ers to clinch the 1 seed. Seattle would claim the #3 seed giving Green Bay the #2 seed.

They took a seat as they watched Minnesota beat New Orleans in overtime, becoming their opponent the next week. The Niners handled business at home, allowing them to host the championship game, just like Kansas City.

They manhandled Green Bay to make things short.

Running back Raheem Mostert who had been cut by seven other NFL teams, had the second best NFC title game on the ground, only behind NFL 100 inductee, Eric Dickerson. But their offseason cannot go overlooked.

Thought I forgot huh?

We start with the aforementioned Dee Ford trade, and the signing of linebacker Kwon Alexander, two big pieces in their top 2 defense in the league this year. They entered the draft with the 2nd overall pick after a lackluster 4-12 season with starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo out with a knee injury.

They also picked edge rusher Nick Bosa. He’s the current favorite to win defensive rookie of the year. In the middle of the season they traded for Broncos wideout Emmanuel Sanders, who quickly became their #1 receiver. 

But where does that leave us fans?

The Chiefs, led by reigning MVP Pat Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid, are currently on a 50 year drought for Super Bowls. Reid has made it to Super Bowl before, coaching the Philadelphia Eagles against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.

He lost, and this is his revenge game, yet it’s also the the revenge game for opposing coach Kyle Shanahan, as he was the offensive coordinator of the high-powered Atlanta Falcons who played in Super Bowl LI. They played, you guessed it, New England.

They did go up 28-3… then allowed 31 unanswered and lost in overtime in the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history (I advise you look at my profile because I’m enjoying writing this).

Both coaches with something to prove, Mahomes attempting to start his ring collection, Garoppolo attempting to win his 3rd ring and 1st as a starter, winning his other two with – I don’t even have to say it, but why not – New England. 

Sunday, February 2nd. It’s must-see TV.