49ers

49ers-Chiefs 2020 Super Bowl odds, predictions, betting lines, picks

49ers-Chiefs 2020 Super Bowl odds, predictions, betting lines, picks

By now, you've read all the stories and watched all the 49ers Central shows, so you know Super Bowl LIV will be a tightly contested game between the 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.

San Francisco possesses one of the best defenses in the NFL, while Patrick Mahomes is the reigning league MVP.

The 49ers ran all over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game and hope to do the same against the Chiefs. But Kansas City limited this season's rushing champion, Derrick Henry, to 69 yards on the ground in the AFC Championship Game.

[RELATED: How to watch 49ers vs. Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV]

Something has to give.

Two great teams will enter Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Sunday, but only one will emerge victorious.

Back on Jan. 19, when the Super Bowl matchup was set, the Chiefs opened as 1.5-point favorites, and that number hasn't moved much over the last two weeks.

Here are the current odds as of Friday night, and predictions from NBC Sports Bay Area writers Matt Maiocco, Scott Bair, Jennifer Lee Chan and Josh Schrock, who are all in Miami.

LINE

Caesars: Chiefs -1.5 (-110)
Consensus: Chiefs -1.5 (-108)
Westgate: Chiefs -1 (-110)
Wynn: Chiefs -1.5 (+100)

PREDICTIONS

Matt Maiocco: 49ers 31, Chiefs 27

From the moment Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch took over three years ago, everything has led to this moment. The 49ers have won games in every imaginable way this season. In Super Bowl LIV, they'll find another.

Scott Bair: 49ers 34, Chiefs 30
 
This is a matchup of strength on strength. The NFL's best pass defense and the NFL's best quarterback and most explosive set of skill players are ready to rumble. That's what will make this a fun Super Bowl that should be close in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, the 49ers will hold Kansas City to one too many field goals over touchdowns and score enough to win the franchise's sixth Super Bowl. The 49ers are the most complete team in football. That will outweigh Patrick Mahomes' individual brilliance and secure the Lombardi Trophy.

Jennifer Lee Chan: 49ers 35, Chiefs 28

Both offenses get out to a fast start, but then the 49ers defense settles in and gets a few key stops. Jimmy Garoppolo does what everyone outside the building has doubted: He throws the ball to help the 49ers win the game.

Josh Schrock: Chiefs 31, 49ers 27
 
Dan Marino, Patrick Mahomes will not be. The Chiefs star puts together a nine-play drive late in the fourth quarter, hitting Mecole Hardman for a 17-yard touchdown with 22 seconds left to deliver Kansas City a title.

Programming note: NBC Sports Bay Area feeds your hunger for 49ers Super Bowl coverage with special editions of “49ers Central” all week (9:30 p.m. Friday, and 3 p.m. Saturday).

Also tune in at 1 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday for a two-hour special of "49ers Pregame Live" with Laura Britt, Donte Whitner, Jeff Garcia, Ian Williams, Kelli Johnson, Greg Papa and Grant Liffmann. That same crew will have all the postgame reaction on "49ers Postgame Live," starting immediately after the game.

Jaguars hire former 49ers GM Trent Baalke as their personnel director

Jaguars hire former 49ers GM Trent Baalke as their personnel director

The Jacksonville Jaguars on Tuesday announced former 49ers general manager Trent Baalke has been hired as the organization’s director of player personnel.

Baalke has not worked for an NFL team since 2016, when the 49ers fired him after the roster had fallen into disrepair under his watch. He worked the past three seasons for the NFL as a football operations consultant.

"I have known Trent for two decades and he'll be a valuable addition to our personnel department," Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell said in a statement.

"He had a lot of success during his time in San Francisco and has proven that he has a great eye for talent and constructing a team, so we're excited for him to be a part of the organization. We look forward to welcoming Trent and his wife, Beth, to Jacksonville, and we expect him to get involved immediately as we make decisions on our current roster and approach free agency."

In 2011, Baalke was named winner of NFL Executive of the Year awards, as selected by Pro Football Weekly and the Pro Football Writers of America, for his role in helping the 49ers improve from 6-10 into a 13-3 team in his first season as general manager with Jim Harbaugh as the head coach.

The 49ers advanced to three consecutive NFC Championship Games with Baalke and Harbaugh in charge until the club fell to 8-8 in 2014. Baalke and Harbaugh clashed, and the 49ers “mutually parted ways” with Harbaugh.

Baalke was in charge of hiring the next two coaches, as the organization went with Jim Tomsula in 2015 and Chip Kelly in 2016.

After the disastrous two-win season under Kelly, the 49ers fired Baalke and Kelly. San Francisco hired coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch.

[RELATED49ers report card: Grades for surprising, yet heartbreaking season]

Baalke originally joined the 49ers in 2005 as a regional scout. He was promoted to director of player personnel in 2008. In 2010, he moved into the role of vice president of player personnel before taking over as general manager in 2011 after Scot McCloughan left the organization.

Only six players who appeared in the 49ers’ 31-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV remain among those Baalke brought to the organization: Safeties Jimmie Ward and Jaquiski Tartt, defensive linemen Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner, running back Raheem Mostert, and long-snapper Kyle Nelson.

Why 49ers cutting Jimmy Garoppolo for Tom Brady truly makes no sense

Why 49ers cutting Jimmy Garoppolo for Tom Brady truly makes no sense

Tom Brady and the Super Bowl just can't let each other go. The Lombardi Trophy asked for space, but there's Brady lurking in the shadows. He just can't go away. 

Super Bowl LIV was the first time Brady and the New England Patriots weren't playing in the Big Game since the 2015 season. As the finger pointing began -- mostly towards coach Kyle Shanahan or QB Jimmy Garoppolo -- after the 49ers' collapse against the Kansas City Chiefs, somehow, some way, Brady's name began popping up again. 

And not just for that Hulu commercial

FOX Sports 1's Skip Bayless gargled his usual amount of water trash on Monday morning on "Undisputed," claiming the 49ers should cut Garoppolo and sign 42-year-old Tom Brady in free agency.

It didn't take too long for calmer, smarter heads to prevail. Dan Orlovsky, who played eight seasons as an NFL QB, shredded any nonsense of San Francisco making such moves when he appeared on ESPN's "Get Up" on Tuesday morning. 

"Jimmy Garoppolo just led this team to a 13-3 record. He was 18-of-21 before that fourth quarter that you mentioned, and this is his first year fully starting," Orlovsky said. "He was top five in touchdowns, top five in completion percentage, top five in yards per attempt. He's 28 years old. He's $80 million over the cap over the next three years. He's 23-6 as a starting quarterback. Why would the San Francisco 49ers ... and again, listen, Brady makes no sense for them schematically.

"Kyle Shanahan has a very specific scheme. It is about moving the quarterback outside the pocket. Brady is not going to do that. There is zero percent chance of this ever being a reality. Zero." 

Case in point from someone who actually has played the position instead of listening to someone who should be wearing a red nose when he appears in front of TV cameras. 

Garoppolo wasn't perfect in the 49ers' loss. Neither was his head coach. Jimmy G completed only three of his 11 pass attempts in the fourth quarter. He also was a main reason why San Francisco held a 10-point lead with slightly over six minutes remaining in the first place.

Garoppolo finished his first Super Bowl start going 20-for-31 for 219 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. For three-plus quarters, he looked like a possible Super Bowl MVP. And then he, Shanahan and the 49ers' historic defense came apart as Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs couldn't be stopped. 

The Super Bowl loss capped off a season full of surprise and reasons to celebrate, albeit with a disappointing defeat in the end. That doesn't mean it's time for a change at QB, especially to bring someone in who probably should be spending time with his kids instead of lacing up his cleats. 

Garoppolo had one of the best statistical seasons for a 49ers quarterback in the past two decades. He threw for 3,978 yards in the regular season -- the fourth-most in franchise history -- with 27 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while averaging 8.4 yards per attempt. Garoppolo also completed 69.1 percent of his passes and had a 102.0 QB rating.

Brady, Garoppolo's former Patriots teammate who is 14 years older than the 49ers' QB, had his worst season in years. He completed just 60.8 percent of his passes while throwing for 4,057 yards, 24 TDs and eight INTs. The six-time Super Bowl champion averaged only 6.6 yards per attempt and had an 88.0 QB rating. 

There's no doubt Brady still has his winning DNA running through his veins. That isn't going anywhere. But his skills are. Father Time beats all, no matter how dark Brady dies his hair. 

Garoppolo faltered in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, along with the rest of his teammates. Don't forget, though, he came through in the clutch multiple times throughout the season, including on the road in New Orleans and Seattle. 

[RELATED: Jimmy G gets support from The Rock after Super Bowl loss]

Forget his contract for a moment. Even forget his chin line. Garoppolo made the leap this season, which we forget was his first as a full-time starter. Next season, and years after, could be even better as he grows under Shanahan. 

The loss hurts for the 49ers and The Faithful alike. When it comes to the Quest for Six, however, Jimmy G is the clear-cut answer. The protege, in this case, prevails over his mentor.