Super Bowl X-Factors: Who could be the difference-maker for Chiefs and 49ers?

Super Bowl LVIII has finally arrived in Las Vegas. 

Championship glory is going to be won by either the Kansas City Chiefs or San Francisco 49ers, and legacies are on the line. Will Patrick Mahomes win his third ring? Can Brock Purdy (and Kyle Shanahan) silence the doubters? Will Travis Kelce ride off into the sunset with Taylor Swift as a champion once more?  

Someone is going to step up as an X-Factor in Sin City, so let’s take a look at a few players who, for better or for worse, will impact the biggest game of the year. 

CHIEFS X-FACTORS 

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, wide receiver 

One of the biggest questions ahead of the Super Bowl is this: Can Valdes-Scantling be a consistent perimeter threat for Mahomes?  

After a terrific 2022, this past season was the least productive year of his professional career. He caught just 21 passes for 315 yards and one touchdown during the regular season, and was plagued by some high-profile drops on deep shots from his superstar QB.  

But Valdes-Scantling has come through for the Chiefs in the playoffs, making some tough grabs in frigid Buffalo and then following it up a week later with a strong performance to ice the AFC Championship game in Baltimore. 

He is one of the fastest players in the league, and that speed has helped Mahomes land some haymakers on opposing defences. If Andy Reid can scheme Valdes-Scantling open, they’ll be taking those shots early and often. 

Trent McDuffie, cornerback 

Against a high-flying team like San Francisco, bringing the pressure will be important, and we know defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will do that in spades — he will blitz, blitz, and then blitz some more. One of the best tools at his disposal has been the cornerback duo of Trent McDuffie and L’Jarius Sneed, who have established themselves as perhaps the best one-two punch at the position in the league. 

Their versatility has been key: while Sneed has been facing top targets (think wideouts like Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs, and Justin Jefferson), McDuffie has moved to the slot and been used more in both run defence and rushing the passer — and he’s excelled. McDuffie tallied five forced fumbles in the regular season — tied for second in the NFL amongst all defenders. 

Spagnuolo will ask him to continue that role against arguably the best running back in football in Christian McCaffrey. It’s a tall order, but after a first-team All-Pro season from McDuffie in just his second campaign, he might be one of the few players in the league up to the task. 

49ERS X-FACTORS 

Trent Williams, left tackle 

Any question about the 49ers run game these days usually comes back to Christian McCaffrey, and why wouldn’t it? He’s effectively a home run waiting to happen on any given touch, he has elite speed and vision, and he moves in open space better than most wide receivers. 

McCaffrey also has the benefit of one of the best offensive lines in football, anchored by Trent Williams on the left side. A lot of the gameplan will come down to Williams. The 49ers are better running to the left side, and the Chiefs are weakest against runs to the left. The 49ers are best in outside zone and inside zone run plays, and the Chiefs’ defence has struggled with both at times. 

In the passing game, we can accurately say most teams will live and die based on their left tackle’s ability to protect the quarterback, but with the recent up-and-down play of Brock Purdy, the offence will hinge on Williams continuing to play like one of the best blindside protectors in the NFL. 

Jake Moody, kicker 

A relationship between a team’s fans and its kicker can be fickle — one moment they are heralded as the most clutch player on the field, bearing nerves of steel and ice in their veins, and the next, they are the personification of all that is wrong in an embarrassing loss. Such situations are magnified even more in the Super Bowl. (Case in point: we all know the names of Adam Vinatieri and Scott Norwood for very different reasons.) 

Moody, a third-round pick in last year’s draft, has had an up-and-down year. He went 21 of 25 in the regular season, with two of those misses leading directly to defeats. In the playoffs, he has missed a kick (field goal or extra point) in each game, though he also managed to calm the waters in consecutive wins for San Francisco, each of which was decided by three points. 

Despite Kyle Shanahan’s high-powered offence, chances are that points will be at somewhat of a premium against the Chiefs' defence. This means Moody will have to be at his best at Allegiant Stadium — indoors, where weather will not be a factor — to give the 49ers their best shot at Super Bowl glory.