The National Football League has had a season packed to the brim with storylines. This season has drawn the second-highest viewership numbers since tracking began back in 1995. (17.9 Million viewers per game).

Super Bowl 58 will take place on Sunday, February 11th, at 3:30 PM PT, on CBS. A lot has unfolded to lead up to this big game.

First, a young Detroit Lions team hosted its first playoff game since 1991 which they would go on to win, initiating the season’s ‘Cinderella run.’ The Lions’ win against the Rams in Detroit finally broke the second-largest playoff win-drought in the Super Bowl era of the NFL (31 years). The Jared Goff-led Lions went on to beat Baker Mayfield’s Buccaneers in the divisional round, sending them to their first NFC Championship game since the 1991 season and their second in franchise history. However, they unfortunately lost that game, falling to the largest comeback in NFC Championship history, as the 49ers came back from 17 points down to win 34 to 31.

The 49ers cruised their way through the regular season, claiming the NFC’s first-round bye with the number one seed in the conference. Their divisional round matchup was against the 10-7 Green Bay Packers led by first-year starter Jordan Love. The game was far closer than most expected with the Niners squeaking past the Packers with a game-winning touchdown in the final minute of the game from star running back Christian McCaffrey.

On the AFC side of the bracket, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Miami Dolphins, 26-7 in a wild-card matchup, and then prevailed against the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round, winning 27-24. In the AFC championship game, they took down the league’s number one seed, the Baltimore Ravens, 17-10, punching their ticket to the Super Bowl.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been atop of the NFL for the past five years. They’ve appeared in three of the last four Super Bowls, winning two times. Kansas City’s recent success is led by superstar quarterback and 2x league MVP Patrick Mahomes. On the other hand, the 49ers haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1995, but they do have a total of five Super Bowl wins. They had the opportunity to win another Super Bowl back in 2020 but fell short losing to none other than the Kansas City Chiefs, with a final score of 20-17.

The shapes of these two rosters have shifted drastically since they last faced off in the Super Bowl. San Francisco has a new quarterback at the helm. In the 2022 draft, they selected QB Brock Purdy with the final pick in the entire draft. The 49ers’ former QB Jimmy Garoppolo was benched due to his poor play. Purdy was the next man up and to many people’s surprise, the 49ers never looked back on their decision to bench Garoppolo.

The 49ers went on to advance to the NFC championship but fell short to the Eagles. Following last year’s heartbreaking NFC Championship loss, the 49ers have come back with a vengeance this season. They had an NFC-best 12-5 record, making a strong case as the league’s most well-rounded team. Their QB play led by Purdy has been exceptional, and running back Christian McCaffrey has played some of the best football of his career and just recently was announced as Offensive Player of the Year. Standout wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel have been outstanding throughout the entire year as well. Whether it’s with Aiyuk’s elite route-running ability or Deebo’s yards-after-catch ability, it’s hard to contain those two. Tight end George Kittle is also one of the league’s most complete tight ends through his elite pass-catching and blocking ability.

On top of this dynamic offense, San Francisco is a defensive powerhouse, mainly led by All-Pro defensive end Nick Bosa, and All-Pro linebacker, Fred Warner. Arik Armstead, Dre Greenlaw, and Javon Hargrave have also been crucial in propelling this 49ers defense to elite status. It will not be an easy task to beat this San Francisco 49ers team, but if there’s one team that can do it, that would be the reigning Super Bowl Champions, the Kansas City Chiefs.

Over the past three years, the Kansas City Chiefs have solidified their status as one of the NFL’s elite teams. Led by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, they have consistently been a force to be reckoned with both offensively and defensively. In the 2020-2021 season, they secured their second consecutive AFC Championship title and made a Super Bowl appearance, falling short to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite this setback, the Chiefs remained resilient and spent the offseason redesigning their offensive line which had failed them in the previous Super Bowl. They also made key additions in their receiving core, including JuJu Smith-Schuster and drafting Sky Moore out of Western Michigan.

In the 2021-2022 season, they continued their dominance, clinching the AFC West division title and advancing to the playoffs once again. Their 2021-2022 run would end with an upset in the AFC championship to the Cinderella story Cincinnati Bengals, who would go on to lose in the Super Bowl.

As they entered the 2022-2023 season, the Chiefs remained poised to contend for another Super Bowl championship, backed by a talented roster, a proven coaching staff, and a determination to reclaim the ultimate prize in professional football. The season would follow a similar trend, as the Chiefs would win the AFC West and clinch the #1 seed in the playoffs. They would go on to win the Super Bowl beating the red-hot Eagles 38 to 35 in a thrilling game. This year the Chiefs have proven to be a force of consistency that’s here to stay as they found themselves in the AFC Championship for the sixth year in a row.

In this year’s championship, the Chiefs took a different route than past years, beating the Baltimore Ravens in a defensive battle where the Chiefs’ defense held the Ravens’ high-powered offense to only 10 points. Now, Mahomes and head coach, Andy Reid find themselves in a position to defend their title and win their third Super Bowl together in just five years.

Between these star-studded teams, this highly anticipated Super Bowl rematch should be one to remember.