Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid believes San Francisco 49ers are even better than the team they beat in Super Bowl LIV.
Chiefs ended their 50-year wait for Super Bowl success with a 31-20 victory over the 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium in 2020 despite trailing by 10 points going into the fourth quarter.
Reid’s team have enjoyed a spell of dominance since, with Sunday’s clash with San Francisco in Las Vegas their fourth Super Bowl appearance in the last five seasons.
But the 65-year-old believes the addition of star running back Christian McCaffrey and quarterback Brock Purdy’s emergence has made Kyle Shanahan’s side even stronger.
“The 49ers have an offence that has a lot of talent, a lot of guys that can do a lot of things,” Reid told a press conference.
“Actually, there are quite a few of the same guys (from 2020) and they played to a very high level then. I think they are even better now.
“McCaffrey would be new, he’s a pretty big ingredient, the quarter-back (Purdy) is new and he’s a heck of a football player. The rest of the surrounding cast is similar to what they had before.”
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While Chiefs are trying to become the first NFL team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since New England Patriots in February 2005, it has not been a smooth path to Sunday’s showpiece.
The Chiefs suffered four defeats in six towards the end of the regular season, but have found form in the play-offs and Reid credits their turnaround to a mixture of fun and focus.
He added: “Listen, we try to have fun within the intensity of the game. During the week there is a time to focus in, a time to mess around.
“They don’t have to come in where they feel they’re up tight in practice, some of that is we keep it relatively consistent so they know what they’re coming into every day.
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“The times are the same, they know the drill, they know when they can focus and need to focus. And then they can also know when they can mess around, goof around with each other and let their personalities show.”
Reid also revealed NFL security reps had spoken to the Chiefs team around some of the temptations they could face during the build-up to Super Bowl LVIII in ‘Sin City’.
“The league does a great job of that of talking to our guys. We had the league security rep come in and talk to the guys right when we got here. Literally when we got here,” Reid said.
“Part of the conversation was gambling. He made it very clear reinstating the rules and regulations. Temptations are here obviously in Las Vegas so that was addressed.”
This week, star Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones said his side were the “villains” in the eyes of many NFL fans.
And quarterback Patrick Mahomes is fine with that if it means he wins a third Super Bowl ring.
“I just like winning,” said the two-time Super Bowl MVP. “If you win a lot and it causes you to be a villain, I am OK with it. At the end of the day, I will enjoy playing the game and try to win as much as possible.”