Getty Images

The last time right tackle Mitchell Schwartz and defensive end Dee Ford were on the same field, they were Chiefs teammates trying to beat the Patriots in last year’s AFC Championship Game.

The Chiefs couldn’t pull that off and Ford committed a crucial offside penalty late in the game that helped sink Kansas City’s chances. Ford moved on to the 49ers in the offseason and will now face his former team in the Super Bowl, but Schwartz said that the Chiefs aren’t looking to settle any grudge about how Ford’s tenure ended.

“I don’t blame him at all,” Schwartz said in a Wednesday press conference. “We scored zero points in the first half, so if we score any points in the first half he’s not in that position at all. Offensively, that’s kinda view we had was we didn’t do enough offensively to score enough points to win the game. . . . I think there were plenty of opportunities for us early in the game for us to have done better and not be in that spot. Football is never about the one specific play. I never put that on him.”

Schwartz also discussed whether the Chiefs will have an advantage blocking Ford because of their history with him. Schwartz downplayed that notion by saying things are “a lot different when it’s live bullets” like it will be a week from Sunday.