49ers vs. Chiefs: PFF Position Grades for Super Bowl Showdown

PFF is one of the most highly, if not the highest, regarded sources for NFL player grading. It dives deep into many facets of the game that you can't find in a box score or catch with the naked eye on television. With the Super Bowl a mere four days away, everybody has an opinion on who is going to come out victorious and hoist the Lombardi Trophy on February 2nd. Let's take a look at all 22 49ers/Chiefs starters and see how each team graded out during the 2019 regular season.

Position San Francisco 49ers Kansas City Chiefs Edge QB Jimmy Garoppolo - 78.2 Patrick Mahomes - 84.2 Chiefs RB Raheem Mostert - 75.5 Damien Williams - 65.7 49ers FB Kyle Juszczyk - 73.3 Anthony Sherman - 70.6 49ers WR 1 Emmanuel Sanders - 78.4 Tyreek Hill - 85.4 Chiefs WR 2 Deebo Samuel - 74.5 Sammy Watkins - 66.5 49ers TE George Kittle - 95.0 Travis Kelce - 85.0 49ers LT Joe Staley - 72.7 Eric Fisher - 64.3 49ers LG Laken Tomlinson - 64.7 Andrew Wylie - 67.4 Chiefs C Ben Garland - 59.1 Austin Reiter - 63.0 Chiefs RG Mike Person- 61.8 Laurent Duverny Tardif - 57.2 49ers RT Mike McGlinchey - 67.5 Mitchell Schwartz - 84.0 Chiefs LDE Dee Foed - 84.5 Tanoh Kpassagnon - 57.2 49ers RDT Arik Armstead - 88.9 Chris Jones - 84.9 49ers LDT DeForest Buckner - 78.8 Derrick Nnandi - 65.4 49ers LDE Nick Bosa - 86.7 Frank Clark 63.0 49ers LB Fred Warner - 66.9 Damien Wilson 55.3 49ers LB Dre Greenlaw - 63.9 Anthony Hitchens 49.0 49ers LCB Richard Sherman - 88.9 Charvarius Ward - 65.9 49ers RCB Emmanuel Mosely - 70.0 Bashaud Breeland - 48.3 49ers NB K`Wuan Williams - 77.4 Kendell Fuller - 61.4 49ers FS Jimmie Ward - 84.2 Daniel Sorenson - 61.0 49ers SS Jaquiski Tartt - 66.4 Tyrann Mathieu - 75.3 Chiefs

According to the PFF grades, offensively these teams are a pretty tight match with the 49ers getting the edge in 6 offensive categories compared to the Chiefs' 5. When looking at the defensive side of the ball, there is no comparison at all. The 49ers dominate, having the edge at 10/11 positions on defense. SS Tryann Mathieu is the only player on the Chiefs ranked higher than his 49ers counterpart.



The highest graded starter for the 49ers is TE



When you crunch the numbers even further you see that on average the 49ers' offensive starter grade comes in at 73.9, while the Chiefs' average offensive starter grade is 71.6. The 49ers hold a slight margin in this area. On the defensive side of the ball the margin is much wider. The average defensive starter for San Francisco grades out at 79.7. The average defensive starter for Kansas City grades out and 61.7, a full 18 points lower. Combining all the numbers together and you have the average 49ers starter grading out at 75.3 and the average Chiefs starter grading out at 67.2.



While games are not played on paper with math equations, PFF's highly respected player analysis does reflect what many can see with their own eyes. The 49ers seem to be the better all-around team, and the numbers back this up.



All grades thanks to PFF Gilbert Brink

Written by: Gilbert Brink 49ers outsider, residing in the Hudson Valley, representing 30+ years of the 49ers experience @Brinkasaurus According to the PFF grades, offensively these teams are a pretty tight match with the 49ers getting the edge in 6 offensive categories compared to the Chiefs' 5. When looking at the defensive side of the ball, there is no comparison at all. The 49ers dominate, having the edge at 10/11 positions on defense. SS Tryann Mathieu is the only player on the Chiefs ranked higher than his 49ers counterpart.The highest graded starter for the 49ers is TE George Kittle at 95.0. Not only was he the highest graded 49er, his 95.0 rating earned him the highest grade of any player in the entire league in 2019. Speedster WR Tyreek Hill was the highest graded Chief coming in at 85.4 on the year. The 49ers' lowest graded player was replacement turned starting C Ben Garland . He graded out at 59.1. The Chiefs' lowest graded starter was RCB Bashaud Breeland, grading out at 48.3When you crunch the numbers even further you see that on average the 49ers' offensive starter grade comes in at 73.9, while the Chiefs' average offensive starter grade is 71.6. The 49ers hold a slight margin in this area. On the defensive side of the ball the margin is much wider. The average defensive starter for San Francisco grades out at 79.7. The average defensive starter for Kansas City grades out and 61.7, a full 18 points lower. Combining all the numbers together and you have the average 49ers starter grading out at 75.3 and the average Chiefs starter grading out at 67.2.While games are not played on paper with math equations, PFF's highly respected player analysis does reflect what many can see with their own eyes. The 49ers seem to be the better all-around team, and the numbers back this up.

The views within this article are those of the writer and, while just as important, are not necessarily those of the site as a whole.

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