National Football League

Why Chiefs' 'store brand' defense is superior to 49ers' 'name brand' defense

Updated Feb. 8, 2024 6:36 p.m. ET

The San Francisco 49ers have been known for their stellar defense in their return to prominence in recent NFL seasons, while the Kansas City Chiefs have been regarded for their offense during the Patrick Mahomes era.

As both teams prepare to face off in Super Bowl LVIII, Colin Cowherd believes the perceptions surrounding both teams are incorrect — specifically as it pertains to the defensive side of the ball. He believes that the Chiefs hold the better defense entering Sunday's game despite the widespread notion that the 49ers' defensive unit is superior.

"There's this automatic belief that more expensive is better," Cowherd said. "I don't believe it — or that name brands are superior … than store brands. … Their brand is offense, but Kansas City's defense in the playoffs has allowed 13.7 points per game. That's against Mike McDaniel, Tua [Tagovailoa] and Tyreek Hill. That's against Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs. That's against Lamar Jackson and the No. 1 rush offense. … The Niners' defense … allowed 21 points to first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love and over 330 yards.

"What's better, Lamar Jackson, Tua and Josh Allen mostly shutdown or Jordan Love [eating] the 49ers defense off a bye with two weeks to prepare?"

Statistically, the Chiefs hold the advantage on defense. Their unit ranked second in yards allowed (289.8 yards allowed per game) and scoring (17.3 points allowed per game) in the regular season. As Cowherd mentioned, they've only stepped up their play in the playoffs. While they've given up more yards (322.7 yards allowed per game) in the postseason, they still have the second-best total defense in the playoffs. They're second in scoring defense, too.

Do the Chiefs have a more dominant defense than the 49ers?

On the other hand, the Niners still ranked relatively well defensively, checking in at eighth-best in yards allowed (303.9 per game) and third-best in scoring (17.5 points allowed per game). However, Cowherd noted that the competition the Chiefs faced at quarterback was tougher than what the 49ers faced during the regular season. He pointed out that the Chiefs had nine games against the likes of Russell Wilson, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff, Trevor Lawrence, Allen and Tagovailoa and still finished with the fourth-best pass defense in the league.

On the flip side, Cowherd brought up that the 49ers had eight games against the likes of Drew Lock, Geno Smith, P.J. Walker, Josh Dobbs, Sam Howell, Carson Wentz, Daniel Jones and Kenny Pickett, yet finished 14th in pass defense.

That's why Cowherd views the Chiefs' defense as being the superior unit.

"The store brand is Kansas City," Cowherd added. "All season, all these great quarterbacks against Kansas City … never allowed 30 points. The Niners' defense allowed 30 points three times. Kirk Cousins ate the Niners' defense up. Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow had big Sundays against them. So, San Francisco's defense is just the name brand. There's [Nick] Bosa, Fred Warner, Arik Armstead, Chase Young. You know their names.

"But the better defense, easily, especially on the backend, is Kansas City. They also had more sacks, significantly more hurries upfront. The defense shutdown three highly productive offenses in the playoffs, two on the road."

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