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 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 48.3
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.
- Gilbert Brink
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Written by:49ers outsider, residing in the Hudson Valley, representing 30+ years of the 49ers experience
