Stopping Patrick Mahomes is job No. 1 for the 49ers defense in Super Bowl LIV and the ways they hope to do that were among the talking points for members of that defense at Super Bowl LIV Opening Night in Miami.
Linebacker Fred Warner called defending Mahomes an “extreme challenge” because of both his arm and his ability to make plays with his legs. Mahomes has led the Chiefs in rushing the last two games, which left Warner to say that “our No. 1 job is to make sure he gets on the ground.”
Titans defenders likely would have said the same thing heading into the AFC Championship Game, but they weren’t able to do it on a crucial 27-yard touchdown run. It looked as if some Titans defenders hesitated about hitting Mahomes near the sideline during that run.
Fear of a penalty for a late hit may have contributed to that and 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw said he will hit Mahomes “if he’s in the green” without worrying about “judgment calls.” Greenlaw’s approach sounds similar to the one defensive lineman DeForest Buckner said he’d employ.
“I’m getting him down, but you’ve got to be smart about it obviously,” Buckner said. “If it’s on the sideline, you’re gonna try to tackle him. If he jumps out of bounds, you gotta try to get out of the way. I don’t know how to explain that. There’s so many rules nowadays protecting the quarterback, I’m not sure. I’m a football player, so I’m gonna hit him as legal as possible.”
A penalty for a late or otherwise illegal hit could be a serious blow to the 49ers’ chances of winning on Sunday, but the same is true of a Mahomes touchdown run and hesitancy on the field isn’t going to help slow the quarterback down one bit.