Super Bowl 2024: Chiefs and 49ers finish their final practice sessions as the NFL headliners prepare to take center stage in Las Vegas – while Taylor Swift wraps up her own preparations before the big game
The Kansas City Chiefs completed their last full practice before taking on the San Francisco 49ers on the NFL’s biggest stage on Sunday.
The two teams will meet in Las Vegas in a rematch of the 2020 Super Bowl, with both teams looking to bring the festivities to the party capital of the United States.
It’s been a long week of build-up for both teams and Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and co will now be hoping they’ve done everything they can to lift the Lombardi Trophy this weekend as they complete their final practice before the big day have completed.
The reigning Super Bowl champions reportedly worked on red-zone, short-yardage and goal-line plays in a 66-minute session Friday.
The team has a tryout game Saturday, then takes a team photo and returns to the hotel, 30 minutes from Allegiant Stadium.
The Chiefs went through their last full practice before taking on the San Francisco 49ers
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes warms up during his team’s final session
Tight end Kelce high fives defensive tackle Mike Pennel Jr. as they complete their preparations
Head coach Andy Reid said the team does not plan to change hotels Saturday night, as some teams have done to eliminate any final distractions.
“We did everything we had to do,” Reid told NBC’s Peter King. ‘They’ve done a good job. They are focused. I see it every day. That’s kind of their nature, whether things go well or not.
“It starts with Pat (Mahomes) and (Travis) Kelce and Chris Jones and (cornerback L’Jarius) Sneed. The players have taken full advantage of what we have given them as coaches, and they have done a good job here.”
The Chiefs have ruled out All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney for Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Niners due to a pectoral injury.
However, wide receiver Rashee Rice and running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire appear ready to go.
Rice was a full participant in practice on Friday after being caught near the end of the previous day’s practice, while Edwards-Helaire also performed a full practice after dealing with an illness earlier in the week.
The only player the Chiefs listed as questionable on the final injury report was running back Jerick McKinnon, who remains on reserve after undergoing surgery in January for a core muscle injury. The Chiefs have until Saturday afternoon to add him to the active roster for the Super Bowl, although Reid described his chances of playing as “slim” earlier this week.
Chiefs coach Reid maintained all week that he wasn’t leaving Thuney out of the equation, right through to the end of a 66-minute practice Friday at the AFC West rival Raiders’ practice facility. But since Thuney had not practiced since getting hurt in the divisional round in Buffalo, it had become increasingly clear that Allegretti would be starting in his place.
The signal caller gets his final steps in before taking the NFL’s biggest stage on Sunday
The Chiefs reportedly worked 60 minutes on red-zone, short-yardage and goal-line plays
The old backup has done this before. Allegretti also started the Super Bowl against Tampa Bay in 2021 due to injuries.
“Next-man-up mentality,” Chiefs right guard Trey Smith said. ‘Nick is a consummate professional. He’ll be ready to go. He has done a great job in the last few weeks of preparation. Our coaches will prepare us and Nick will do a great job.”
The Chiefs got a shock at the end of Thursday’s practice when Rice accidentally stepped on him and staggered off the field. The rookie wide receiver has become one of Patrick Mahomes’ favorite targets, catching 20 passes for 223 yards and a score in three playoff games, while also helping take some of the attention away from tight end Travis Kelce.
Edwards-Helaire was inactive during last year’s Super Bowl despite declaring himself healthy after suffering a high ankle sprain.
“This is what you’ve been working for since you were a kid,” said Edwards-Helaire, a former first-round pick who lost his job to Isiah Pacheco last season and will be a free agent after this season. “And it’s always hard to get there, but obviously we’re able to do the things we needed to do to get back.”
Meanwhile, the 49ers also completed their final workout as they look to get revenge on the Chiefs Sunday.
Brock Purdy and co are said to have completed a 68-minute jog on Friday with an emphasis on red zone work.
The 49ers enter the game healthy and no one on the active roster is listed with an injury.
The 49ers also had their last practice on Friday as they look to get revenge
Brock Purdy and co did a 68-minute jog that focused on red zone work
49ers defensive end Nick Bosa walks with his teammates prior to the showdown
San Francisco fans gathered outside the training facility to support their players
“The guys have been working hard these two weeks,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “The guys who got beat up did everything they could to be healthy for this game. It’s our first time everyone is full and healthy. It’s the right game to have it that way.”
Backup defensive tackle Kalia Davis, who is currently on injured reserve but practiced this week, was listed as questionable for San Francisco due to an ankle injury. It is expected that Davis will not be activated to play in the game on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Chiefs star Kelce’s girlfriend Taylor Swift will be going through her own final run-through before the big game.
The pop star will perform the final show of her Eras Tour stop in Tokyo, Japan, before she is expected to fly back to Las Vegas to cheer on her friend.
The 17-hour time difference between the Japanese capital and Sin City helps the singer, meaning she should be able to arrive well on time.
Swift is scheduled to take the stage for her final night in Tokyo on Saturday, February 10 at 8 p.m. That’s the same day at 3 a.m. in Las Vegas.
If her show lasts the usual three and a half hours, she should leave the stage around 11:30 p.m. That’s 6:30 in Las Vegas.
The last time she performed in Japan, in 2015, Swift brought Narita airport to a standstill as she was practically stampeded by fans.
Chiefs star Kelce’s girlfriend Taylor Swift will be going through her own final run-through
The pop star will perform the final show of her Eras Tour stop in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday
These days, her security is a much tighter machine, with her procession of cars usually securing a police escort to get her from A to B.
For mere mortals, it’s a 40-minute drive from the Tokyo Dome to Narita, but Swift doesn’t have to worry about stop signs or traffic lights.
Likewise, flying private means she doesn’t have to worry about pesky TSA security, so with the wind at her back, Swift could board her jet around 1 a.m. local time, 8 a.m. Vegas time.
After a flight of approximately 13 hours, Swift was able to land at Harry Reid International Airport, Las Vegas, on Saturday, February 10, around 9 p.m.