Chiefs and 49ers Set for Super Bowl Fireworks? 5 NFL Records That Could Fall in Las Vegas

The San Francisco 49ers are making their eighth Super Bowl appearance, which is tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the second most behind the New England Patriots’ 11.

The Kansas City Chiefs are in the Super Bowl for the sixth time and fourth in the last six seasons.

Both teams have set records over the course of their combined 12 appearances, but it’s getting harder for teams to make new marks with 57 Super Bowls already in the books.

Five Super Bowl Records That Could Fall in Super Bowl LVIII

Still, every year, there seems to be a couple of new ones set, whether they be for single-game or career performances.

Let’s take a look at five Super Bowl records that could be set.

Career Receptions

Travis Kelce has an outside chance to become the career leader in Super Bowl receptions despite currently ranking seventh.

Jerry Rice holds the record with 33, followed by Rob Gronkowski (29), Andre Reed (27), Wes Welker (26), Julian Edelman (24), Deion Branch (24), and Kelce (22).

While 11 catches are a lot, Kelce has six career postseason games with double-digit receptions, including last week’s 17-10 victory in the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens when he had 11.

Mahomes to Kelce, rinse and repeat 🔁 #SuperBowl | #PFNSB57 pic.twitter.com/1OnVledTxB

— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) February 13, 2023

If Kelce can do it against the 49ers, he would notch both a career and single-game mark, as only one tight end has caught 11 passes in a Super Bowl. That was more than 40 years ago, when the Cincinnati Bengals’ Dan Ross did it in a 26-21 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XVI.

MORE: Advantage Chiefs – Teams With Multiple Road Playoff Wins Have Edge in Super Bowl

Kelce already is second on the list of most catches for a tight end in a Super Bowl game with 10, which he recorded in the 31-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers three years ago.

Longest Field Goal

The most surprising thing about the longest field goal in Super Bowl history isn’t its length but rather how long it has stood.

Buffalo’s Steve Christie was the first kicker in Super Bowl history to make a field goal of 50 yards or longer, hitting from 54 in the first quarter of Super Bowl XXVIII at the end of the 1993 season.

Not only has no one topped that in the last 30 years, there have been only six Super Bowl field goals of 50+ yards since then.

• Greg Zuerlein, Rams, 53, 2018
• Harrison Butker, Chiefs, 52, 2020
• Ryan Succop, Buccaneers, 52, 2020
• Jason Elam Broncos, 51, 1997
• John Kasay, Panthers, 50, 2003
• Jeff Wilkins, Rams, 50, 2001

Field goals of 50+ yards are commonplace these days. There was an NFL record 158 of them in the regular season this year, topping the previous mark of 154 in 2022. There were only 120, good for third on the list, in 2021.

Butker is 33 of 46 from 50+ for his career, including 5 of 6 in the postseason. He has 16 career field goals of 54 yards or longer.

San Francisco kicker Jake Moody is a rookie, but he was 3 of 4 from 50+ this year, hitting from 57 and 55.

Hot Start

Last week at Baltimore, Patrick Mahomes completed his first 11 passes to start the game, the most in a conference championship game since Rich Gannon had 13 in a row for the Raiders in 2002.

The Super Bowl record is only nine, which feels reachable not just for Mahomes but Brock Purdy as well. Expect a lot of short passes early as both head coaches try to get their quarterbacks in rhythm.

Purdy got off to a slow start in both the Divisional Round win against the Green Bay Packers and the NFC Championship Game against the Lions, but he got hot late in both contests. Last week against Detroit, he completed his final eight passes.

But again, this prediction is for consecutive completions to start the game. The record of nine was set by Eli Manning in Super Bowl XLVI in the end of the 2011 season.

First Time

There aren’t many firsts left to be accomplished in Super Bowl history after 57 games, but there is one notable one — there has never been a punt returned for a touchdown.

Kansas City’s Kadarius Toney set the Super Bowl record for the longest punt return with a 65-yarder last year against the Philadelphia Eagles, but he was pushed out of bounds at the 5-yard line.

Both the Chiefs and 49ers ranked in the bottom half of the league in punt-return average allowed. Kansas City was 22nd, giving up 10.4 yards per attempt, while San Francisco was tied for 18th (10.0).

It’s TONEY TIME ⏰#PFNSB57 | #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/MD6sYRAmCP

— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) February 13, 2023

Explosive punt returns have been a bit of a trend this season, with eight of them being returned for touchdowns. The last time there were more than that was 2017, when there were 10.

And we saw the first postseason punt return for a touchdown since 2012 when the Houston Texans’ Steven Sims brought one back 67 yards in the Divisional Round loss to the Ravens.

Could this be the year someone brings one all the way back?

If not, a punt return record still could fall. Toney needs 18 punt return yards to be the career Super Bowl leader, surpassing the record of 94 held by San Francisco’s John Taylor.

Longest Time

There has been only one Super Bowl to go to overtime, with the Patriots defeating the Falcons, 34-28, on a James White two-yard touchdown run 4:58 into the extra period.

Everyone is expecting Super Bowl LVIII to be a close game, and if the 49ers and Chiefs go to overtime, they have a good chance of extending the game beyond the 4:58 mark due to the recently introduced rule that allows both teams a chance to possess the ball if the team that gets it first doesn’t score a touchdown.

MORE: Biggest Numbers, Intriguing Wagers, and More for 49ers vs. Chiefs

You can currently get odds of +950 for the game to go into overtime.

As the 2023 NFL season comes to a close, the 2024 NFL Draft is on the horizon. Pro Football Network has you covered with everything from team draft needs to the Top 100 prospects available. Plus, fire up PFN’s Mock Draft Simulator to put yourself in the general manager’s seat and make all the calls!