Dee Ford Looking Forward to Facing Chiefs in Super Bowl

The 49ers are set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, which should provide a riveting matchup. A matchup that has edge rusher Dee Ford ecstatic to play in since it will be against his former team for all the marbles.
Dee Ford Looking Forward to Facing Chiefs in Super Bowl
Dee Ford Looking Forward to Facing Chiefs in Super Bowl /

SANTA CLARA - Now that the 49ers are set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV, 49ers edge rusher Dee Ford is ecstatic to play since it will be against the team that drafted him.

"Definitely, there is a lot of love in that building. I have a lot of love for the guys in that building," Ford said. "They gave me my opportunity, of course. I am here with a new team. It is going to be a great opportunity, it is going to be like playing my brothers back to training camp days. It is going to be fun."

Ford is sure to be feeling slighted by the Chiefs. Although he ended up getting the contract extension he wanted, the Chiefs basically told him that he was not worth it. The Chiefs would end up trading for Seattle Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark, who they viewed as a significant upgrade. Ford will now have the chance to serve his former team a cold dish of revenge.

And, in a way, the Chiefs can get some revenge on him.

In last year's AFC Championship Game, a mistake by Ford likely prevented the Chiefs from getting to the Super Bowl. Kansas City led New England 28-24. The Patriots were faced with a third-and-10 from the Kansas City 34 with 1:01 left. Tom Brady was intercepted on a pass intended for Rob Gronkowski, but Ford was flagged for lining up offsides.

It led to a wild finish.

The penalty wiped out the pick, the Patriots scored to take a 31-28 lead, the Chiefs tied it with a field goal to send the game into overtime, but New England won the toss and went right down and scored a touchdown, preventing Patrick Mahomes from ever touching the ball. 

Now Ford's new team will face his old team in the Super Bowl.

Kansas City traded Ford to the 49ers for a 2020 second-round pick during the offseason in March. Rather than sign him to an extension or let him walk for nothing, the Chiefs opted to trade him. Ford signed a five-year deal for $87.5 million.

Clearly, the trade has paid off for the 49ers, who have the most feared pass rush in the league. Ford, along with rookie Nick Bosa, give the Niners a pair of rushers who are hard to contain. Injuries limited Ford to just 11 games and 6.5 sacks in his first year in San Francisco, but he returned for the playoffs in the divisonal round against the Vikings and picked up a sack.

Since Ford has deep ties with the Chiefs, there has to be some advantages for him facing off against them. However, Ford remained adamant that the advantage they have is just playing their own game.

"We just got to show up and do what we got to do. I feel like every week is an advantage for us," he said.

The Chiefs will surely have their hands full with Ford, Bosa, and the entire pass rushing crew of the 49ers. If the 49ers want to defeat the Chiefs, then the pass rush will need to play a huge role as it has been for the entire 2019 season.


Published
Jose Luis Sanchez III
JOSE LUIS SANCHEZ III

Jose Luis Sanchez III has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily for FanNation since 2019. He started off as the lead publisher for FanNation's All49ers, then switched positions to become the Deputy Editor in 2020. Sanchez writes, edits, and produces videos daily for All49ers. He also co-hosts a show on YouTube with All49ers lead publisher Grant Cohn weekly. Prior to FanNation, Sanchez started his writing career back in 2016 for the school newspaper at Skyline college where he covered all sports team in the Bay Area. Following that from 2017 to 2019, he found a role as a contributor for FanSided's news desk along with their site's Just Blog Baby covering the Las Vegas Raiders and Golden Gate Sports every professional Bay Area sports team. Atop all of that, he was able to graduate with a Bachelors degree in Communication Studies at San Francisco State University in 2020. Sanchez is committed to ensuring he delivers transparent analysis and straightforward opinions that resonates with readers to get them thinking.