Super Bowl LIV X-factors

Coleman started the 49ers' first two playoff games but suffered a dislocated shoulder and may not get in a full practice before the Super Bowl. While the former Falcons off-the-bench back has vowed to return from what Kyle Shanahan called a "Lethal Weapon" injury, an upper-body injury produced pain immense enough to necessitate a cart. Coleman's shoulder was out of place for nearly a half-hour. He will be a re-injury risk, making the 49ers' deep backfield — which also was supposed to include the highly paid Jerick McKinnon, who is missing a second straight season — important come Sunday.

Said backfield depth features an overqualified third man. Breida averaged north of 5 yards per carry for a second straight season. He, Coleman and Raheem Mostert all eclipsed 540 rushing yards in the regular season, and Breida can be a game-breaker. He of 4.38-second speed, the 2017 undrafted free agent clocked the fastest max speed on a carry this season. His 83-yard TD run against the Browns came in at 22.3 mph. A healthy Breida is probably a better option than a compromised Coleman, so the previous odd man out in the 49ers backfield could be a key factor in Miami.

McCoy has not played since Week 15, seeing extremely limited duty as Andy Reid gave Damien Williams nearly every snap over his old Eagles starter. McCoy has played one playoff snap. The 31-year-old veteran would at least be fresh and laps the field for accolades with six Pro Bowls. McCoy did take his average from 3.2 in a dreadful 2018 Bills season to 4.6 and has four touchdowns as a Chief. In what will likely be his final game with the team, Shady will await word about suiting up for his first Super Bowl.

Having perhaps the NFL's most difficult name to spell, Juszczyk will test FOX's graphics crew. He is the NFL's second-most-used fullback and will play often Sunday night. A Pro Bowler in each of his three 49ers years, Juszczyk (20 receptions, 239 yards) is averaging 12 yards a catch. With the Chiefs' linebackers not known for their coverage skills, Kyle Shanahan may have a couple of plays set up in the game plan. His offense is one of the few left with fullback throws involved; it might be a while before another fullback would have Super Bowl plays schemed for him.

The Chiefs traded up to take what seemed like a replacement for the again-embattled Tyreek Hill, but with Hill avoiding suspension, he and Hardman formed the NFL's fastest receiver tandem. The Pro Bowl return man averaged a noticeable 20.7 yards per catch and is a game-breaker as a wideout, kick returner and punt returner. The second-round rookie, who notched a 21.87-mph max-speed TD sprint in November, is perhaps Super Bowl LIV's ultimate X-factor. As a WR3, he will test a 49ers team that must devote greater resources to slowing Hill.

The lesser-known of Kansas City's two guards has enjoyed a productive season. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif's wingman (guard wingman, but still) graded as Pro Football Focus' 21st-ranked guard. A replacement for Zach Fulton after he defected to Houston in 2018, Wylie has proved to be a superior pass blocker than road grader in his two years as a starter. Assignments against DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead will test the former undrafted free agent. Faring well in Super Bowl LIV will put Wylie on the radar for a Chiefs extension or future free agency payday.

After Weston Richburg's season-ending injury, the 49ers turned to a career-long utility man up front. Garland, who played for Shanahan in Atlanta and suited up for Super Bowl LI as a backup, has graded well. PFF slots the 31-year-old swing man as its No. 12-graded center. He will be tested too. Chris Jones is one of the NFL's best inside pass rushers, and Mike Pennel has enjoyed a nice run-defense season. Garland, though, helped the 49ers amass 471 rushing yards in the playoffs. The former Bronco UDFA is a quality second-stringer plenty capable of spot starts.

Another player with past Super Bowl experience. Wisniewski was an Eagles guard starter in Super Bowl LII but is now working as the Chiefs' top center. Promoted late in the season, Wisniewski has started four games. He has started 103 games in his time with the Raiders, Jaguars, Eagles and Chiefs. Like Garland, Wisniewski was a good get as a depth piece and will play a key role against the 49ers' Buckner-Armstead passing-down interior.

Despite Ford's name set to come up often this week, given his Chiefs past including one of the costliest penalties in NFL history, he warrants X-factor status because of part-time usage. The 49ers traded a 2020 second-round pick for the edge rusher, but a litany of injuries limited him. The 49ers have the former first-rounder back after persistent hamstring trouble, and he registered a sack against the Vikings. But Ford saw only 281 regular-season snaps. Although Ford has 7.5 sacks, he's been well off his 2018 Pro Bowl form. But as an overqualified backup, Ford will have plenty to prove in this game.

In a similar situation to James Harrison two years ago, another once-dominant edge rusher landed on a Super Bowl-bound team. Only unlike Harrison, who went unclaimed on waivers, Suggs had four teams claim him. The Chiefs have ramped up T-Sizzle's workload, playing him on 51 percent of their snaps against the Titans. The seven-time Pro Bowler has logged a sack and three QB hits in four Chiefs games and will play in his second Super Bowl. With the Chiefs losing previous Frank Clark sidekicks Alex Okafor and Emmanuel Ogbah, Suggs falling into their lap proved quite fortunate.

Kansas City used second-round picks on edge defenders in back-to-back drafts. With Breeland Speaks out for the year, 2017 second-rounder Kpassagnon has stepped into a rotational role. In by far his most active season, Kpassagnon became a starter after the losses of Okafor and Ogbah and came through with two sacks of Ryan Tannehill in the AFC title game. The former size-speed project out of Villanova has six sacks and 14 QB hits this season and has played at an 80 percent-plus clip in each playoff game. Thanks to Clark and Chris Jones' presences, he will see one-on-one matchups.

While he has not delivered on his lofty draft slot, the 2017 No. 3 overall pick is slightly overqualified for "other guy" status on a 49ers defensive line with five first-round picks. The 49ers drafted Thomas after trading the No. 2 overall pick to the Mitch Trubisky-enamored Bears, in John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan's first selection. The Stanford alum has just seven sacks in three seasons, counting the one he collected against Minnesota in the divisional round. But Thomas notched 10 tackles for loss as a rookie and can line up outside or inside. He will have some chances to stand out Sunday.

The former Packers and Jets rotational man found a home as a Chiefs part-timer. Signed to a two-year Patriots deal in March, Pennel did not make their 53-man roster and toiled on the in-season workout circuit for weeks. The Chiefs added him in October and have seen him play quality run defense since arriving. While the Chiefs ended the regular season as DVOA's No. 29 run defense, the veteran defensive tackle helped the Chiefs end a brutal early-season run — when four straight opponents exceeded 180 rushing yards. The Chiefs held both the Texans and Titans to sub-100-yard rushing days and will need Pennel in this matchup.

Alexander's $13.5 million-per-year contract should disqualify him from this list, but he has made the rare (yet suddenly trendy, thanks in part to J.J. Watt) in-season return from a pectoral muscle tear. The former Buccaneers tackling machine started at outside linebacker in each of the 49ers' two playoff games and played 54 percent of the snaps against the Vikings. With two weeks of additional rest, Alexander should be ready to assume a bigger workload against the Chiefs. Alexander, who made 145 tackles in 2016, was a full-timer before this injury but has seen injuries hijack his past two seasons.

Although Tyrann Mathieu and Frank Clark have done well on big contracts GM Brett Veach authorized in 2019, the Chiefs exec's 2018 expenditures have not been as reliable. Hitchens and Sammy Watkins have not justified their contracts. After signing a $9 million-per-year deal, the ex-Cowboys starter has been exposed in coverage and subpar at the run-defense skill that helped him stand out in Dallas. PFF graded Hitchens as the second-worst run-defending linebacker this season. He will likely be a target for Kyle Shanahan to exploit in the Super Bowl.

The 49ers made an 11th-hour change opposite Richard Sherman, benching the struggling Ahkello Witherspoon for Moseley. A 2018 UDFA out of Tennessee, Moseley took over early in the Vikings win and started against the Packers. San Francisco's right corner intercepted Aaron Rodgers, setting up one of Raheem Mostert's four TDs. Stationed in Robert Saleh's Seattle-based Cover-3 scheme, Moseley will be tasked with slowing the Chiefs' explosive aerial attack. He started nine regular-season games, with Witherspoon injured, but Patrick Mahomes will surely look to test him.

Fellow UDFA Williams patrols the slot for San Francisco. He has enjoyed a low-key decent career, given his draft status and relative anonymity. This marks Williams' third season as a 49ers regular, and PFF grades him as 2019's best pure slot cornerback. Williams held receivers to the lowest average depth of target figure in the league among full-time corners in the regular season and sacked Rodgers in the playoffs. But with Tyreek Hill often stationed in the slot, the 28-year-old defender will face a uniquely tough matchup — even in a zone scheme. 

The Chiefs acquired Fuller from the Redskins — in the Alex Smith trade — after a strong 2017 as a slot cornerback, but he has done several different jobs in Kansas City. Fuller has played more as a safety as of late. Reviews have been mixed for the hybrid player in Kansas City, but the former third-round pick gives the Chiefs more speed on the field. However, with the 49ers rushing for 285 yards in the NFC title game and believers in the fullback, will the Chiefs be forced to use more base sets to match up in the run game? 

Tartt missed the 49ers' final four regular-season games but returned for the playoffs. However, the rib injury that shelved him in December recurred against the Packers. While Tartt is expected to face the Chiefs, the 49ers cannot afford to lose bodies against the game's most frightening passing attack. Tartt missed 15 games from 2017-18 with injuries as well but has been a 49ers first-stringer since being a 2015 second-round pick. PFF views Tartt as a middle-of-the-pack safety, but the 49ers certainly believe in him.

Similar to Tartt, Sorensen has been a role player on one team for several years. However, since second-round rookie Juan Thornhill's season-ending injury, Sorensen has been summoned for full-time duty. The Chiefs used him on every defensive snap in the playoffs, but a special teams snap — which resulted in Sorensen snuffing out a Texans fake punt, preceding a frenzied comeback — may have swung the AFC bracket. (Oh, and also this still-legal hit on Ryan Tannehill: also of note.) The 49ers will likely attempt to go after the ex-BYU UDFA, however.