Las Vegas –

Eight teams have earned back-to-back Super Bowl victories, and the Kansas City Chiefs are in line to become the first in 19 seasons if they can turn away the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday.

The same two teams met in the Super Bowl four years ago, and this year's game will feature Chiefs coach Andy Reid opposing 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan again. The Chiefs won that game 31-20.

"The 49ers have a lot of talent," Reid said. "They're a better team than the one we played (in 2020)."

This will be the fourth rematch of Super Bowl coaches, and the victor of the first meeting has won all three times.

That is a positive omen for Reid, who is trying to become the fifth head coach to win at least three Super Bowl titles.

The 65-year-old is closing in on all-time legends on the career wins list and is 2-2 in Super Bowls, including his victory over the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. He gives an immense amount of credit to two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and a reconstructed defense for getting to the big game this season.

In three career games against the 49ers (regular season and postseason), Mahomes is 3-0 with 1,023 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions.

"I think the quarterback is as hard to beat as anyone who's ever played the game," Shanahan said. "The things he can do from a talent standpoint and then you pair that up with his scheme with Andy, how Andy runs a team with Mahomes' experience now. That's why no matter what type of game it is, whether it's low-scoring, high-scoring, whether they're struggling or not, they always have a chance."

Mahomes — 14-3 in 17 career playoff games — will be the youngest quarterback to start four Super Bowls at age 28.

A win on Sunday would give Mahomes his third title — something only five other quarterbacks have accomplished — and keep him ahead of Tom Brady's record pace. Brady had seven wins in 10 appearances and was 30 when he started his fourth Super Bowl.

"I mean, I'm not even close to halfway (to Brady's Super Bowl wins record)," said Mahomes, who lost head-to-head matchups against Brady in the AFC title game in 2018 and Super Bowl LV in after the 2020 season. "So right now, it's doing whatever I can to beat a great 49ers team and trying to get that third ring. And then, if you ask me that question in like 15 years, then I'll see if I can get close to seven. But seven seems like a long ways away still."

The 49ers won't see many familiar faces on the defensive side for Kansas City, which retains only defensive tackle Chris Jones and replaced 10 other starters from the unit that started Super Bowl LIV.

But these aren't the old 49ers, either.

San Francisco's new look includes changes at quarterback and running back. Christian McCaffrey, acquired via trade from the Carolina Panthers, finished tied for the NFL lead with 21 total touchdowns in the regular season and is an MVP finalist alongside quarterback Brock Purdy.

Purdy was the Mr. Irrelevant of the 2022 NFL draft, when he was the final pick, but has surged into stardom with a 21-5 combined record in the regular season and playoffs the past two seasons. He underwent elbow surgery after getting hurt in last year's NFC championship game, and now he has the 49ers in their eighth Super Bowl, tied for second most in league history. San Francisco is shooting for its sixth Lombardi Trophy, which would match the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots for the record.

Purdy is preparing for his first Super Bowl and has received advice from legendary 49ers signal-caller Joe Montana, who downplayed the need for San Francisco's quarterback to steal the show.

"You've got a good team around you, just go through the reads and what Kyle's calling and trust in Kyle," Purdy said of Montana's guidance. "You don't need to be this superstar or anything. If you go out and do your job, you've got a good team around you and you guys can win that way."

Shanahan's father, Mike, won back-to-back Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos following the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Kyle Shanahan lost his only title opportunity as a head coach in the first matchup with Reid, and he was the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons when the team lost to Brady and the Patriots in the Super Bowl after the 2016 season.

"I've been able to coach in two Super Bowls and to lose either of them, both of them are heartbreaking," Kyle Shanahan said.

Purdy and McCaffrey aren't the only key factors facing Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who can become the first four-time Super Bowl champion coordinator in NFL history. The Chiefs' defense has some serious chops, ranking second in the NFL in points per game (17.3 average) but is well behind the 49ers in turnover margin. San Francisco was plus-10, and Kansas City was minus-11.

The Chiefs' defense, however, has been better this postseason, holding the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens to a combined total of 41 points.

"We focus on the points allowed, our third down, red zone, turnovers, two-minute, all the situational things," Spagnuolo said. "Let's face it: The No. 1 job of any defensive unit is to limit the amount of points that are scored. That gives your team a chance to win."

Jones and cornerback Trent McDuffie were named first-team All-Pros in 2023.

The Chiefs lean on cornerback L'Jarius Sneed to erase the No. 1 receiver on the opposing team, as he did with Miami's Tyreek Hill in the wild-card round and Buffalo's Stefon Diggs in the divisional playoffs.

Figuring out which 49ers playmaker is most dangerous is a crapshoot.

In addition to Purdy clearing 4,000 passing yards, San Francisco had McCaffrey top 2,000 yards from scrimmage, while three of his teammates — wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel and tight end George Kittle — went over 1,000 total yards

"They're the best I've ever seen," Jones said. "This is the biggest challenge we've faced so far."

The run-up to Sunday's blockbuster clash has been dominated by stories surrounding the relationship between pop superstar Taylor Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce, the Chiefs tight end.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big Taylor Swift fan, but I think that it's not her fault that they (TV broadcasts) keep showing her and I think she's great for the game," said Donna Collier, a 61-year-old football fan from Kentucky.

"More women need to watch NFL. We need to get more involved in sports. I think it's great ... so go, Taylor," she laughed.It is still not known for sure whether or not Swift will attend Sunday’s showdown.

A regular at Chiefs games all season, she could miss the biggest game of all due to scheduling conflicts with her "Eras Tour" which has her performing in Tokyo on Feb. 10, the night before the Super Bowl.