Raheem Mostert

Mostert, 27, dominated the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, scoring four touchdowns and rushing for 220 yards in San Francisco's 37-20 win over the Green Bay Packers.

The 49ers now have two weeks to prepare for their Super Bowl date with the Kansas City Chiefs, giving running back Mostert the chance to reflect on his rough ride to the summit.

The Florida native passed through six franchises before settling with San Francisco in 2016.

"I did have a lot of doubters and naysayers," Mostert told a post-game news conference.

"Now I get to tell them: 'Look where I'm at now.'

"I never gave up on my dream and the opportunities when they presented themselves. I always worked hard no matter what. Before every game, I looked at the cut dates, when I got cut.

"I've been on seven different teams and the journey has been crazy. Not everybody can deal with that type of stress and the pain and agony I went through. I kept the faith in not only myself but whoever gave me the opportunity.

"This organisation has gone a great job with that."

Mostert ran in three TDs to help the 49ers to a 27-0 half-time lead against the Packers and scored his fourth in the third quarter at Levi's Stadium.

San Francisco cornerback Richard Sherman, a Super Bowl champion with the Seattle Seahawks, suggested Green Bay had the wrong mindset after losing 37-8 when the teams met in November.

"I think they were trying to pump themselves up, hype themselves up. They were talking about a revenge game," Sherman said.

"When you stay ready, you don't got to get ready. They were trying to hype themselves like 'man, we're going to be ready this time.'

"You weren't ready the first time and that was in front of the whole country. That was a Sunday night game. It kind of bothered us a little bit – did you not take the game seriously?"

Mostert was injured in the first half of the 49ers' season-opening 41-33 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan had indicated Mostert would be out for eight weeks with chipped knee cartilage.

However, Mostert has elected to go down the route of protecting the long-term health of his knee by having an operation to repair the cartilage.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Mostert wrote: "After consulting with multiple doctors and weighing my options, I will be having season-ending surgery on my knee.

"This gives me, without a doubt in my mind, the best possibility at coming back 110 per cent.

"I have always come back stronger and I will this time too! I have faith in myself, my doctors, my support system, my team and God. He makes no mistakes!!

"I'm gutted. This sucks! This is obviously not what I worked so hard for. I wish more than anything I could be out there on the field with my brothers!!"

Mostert was the starting running back for a 49ers team looking to get back to the postseason after seeing their 2020 season ruined by injuries. The last time they made the playoffs in the 2019 campaign, Mostert propelled them to Super Bowl LIV by rushing for 248 yards and four touchdowns in an NFC Championship Game rout of the Green Bay Packers.

He became the first player to rush for at least 200 yards and four touchdowns in a playoff game, while his 248 yards represented a record for a conference title game.

Yet the 49ers have sufficient if inexperienced running back depth to survive Mostert's absence, as evidenced by the performance of sixth-round rookie Elijah Mitchell, who rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown against the Lions.

Mitchell, JaMycal Hasty and rookie third-round pick Trey Sermon will now share the load in the backfield. The Niners, who also lost cornerback Jason Verrett to a torn anterior cruciate ligament against Detroit, signed former Lions tailback Kerryon Johnson to their practice squad.

Mostert has been out of action since Week 1 of last season due to a knee injury.

The running back and his team-mates are scheduled to report for training camp on Tuesday, and on Monday Mostert used his official Twitter account to declare his fitness.

"Wanted to give you all an update," he wrote on Monday. "Yah Boy is CLEARED!!! It's go time!!"

Mostert has been rehabbing his knee since chipping cartilage in the San Francisco 49ers' 2021 season opener.

He underwent surgery in October and signed a one-year contract with Miami this offseason, reuniting him with first-year coach Mike McDaniel, who served as the 49ers' run game coordinator as well as offensive coordinator in San Francisco from 2017 to 2021.

"Being told you may never step on the field again isn't easy to hear," Mostert went on to write. "But when you bet on yourself, your faith, your determination, and modern medicine, good things happen. Hard work pays off! Beyond thankful!!"

The 30-year-old enjoyed his best season with the 49ers in 2019, when he rushed for 772 yards and eight touchdowns with an average of 5.6 yards per carry – the best by a running back with a minimum of 100 attempts – but injuries have limited him to just nine games these past two seasons.

Now entering his eighth season, Mostert is one of three new running backs signed by the Dolphins this offseason, along with Sony Michel, who led the Super Bowl-winning Los Angeles Rams with 845 rushing yards last year, and Chase Edmonds, who rushed for 592 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry last season for the Arizona Cardinals.

The Dolphins, who brought back Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed from last year's backfield, struggled mightily to move the ball on the ground last season as only the Houston Texans averaged fewer yards per carry than Miami's average of 3.55 and had fewer plays of 10+ rushing yards than Miami's 34.

Known for his speed, Mostert led all running backs with a minimum of 100 rushes in 2019 in percentage of carries gaining at least 10 yards at 16.8 per cent.

Mostert's representative, Brett Tessler, this month revealed his client had requested a trade after "months of unproductive talks" about adjusting his contract.

However, the impasse between the two sides has now ended.

Tessler wrote on Twitter: "Just finalised a new deal for Raheem Mostert with the San Francisco 49ers. Happy we got things worked out and looking forward to him having another great season there. Thanks to the organisation for taking care of him."

Mostert had failed to stick with six different NFL teams before finding a home with the 49ers in 2016.

He enjoyed a stunning second half of the 2019 season as the 49ers reached Super Bowl LIV, where they lost 31-20 after a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback by the Kansas City Chiefs.

No running back in the NFL averaged more than Mostert's 5.6 yards per carry in 2019. 

In the 49ers' NFC Championship game win over the Green Bay Packers, Mostert ran for a franchise-record 220 yards and four touchdowns.

Mostert signed a three-year deal with the 49ers in 2019 and was due to earn $2.875million in 2020.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the reworked deal includes achievable incentives and a signing bonus that mean he can double that salary.

Mostert rushed for 220 yards as he ran in all four of San Francisco's touchdowns to send the team into a February 2 showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs, who earlier beat the Tennessee Titans 35-24.

Jimmy Garoppolo threw just eight times for 77 yards as the 49ers relied on their ground game and a blistering start at Levi's Stadium to win through to their first Super Bowl appearance since 2012.

San Francisco led 27-0 at half-time and, though Aaron Rodgers was able to guide Green Bay back to within striking distance, the home team's only concern will be the shoulder injury that forced Tevin Coleman to sit out the second half.

Star running back Mostert finished the game as the only player in NFL history to record 200 or more rush yards and at least four TDs in a playoff clash.

He began it in ominous fashion, rushing 36 yards to put the 49ers ahead with just under six minutes left on the clock in the first quarter.

Mostert scored twice more either side of Robbie Gould's two field goals before the Packers finally got on the board, Aaron Jones running in after catching a Rodgers pass to complete a 10-play drive.

San Francisco's star running back continued to take his team forward and his fourth TD inside the final five minutes of the third quarter ballooned the margin back out to 27 points.

There was time left for a second Jones score and one from Jace Sternberger to reduce the deficit to 14 points in the fourth, but another Gould field goal and a late Richard Sherman pick made sure of the result.

After an excellent regular season, the 49ers will hope to seize the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the sixth time when they square off against the Chiefs in Miami.

That means if you have already booked your place in the playoffs, then the pressure is off somewhat and you don't have to worry about getting the line-up balance exactly right. 

However, if you are still fighting to get into the postseason, it is all or nothing and having the perfect line-up is imperative. 

Here we try to offer guidance as to who should be starting in this most important of weeks, highlighting four players and one defensive unit that are worthy of being trusted in the regular-season finale.

QB Kirk Cousins - Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings' offense is rolling and Cousins has posted back-to-back 300-yard games in which he has thrown for three touchdowns, though he has lost a fumble in each. 

There is a strong chance that run continues against the one-win Jacksonville Jaguars, who are allowing the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. Look for Cousins to take full advantage of an extremely favourable matchup and further boost Minnesota's playoff hopes.

RB: Raheem Mostert - San Francisco 49ers

Like the Vikings, the 49ers kept their season alive with a win in Week 12, with Mostert marking his return from an ankle injury with a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams. 

It was otherwise tough sledding for Mostert, who finished with 43 yards against a stingy Rams run defense. 

The Buffalo Bills should present a less daunting challenge in that regard. They are 25th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game and only seven teams have conceded more fantasy points to opposing running backs. 

This is a matchup in which Mostert should return to top form.

WR: DeVante Parker - Miami Dolphins

Parker is coming off an eight-catch, 119-yard game against the lowly New York Jets and faces another accommodating defense in Week 13.

The Bengals are allowing 25.1 fantasy points per game to opposing receivers and, after being targeted 14 times in the win over the Jets, Parker is likely to have plenty of opportunities to exploit the Cincinnati defense.

TE: Trey Burton - Indianapolis Colts

For fantasy managers in the unfortunate position of having to consistently stream tight ends, Burton stands out as an excellent option this week.

He has a touchdown in each of his past two games and gets the chance to go against a vulnerable Houston Texans defense that is 23rd in the league in passing yards allowed per game.

D/ST: Pittsburgh Steelers

If you have the Steelers' defense in fantasy, you are starting them. However, it is worth highlighting the extent of the appeal of their Week 13 matchup with the Washington Football Team. 

Washington quarterback Alex Smith has started three games and has been pressured on 29.5 per cent of his dropbacks this season, the second-highest rate in the NFL. He has also been intercepted five times in as many appearances in 2020. 

Pittsburgh lead the NFL with a pressure rate of 33.3 per cent and have the most takeaways in the NFL with 23. The Steelers' defense should feast en route to another victory in a campaign many expect to end in a Super Bowl appearance.

With no Thursday matchup because of the rescheduling caused by recent coronavirus cases, there is a little more time to do the latter ahead of the Sunday slate of games. 

For those with a losing record through five weeks, the time to turn things around is growing shorter, making it especially crucial to pick the right team for Week 6. 

Here is a little guidance with a look at some of the best fantasy options for the upcoming games.

QB: Matthew Stafford – Detroit Lions

Stafford has seven touchdown passes in his last three games and, while his average of 254.3 yards per game is mediocre, the Jacksonville Jaguars defense presents him with a significant opportunity to pad his stats.

Indeed, the Jaguars have given up 30 points in each of their last four games and have allowed 300 yards passing in back-to-back weeks. A quarterback of Stafford's quality should have no problem making it three in a row.

RB: Raheem Mostert – San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers on offense may be tough to trust following their nightmare in the loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 5, but one San Francisco player you can depend on is Mostert.

San Francisco's starting running back has over 100 yards from scrimmage in each of his three games this season and, while the Los Angeles Rams boast a formidable defense, they are susceptible to the run, having surrendered over 100 yards on the ground in four of their five games.

WR: Justin Jefferson – Minnesota Vikings

Rookie first-round pick Jefferson came back down to earth in last Sunday's loss to the Seattle Seahawks as he followed successive 100-yard displays with an effort that saw him record three catches for 23 yards.

The Atlanta Falcons, though, provide the perfect bounce-back opponent for the Minnesota wideout, who has at least five targets in each of his past three games. Interim Falcons head coach Raheem Morris takes charge of a team that is giving up 335.8 passing yards a game and has allowed 15 touchdowns through the air already this year. Theirs is a defense Jefferson should be able to exploit early and often.

TE: Mike Gesicki – Miami Dolphins

Gesicki enjoyed his second-best outing of the season with a five-catch 91-yard display in the shock blowout of the 49ers last week. 

His production this year has been of the boom-or-bust variety, but Gesicki is averaging over five targets a game and, against a porous New York Jets defense ranked a lowly 25th in the NFL against the pass, that kind of share of the workload should be enough for him to produce his third double-digit fantasy performance of the campaign.

D/ST: New England Patriots

While the postponement of the Patriots' game with the Denver Broncos may have been viewed as a hindrance, what it has done is given defensive mastermind Bill Belichick an extra week to prepare for an inferior opponent. 

New England held Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs offense to 19 points in their last encounter. With Broncos starting quarterback Drew Lock a doubt through injury, the Patriots could face a signal-caller in Brett Rypien who threw three interceptions in his debut against the Jets. 

The Broncos are without top receiver Courtland Sutton for the rest of the season and could be missing tight end Noah Fant again in a game most expect them to have to chase. That is a recipe for a strong defensive showing from the Patriots.

The Patriots, who drop to 0-2 for the first time since coach Bill Belichick’s second season in charge in 2001, mustered just three points in the first three quarters as Tua Tagovailoa connected with Tyreek Hill for a 17-3 Dolphins lead.

A touchdown pass from Mac Jones to Hunter Henry and a Rhamondre Stevenson touchdown run, either side of Mostert’s second score from 43 yards, cut the gap to seven points.

But after Miami had missed a late field goal, a final home drive was cut short in the final minute when Cole Strange was ruled short of a first down on review when Mike Gesicki flipped the ball back inside after catching a fourth down pass.

Elsewhere, Daniel Jones threw for two touchdowns and 321 yards as the New York Giants fought back to stun the Arizona Cardinals 31-28.

Having lost their opening game 40-0 to the Dallas Cowboys, the Giants shipped another 20 points without reply in the first half and trailed 28-7 in the third quarter.

Saquon Barkley caught one touchdown pass and ran for another as the Giants completed their biggest comeback since 1949 with Graham Gano’s last-minute field goal.

The Cowboys continued their hot start to the season as they inflicted more misery on New York sides.

Dak Prescott threw for two touchdowns as the Cowboys followed their record-breaking opening win with a 30-10 success over the Jets.

Zach Wilson, starting at quarterback for the Jets after star signing Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending Achilles tendon injury, was intercepted and sacked three times each.

The Washington Commanders are 2-0 for the first time in 12 years as they came from behind and survived a dramatic finish to beat the Denver Broncos 35-33.

Denver opened a 21-3 lead in the second quarter, but Sam Howell threw for two touchdowns as the Commanders rallied to lead 35-27 after a Broncos safety was thrown out for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Logan Thomas in the end zone.

Russell Wilson’s 50-yard Hail Mary pass as time ran out bounced off several players before Brandon Johnson claimed the touchdown, but the Broncos could not connect from much nearer on the game-tying two-point conversion attempt.

Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs bounced back from their opening-week loss to the Detroit Lions, sacking Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence four times in a 17-9 win.

The Lions were brought back down to earth from that opening success as Geno Smith’s second touchdown pass to Tyler Lockett sent them crashing to a 37-31 defeat in overtime to the Seattle Seahawks.

Cincinnati Bengals, the AFC North champions, slipped to 0-2 as they went down 27-24 to division rivals the Baltimore Ravens.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw for two touchdown passes as opposite number Joe Burrow, who also threw for two touchdowns, appeared to aggravate a calf injury.

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua set a rookie record with 15 catches in a game, but it was not enough to stop the San Francisco 49ers chalking up a second win of the season 30-23.

The Chicago Bears slipped to a franchise-record 12th-straight defeat in a 27-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while the Tennessee Titans ended an eight-game losing run as veteran Nick Folk kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime to clinch a 27-24 win over the winless San Diego Chargers.

The Buffalo Bills eased to a 38-10 win over the Las Vegas Raiders – keeping last year’s leading rusher Josh Jacobs to minus two yards – while Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud was sacked six times and hit nine more as they lost 31-20 to the Indianapolis Colts.

And a 25-yard field goal from Younghoe Koo edged the Atlanta Falcons to a 25-24 win over the Green Bay Packers, rookie Bijan Robinson rushing for 124 yards and catching four passes for the Falcons.

Though the Niners are viewed as the team with the vaunted defense, and the Chiefs the explosive offense, the reality is San Francisco scored more points per game during the regular season (29.9 to 28.2) while Kansas City allowed fewer (19.3 to 19.4).

To preview Super Bowl LIV, we used Stats Perform's advanced analytics and data analysis to profile the area where the game is likely to be won and lost - in the trenches.

SAN FRANCISCO'S FRONT FOUR v KANSAS CITY'S OFFENSIVE LINE

The Chiefs have aired the ball out on offense over the past two postseasons, and Patrick Mahomes' career playoff passer rating is 115.00 - the highest of all time among quarterbacks with at least 100 passing attempts.

He might be slowed down if the Niners' front four can continue their excellent pass-rushing production across the regular season and playoffs, though.

According to Stats Perform's metric for adjusted pressure on pass-rush opportunities, rookie Nick Bosa has generated pressure 26.6 per cent of time this season - way higher than his expected pressure rate of 13.1 per cent.

Former Chief Dee Ford, used almost exclusively as a situational pass rusher, also performs well (26.1 per cent compared to an expected pressure rate of 12.4 per cent), while both DeForest Bucknerand Arik Armstead(19.8 per cent and 18.8 per cent) also way exceeded their expected pressure rate (10.8 and 11.5 per cent).

Mahomes' two tackles will therefore be key, and while one has excelled, the other has struggled.

Right tackle Mitchell Schwartz has allowed pressures on only 6.23 per cent of his 369 pass-protection opportunities, having been expected to give up pressure on 10.74 per cent of those snaps.

Schwartz has performed way better than the Niners' two bookends Joe Staleyand Mike McGlinchey in the allowed pressures category (10.08 per cent and 10.73 per cent).

However, where Bosa et al may have more joy is against former first-overall pick Eric Fisher. The left tackle, who only played half of the regular-season games due to injury, allowed pressure on 17.50 per cent of his 160 pass-protection opportunities - considerably higher than any offensive lineman playing on Sunday.

Look for 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to attack the weakness on that Chiefs line - Mahomes' blindside.

SAN FRANCISCO'S RUSHING ATTACK V KANSAS CITY'S RUN STUFFERS

This postseason the 49ers have 44.5 rushing attempts per game - the most of any team in a single postseason since 1976. The Niners clearly want to run the ball. A lot.

The men tasked with clogging up gaps and making that a less-than-appealing strategy are Kansas City's defensive tackles Chris Jones, Derrick Nnadi and Mike Pennel.

When it comes to Stats Perform's run-disruptions metric - which measures how often a player disrupts a designed run play - Jones and Pennel excel.

From his 184 run snaps, Jones has produced disruptions 27.2 per cent of the time, considerably more than his expected disruption rate of 15.3 per cent.

Pennel, who has proven to be a nice pickup since joining in October, produced disruptions on 27.3 per cent of his 55 run snaps, with Nnadi at 19.8 per cent.

When it comes to the 49ers' rushing attack, San Francisco tend to ride the hot hand. Matt Breida led the team in yardage on the ground in September, Tevin Coleman had that honour in October and November, and Raheem Mostert has been the most productive back in December and the postseason.

Mostert has had 194 touches of the ball in the regular season and playoffs - more than any other skill-position player involved at Super Bowl LIV.

He has forced missed tackles on 24.2 per cent of those touches, the second best among running backs in the NFL.

Should he be asked to carry the load in Miami, he may be advised to run away from Jones and Pennel.