The San Francisco 49ers have had to overcome a lot in the postseason, recovering from self-inflicted wounds and overturning fourth-quarter deficits in the postseason to secure a place in Super Bowl 58.

Their reward for such endeavors would appear on the surface to be a dubious one, San Francisco dealt the hand of having to once again face the Kansas City Chiefs and their quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the man who broke their hearts at the same stage four years ago and who is regarded already by many as the best quarterback to ever play the game.

Mahomes is the ultimate equalizer in a matchup that would otherwise appear to greatly favor the 49ers, but there is no frustration on the part of linebacker Dre Greenlaw at having to go through him to lift the Lombardi Trophy.

To the contrary, it is the exact circumstances Greenlaw desired.

"That's exactly who you want to face," Greenlaw put bluntly when asked by A to Z Sports on Wednesday about the prospect of taking on Mahomes at the end of such a dramatic playoff campaign.

Greenlaw and his linebacker running mate Fred Warner will be critical to the 49ers in restricting Mahomes' opportunities to attack the middle of the field. No linebacking duo in the league does a better job of squeezing the throwing windows for opposing quarterbacks, but the task of doing so is substantially harder against a passer who has shown the ability to fit the ball into almost any lane.

"All I can do is do my job man," said Greenlaw of the challenge of stopping Mahomes. 

"I can't stop every throw but I can do my job and, the part of the field that I am in I gotta do my job on it so I'm gonna do my job on it. I think the mindset is if everybody does their job, I think we're going to be alright."

The calm Greenlaw expressed when quizzed about the task he and the defense face is in part reflective of the substantial big-game experience he now has under his belt. Greenlaw is one of just eight 49ers on the active roster who played in the Super Bowl 54 loss to the Chiefs, and his mental approach this time around will be markedly different to when the then fifth-round rookie lined up to take on Kansas City in Miami.

"Definitely a different type of focus," he added of his difference in mentality from 2020. "Definitely a better, more stronger, just locked in for sure."

The 49ers haven't succeeded in staying locked in for a full 60 minutes on defense during this postseason. Against a quarterback feared across the league, Greenlaw and his teammates know they have no alternative but to do so if they want to finally get over the hump.

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