Picking the Big Game

I probably shouldn’t offer predictions on the Super Bowl anymore. After picking the Kansas City Chiefs to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-28 in last year’s Big Game, in a game that I predicted would not be settled until the closing minutes, I was shocked to see how close I was. The Chiefs won 3528 in one of the greatest games in Super Bowl history.

Given that, I probably shouldn’t press my luck. But here I am.

Full disclosure, I have adopted the Chiefs as my favorite NFL team. I suppose you could call me a bandwagon fan, but my wife, Lisa, has been a Chiefs fan since long before Patrick Mahomes arrived in Kansas City. And since Lisa adopted my Chicago Cubs, I adopted her Chiefs.

And with the Chiefs back in the Super Bowl to take on the San Francisco 49ers in a rematch of the 2020 game, there’s plenty of local interest. So, here’s how I see this game playing out.

First, I should mention that oddsmakers have San Francisco as a two-point favorite. The 49ers have been favored in every game this season, and there’s no doubt they’re a good football team.

Still, it’s hard to look at any team with a quarterback like Mahomes as an underdog. The spotlight, of course, will be on Mahomes and San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy.

Mahomes is Mahomes. Even on a subpar day, he’s better than just about any other quarterback on the planet. Purdy remains slightly unproven in my mind, although he did keep his composure and made some big plays running and throwing as the 49ers rallied to beat Detroit in the NFC Championship Game.

But while most of the focus surrounding the Chiefs has been on Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, the Kansas City defense has been quietly superb. The Chiefs’ defense frustrated the Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson in the AFC Championship Game and it won’t be a surprise if they find a way to bottle up Purdy and the 49ers.

Mahomes, meanwhile, simply doesn’t make the kind of mistakes that can come back to bite his team. The same can’t be said of his wide receivers, although they seem less prone to dropping the football recently.

For all their regular- season troubles — including a stretch that saw them lose three times in four games — the Chiefs are one game away from bringing home another championship.

I’m not expecting a close game. The 49ers were fortunate to survive against Detroit, and they don’t have that margin for error against Kansas City. And even though comparing scores often isn’t instructive, the 49ers were soundly beaten not long ago by the same Ravens team that lost to Kansas City.

Mahomes will do Mahomes things. Kelce will catch a touchdown pass. The Chiefs defense will force a turnover or two. And the Chiefs will win the Super Bowl, 31-14.

••• Scott Loftis is editor and publisher of the Carroll County News. His email address is SLoftis@Carroll-CoNews.com.