By MIKE HERNDON
I hate to tell y’all, but I think Kansas City’s about to win this thing again.
I hate to say it because they won it last year. I hate to say it because we’d just finally gotten rid of one dynasty and now we’ll be watching the dawn of another. I hate to say it because poor Kyle Shanahan deserves to be recognized as one of the better offensive minds in the game and not just another a guy who can’t get it done in the postseason.
I don’t hate to say it because of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. I actually so love the thought that all those people who can’t shut up about how much they hate Swift will be thrown into fits of inglorious rage that it makes me forget the previous paragraph.
Regardless, I think Kansas City’s going to win on Sunday.
People have looked at their receivers and their dwindling offensive production and counted them out for much of the year, but what they forget is that this is the best defense that Patrick Mahomes has ever played with. This Chiefs defense is one that can win games itself. And it has.
On paper, the 49ers have a better roster. They, too, have a very good defense, led by Fred Warner, who may be the best inside linebacker in the league (if it’s not Roquan Smith). They too have a strong offensive line and an elite tight end. They also have the best running back in the world and two game-breakers at receiver.
While Isiah Pacheco is no slouch, Kansas City doesn’t have the same kind of weapons.
What it does have, however, is Mahomes, and this is the edge that puts the Chiefs over the top. I’m not one of these people who’ll tell you that Brock Purdy is only a product of the talent around him, but I will refer you to the first halves of San Francisco’s last two games, where he was bad in one and downright awful in the other.
He bounced back in the second halves of both, and Mahomes has also had times when he’s missing throws and the offense is stuck in second gear (like the second half against the Ravens). But although Kansas City’s offense isn’t as explosive as last year, San Francisco’s isn’t running like the Corvette it should be either. If it were, I’d be picking San Francisco.
Another sleepy first half might be too much to overcome against this Chiefs defense, however.
This looks like a game that will be decided in the fourth quarter. And in the fourth quarter I have more trust in Mahomes than Purdy. Greatness usually rises in those late-game situations, and while Purdy has the poise to make things happen when the 49ers fall behind, Mahomes has been making a case to be considered among the greatest this game has ever seen.
A win on Sunday would be another page in that growing file.
The pick: Kansas City 24, San Francisco 21
Categories: NFL
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