For Super Bowl 58, what does the crystal ball reveal?

Super Bowl LIII is scheduled following a protracted season and postseason. The San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs will square off in their matchup for the Lombardi Trophy in Las Vegas. It looks like Kansas City has moved past its offensive woes from the regular season.

They even prevailed in two away playoff games against the Buffalo Bills and the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens. To go back to the big game, San Francisco, the No. 1 seed in the NFC, had to overcome the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.

This is a rematch of the Super Bowl LIV, which Patrick Mahomes won in his first Super Bowl victory four years ago against Jimmy Garoppolo.As the 49ers’ starting quarterback right now, Brock Purdy (formerly known as Mr. Irrelevant) will become the lowest-drafted quarterback in Super Bowl history.

What can we expect from this matchup? Will there be a lot of points scored or more defense? Who’ll be the MVP of the Super Bowl? Let’s analyze five preliminary picks for the 2023 NFL season’s penultimate match.

Mahomes was knocked down twice against the Ravens last week, but he made history by becoming the first quarterback to go three straight postseason games without being sacked or turning the ball over since the Super Bowl of the previous year. For Steve Wilks’ team, applying pressure to the quarterback will be a priority.

Out of the eight teams that participated in at least two playoff games this year, the 49ers defense ranks sixth in terms of total yards allowed per game, a reflection of their struggles this postseason. Bosa is going to take the initiative to change the game.

Bosa has 10 sacks in 11 postseason games. Once, in their most recent Super Bowl matchup, he got to Mahomes. He reaches the quarterback twice this time.

The game is decided by a crucial drive in the fourth quarter.

The Chiefs were trailing by ten points going into the fourth quarter of their previous Super Bowl game against each other. But Mahomes’ offense rallied with 21 points in a row to win by 11.

This time, there won’t be as much scoring in the last stanza, but Purdy will have the ball and a late opportunity to win the game.

After a Tommy Townsend touchback, the 49ers offense enters the field with two minutes left in the game, down 24-20.

Following a 12-yard pick from Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle’s 10-yard pickup, and Brandon Aiyuk’s 20-yard catch and run, Purdy starts to pick up chunk plays through the air. It appears that San Francisco will succeed in this endeavor.

Purdy did, after all, have two game-winning drives in two playoff games and zero in the regular season. It’s not intended for 49ers supporters, though, as Purdy and Deebo Samuel disagree on a timing route, which results in an interception by Nick Bolton.

Chiefs triumph, but the Under is hit

Although the 49ers were the early favorites against the Chiefs, the odds quickly began to favor Kansas City. Like in the Super Bowl last year, people have come to the realization that getting Mahomes plus money is a sure thing.

Although underdogs are 3-0 against the spread in the previous three Super Bowls, it will be intriguing to watch how the line changes over the course of the next two weeks. All-time favorites are 29-26-2.

Mahomes has a career record of 9-3 straight-up and 10-1-1 ATS as an underdog. In his playoff career, he is also 3-0 SU as an underdog, with two of those victories occurring in the last two weeks.

In the playoffs, the Chiefs have led for 2:05:36. Since 2000, that is a team’s fourth-highest total as they head into the Super Bowl. The 49ers have held the lead for 27:30. Since 2000, that is the shortest lead a team has had going into the Super Bowl.

With 17.3 points per game allowed in the regular season and 13.7 points per game allowed in three postseason games, the Chiefs boast the greatest defense of Andy Reid’s tenure. The Chiefs will establish this squad as a dynasty and won’t throw away the best defense Mahomes has ever had.

I have this game running for that reason as well. This season, the Under is 9-9-1 in 49ers games and 14-6 in Chiefs games.

In contrast to the 49ers, who required an offensive explosion in the second half to even stand a chance against Detroit, the Chiefs defeated the Ravens without needing one.

The MVP of the Super Bowl is Mahomes.

Twelve of the last seventeen MVPs of the Super Bowl have been quarterbacks for the winning squad. In fact, I believed that Damien Williams, not Patrick Mahomes, should have won Super Bowl MVP after Kansas City upset San Francisco back in 2020.

Williams averaged 6.1 yards per carry on 17 rushes, with one touchdown coming through the air and one on the ground, while Mahomes fumbled the ball over twice. However, MVP—whether it’s in the regular season or the Super Bowl—is a quarterback honor.

In a five-year period, Mahomes will become the first player in history to earn three Super Bowl MVP awards. Along with Tom Brady (5) and Joe Montana (3), he would become the third player in NFL history to win three Super Bowl MVPs with another victory.

As rumors about Travis Kelce’s retirement intensify

Kelce is already a legend of the NFL postseason and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Right now, he leads in postseason receptions (156), trails just in playoff receiving yards (1,810), and trails only in playoff receiving touchdowns (19).

Following his third Super Bowl victory, during which he scores a touchdown and is accompanied by Taylor Swift as confetti rains down, Kelce makes a startling statement about his future, stating that he will need some time to consider his options.

This intensifies rumors of Kelce’s impending retirement, and like his brother, he does indeed take a leave of absence this summer.