Football:

Will Patrick Mahomes secure a third Super Bowl title for the Kansas City Chiefs in the last five years, or will Brock Purdy become the first quarterback selected last in the NFL draft to lead a franchise to the promised land?

The oddsmakers in Las Vegas expect a very close game, and they’ve installed San Francisco as a two-point favorite.

The Chiefs have postseason victories over Miami (26-7), Buffalo (27-24) and Baltimore (17-10).

After a first-round bye, the 49ers edged Green Bay (27-24), and one week later, San Francisco overcame a 17-point deficit against Detroit, and claimed a 34-31 victory.

It doesn’t take a Rhodes Scholar to realize that San Francisco’s best shot at claiming its first Super Bowl title in 29 years is to find a way to minimize the damage done by the postseason’s most lethal quarterback-to-tight-end combo, Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce.

On the flip side, there’s no secret that Kansas City wants to contain Christian McCaffrey.

McCaffrey is the NFL leader with 2,023 all-purpose yards (1,459 rushing, 564 receiving).

McCaffrey is also No. 1 in rushing, and he’s nearly 300 yards ahead of second-place, Derrick Henry (1,167).

As mentioned, Purdy was the last pick in the 2022 draft, and two years later, ‘Mr Irrelevant’ has the 49ers playing on the sport’s biggest stage.

He’s had moments that had SF fans shaking their heads, and yet, in crunch time, Purdy has found a way to be a game changer with his arm, and sometimes his legs.

The Super Bowl has too many prop bets to count, but the most ridiculous is whether or not Travis Kelce proposes to Taylor Swift.

If the answer is yes, the odds are plus-1060, and if Kelce doesn’t get down on one knee and pop the question, it’s at minus-3000.

I never give an opinion in these stories, because I like to leave that to the players and coaches from our area, including high schools and JC’s.

As always, here’s hoping for a competitive and entertaining game.

Super Bowl Odds:
Point Spread: SF (-2); KC (+2)
Moneyline: SF (-130); SF (+110)
Over-Under: (47.5)
Mahomes under-over 262.5 passing yards: Yes (-110), No (-110)
Purdy over-under 245.5 passing yards: Yes (-140); No (+114)
Mahomes Over-Under 1.5 passing TD’s: Yes (-140); No (+114)
Purdy Over-Under 1.5 passing TD’s: Yes (-114), No (-106)
Game MVP: Mahomes (+125); Purdy (+225); McCaffrey (+475); Kelce (+1200); Samuel (+2000)
Brock Purdy Over 12.5 rushing yards: (-135)
Isiah Pacheco over 67.5 rushing yards (-115)
Winner of coin toss: SF (-105); KC (-105)
Christian McCaffrey scores game’s first TD (+350)
Christian McCaffrey scores at least one TD (-130)
Isiah Pacheco scores game’s first TD (+550)
Isiah Pacheco scored at least one TD (-130)
Game Goes to Overtime: Yes (+900); No (-1800)
Total Penalties Accepted Over-Under (10.5)
Game’s final (exact) score being SF 14, KC 10 (+50000)

Predictions:

Former SGV Tribune assistant sports editor, Art Wilson:
Winner: SF
Why: The Niners have more weapons on offense, and I expect them to put forth much better showing than vs. Packers and Lions.
Score: 24-16

Longtime SGV sportswriter, Steve Ramirez:
Winner: KC
Why: Patrick Mahomes. I can’t bet against him. He’s playing at a high level right now.
Score: 31-27

Chino coach, Joey LaRosa:
Winner: KC
Why: Both defenses will play well and it will come down to which quarterback can make a play to win the game. You can’t bet against Patrick Mahomes in a clutch situation in a big game. Chiefs do just enough to hang on and beat the 49ers.
Score: 27-24

Mt. SAC coach, Bob Jastrab:
Winner: KC
Why: Flip a coin. Two evenly matched teams. I’m leaning towards KC, because they’ve been there in four of the last five years.
Score: 24-20

Ayala coach, AJ Gracia:
Winner: KC
Why: You don’t bet against Patrick Mahomes.
Score: 27-24

Covina coach, Kevin Glaspy:
Winner: KC
Why: Because they’ve been there, done that.
Score: 31-24

Maranatha coach, Rand Holdren:
Winner: KC
Why: I still can’t believe the Lions had the chance to go up three scores, deflate the stadium even more, and kicking off. The stats for going for it on 4th down are completely skewed as less skilled teams are factored in throughout the season.
49ers will not get the gift they got last game and have to come out fast and keep the ball away from the Chiefs. My prediction is Chiefs.
Score: 27-23

Citrus coach, Brandon Hayashi:
Winner: SF
Why: The 49ers offense is versatile and dynamic, with a multitude of offensive plays. They can run with Deebo, Kittle, Juszczyk, Purdy and Brandon Aiyuk. Their defense is disciplined and they get after it. I think they should do a good job of keeping Patrick Mahomes in the pocket and not allow him to create explosive plays with his feet or be creative and improvise in his scramble. What will hurt the 49ers is if they get away from their identity, which they’ve done in the past and it cost them the Super Bowl, and a playoff loss recently.
Score: 31-24

Bonita coach, Bo Beatty:
Winner: KC
Why: Patrick Mahomes
Score: 28-17

La Salle coach, Ben Buys:
Winner: SF
Why: The 49ers offense & defense will take advantage of their matchups.
Score: 24-17

Rio Hondo Prep coach, Mark Carson:
Winner: SF
Why: The 49ers running game will control the clock.
Score: 23-20

St. Francis coach, Dean Herrington:
Winner: KC
Why: Experience plus Brock Purdy the last two games has thrown four passes that should’ve been intercepted which were dropped. Two of them could’ve been pick-sixes.
Score: 31-21

West Covina coach, Mike Maggiore:
Winner: KC
Why: SF has ridiculous weapons and if Purdy plays well, they can win. I just have more confidence in the ability and experience of Mahomes and Andy Reid. Should be a great game!
Score: 35-28

Former Ayala & Citrus DB, Drew Merrill:
Winner: KC
Why: I have KC winning it. It’s closing to be a close game and can go either way, but at the end of the day, KC has the better quarterback, more championship experience, and a defense that is playing really well.
Score: 34-28

Bonita LB/TE, Noah Mikhail:
Winner: SF
Why: I think San Francisco has an all-around better team.
Score: 31-24

Maranatha quarterback, Luke McNulty:
Winner: SF
Why: I think that Brock Purdy will step up and make big time plays, and I think the 49ers pass rush will be to much for Patrick Mahomes.
Score: 32-17

Maranatha linebacker, Carter Shupper:
Winner: SF
Why: Their offense is super explosive and having one of the best defenses in the league will put them over the top. I think they will get a big stop that changes the game.
Score: 24-14

Ayala FB/LB, Jeshua Hennerty:
Winner: KC
Why: They have Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and Taylor Swift on their side. Plus, I’m a Steelers fan and I can’t have the Niners catching up to us.
Score: 24-21

Ayala RB/DB, Marquis Monroe:
Winner: SF
Why: I’m a niners fan and every time we make it we seem to end up losing. But I think we can pull this one off.
Score: 31-28

Covina WR/DB, Abraham Perez
Winner: KC
Why: KC because they’re more of equally dynamic team than SF. They have a few dudes who can really go and make plays. On top of that, they’re led by a great head coach, and also, their offense is led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who has seen it and done it all already. KC also has a very solid defense and they’re going to make plays on the opposite side of the ball.
Score: 27-20

Covina quarterback, Jake Duronslet:
Winner: KC
Why: KC wins because they have the best player in the world, Patrick Mahomes. He’s been on the biggest stage before and is poised in big-time games. They also have the best defense they’ve had in the Mahomes era.
Score: 28-24

Northview RB/LB, Angel Barraza:
Winner: KC
Why: Because Mahomes makes too many plays with his arm and legs.
Score: 27-21

Glendora RB, Simon Zwick:
Winner: SF
Why: The 49ers have an offensive player of the year in CMC and a Brock Purdy in the MVP in only his second year and first year as a starter. If Deebo is healthy and Aiyuk makes the plays he does, that can all take off stress for the defense and make things easier for them. Only thing the defense needs is for obviously the secondary to show up, but the box to show up, especially Chase Young, because if Young and Bosa both can get to Mahomes, they’ll easily win.
Score: 34-28

Chaffey College LB, Ronald Williams:
Winner: KC
Why: Mahomes is too great, and the 49ers will blow coverages.
Score: 31-21

Chaffey College QB, Dereun Dortch:
Winner: SF
Why: The 49ers defense knows how to stop Mahomes, and no one can stop Deebo or CMC.
Score: 34-21

Rio Hondo Prep RB/LB, Nate Curtis:
Winner: SF
Why: Because of Christian McCaffrey & the 49ers defense as a whole.
Score: 27-17

St. Francis QB, John Sanders:
Winner: KC
Why: I think Mahomes and Kelce are on fire at the right time. I think they’ll have a good game, because they are hard to stop.
Score: 34-21

St. Francis RB, John Calmette:
Winner: SF
Why: The 49ers have weapons all around the field and I don’t think the Chiefs will be able to match them. Also, Brock Purdy is a great leader.
Score: 28-24