Five predictions for the Super Bowl in early 2024, when the Chiefs and 49ers face off in Las Vegas

Super Bowl LVIII is upon us as the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers battle for the Lombardi Trophy in Las Vegas. The Chiefs appear to have overcome their offensive difficulties in the regular season and even won two playoff games on the road as underdogs against the Buffalo Bills and the number 1 seed Baltimore Ravens. As for the 49ers, the NFC's No. 1 seeds made it back to the Big Game against the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.

This is a rematch of Super Bowl LIV four years ago, where Patrick Mahomes defeated Jimmy Garoppolo to earn his first Super Bowl victory. Brock Purdy is at the center of the 49ers these days and as the former “Mr. Irrelevant,” he will be the worst-lined quarterback to ever start a Super Bowl. What does this duel have in store for us? Will there be more points or more defense? Who will be Super Bowl MVP? Let's break down five early predictions for our final game of the 2023 NFL season.

Last week, Mahomes became the first quarterback not to be sacked or turn the ball over in three straight playoff games since last year's Super Bowl, but was sacked twice against the Ravens. A focus of Steve Wilks' unit will be putting pressure on the quarterback.

The 49ers' defense has struggled this postseason, allowing an average of 386 yards per game, which ranks sixth among the eight teams that have played at least two playoff games this year. Bosa will take it upon himself to change the game. In 11 playoff games, Bosa has recorded 10 sacks. He met Mahomes once during their last Super Bowl meeting. This time he reaches the quarterback twice.

The game comes down to a crucial drive in the fourth quarter

In the last Super Bowl matchup between these two teams, the Chiefs trailed by 10 points early in the fourth quarter. However, Mahomes' offense scored 21 unanswered points and won by 11 points. This time we won't see as many points in the final stanza, but the ball will be in Purdy's hands with a chance to win the game late.

With two minutes left in the game, the game was down 24-20 and the 49ers offense took over the field after a touchback from Tommy Townsend. Purdy begins making chunk plays through the air, first on a screen from Christian McCaffrey that picks up 12 yards, followed by a 10-yard pickup from George Kittle and then a 20-yard catch-and-run from Brandon Aiyuk. It looks like San Francisco can do it. Finally, Purdy had no game-winning drives in the regular season and two game-winning drives in two playoff games. However, it is not intended for 49ers fans as Purdy and Deebo Samuel are not on the same page regarding the timing route, which results in a Nick Bolton interception.

The Chiefs win while the Unders strike

The 49ers emerged as slight favorites over the Chiefs, but the line immediately began moving toward Kansas City. People realize that Mahomes winning with plus money is an automatic bet, just like it was in the Super Bowl last year. It will be interesting to see how the line develops over the next two weeks, but the underdogs are 3-0 against the spread in the last three Super Bowls. Favorites are 29-26-2 all-time.

Mahomes is 10-1-1 ATS and 9-3 straight in his career as an underdog. As an underdog in his playoff career, he is also 3-0 SU, with two of those wins coming in the last two weeks.

The Chiefs led 2:05:36 this postseason. This is the fourth-best value by a team that has reached the Super Bowl since 2000. The 49ers lead 27:30. This is the shortest time a team has led since 2000 to reach the Super Bowl. The Chiefs also boast the best defense of the Andy Reid era, with 17.3 points allowed per game in the regular season and 13.7 points allowed per game in three postseason contests. The Chiefs won't miss out on the best defense Mahomes has ever had and will solidify this team as a dynasty.

This is also the reason why I fail this game. The under is 14-6 in Chiefs games this year and 9-9-1 in 49ers games. The Chiefs didn't need an offensive explosion to beat the Ravens, while the 49ers needed to generate an offensive explosion in the second half to have a chance against Detroit.

Mahomes wins Super Bowl MVP

A whopping 12 of the last 17 Super Bowl MVPs were the quarterbacks of the winning team. In fact, I thought when Kansas City beat San Francisco in 2020, Damien Williams should have won the Super Bowl MVP, not Mahomes. Mahomes turned the ball over twice while Williams averaged 6.1 yards per carry on 17 carries, scoring once on the ground and once through the air. But MVP is a quarterback award, be it in the regular season or the Super Bowl.

I expect Mahomes to become the first player to win three Super Bowl MVPs in five years. Another Super Bowl MVP would make him the third player in NFL history to win three Super Bowl MVPs, joining Joe Montana (3) and Tom Brady (5).

Speculation about Travis Kelce's retirement is growing

Kelce is already a Pro Football Hall of Famer and also an NFL postseason legend. He currently ranks second in playoff receptions (1,810), first in playoff receptions (156), and second in playoff receiving touchdowns (19).

After his third Super Bowl win, in which he scores a touchdown with Taylor Swift by his side as confetti falls from the sky, Kelce makes a shocking comment about his future and says he's going to take some time to think about it , what comes next. That fuels speculation about retirement, and Kelce ends up retiring this offseason, just like his brother.