MITCHELL HORUCY
Asst. Sports Editor
In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the NFL is down to its final game of the season.
Throughout the past 22 weeks, 32 teams have battled it out on the gridiron.
The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers are the last two teams standing.
Despite my personal feelings for these teams, this is going to be a great game.
The 49ers have been widely regarded as the best team in the NFC all season.
On the other side, after a shaky season, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce put it together and have been stellar in the playoffs.
The defense has also been lights out under play-caller Steve Spagnuolo.
He’ll need to call a great game to combat the ultra-talented San Francisco offense.
Led by head coach Kyle Shanahan, this offense is loaded with players.
With Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, at the helm, there’s talent at every position.
Joining him in the backfield is my pick for MVP, Christian McCaffrey, along with first-team All-Pro fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
The team also has a ton of talent catching passes with players such as Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle.
When it comes to the Chiefs offense, it’s not ridiculous to say that this is the worst it’s been with Patrick Mahomes.
With that being said, like I mentioned before, they’re starting to click at the right time.
Mahomes and Kelce are looking like the best quarterback-receiver duo in football again.
The offensive line is playing stellar, allowing only two sacks in the playoffs, while averaging 127 yards on the ground.
Both defenses have been stellar for most of the season, and have made plays when it mattered in the playoffs.
I think the X-factor of the game will be if the Chiefs wide receivers can make a play.
In both the divisional round and conference championship, a Chiefs wide receiver has made a big play to change the game.
In the divisional round game, Marquez Valdes-Scantling only made two catches, but both were huge.
He made a 32-yard catch to set up the Chiefs inside the redzone, which led to a touchdown.
He also made a 30-yard catch on the first play of the second half to set up another touchdown.
In the AFC championship game, the same receiver, Valdes-Scantling only had two catches once again.
However, his second catch was a 32-yard catch on third-and-nine to seal the win for the Chiefs.
He, or one of their other receivers, will have to make a play, not just Travis Kelce.
Kelce will also have an interesting matchup with the 49ers.
The 49ers have linebackers Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, widely regarded as the best linebacker duo in the league.
They will have a huge impact on the game as they try to keep not only Kelce, but the run game, including Mahomes’ legs, in check.
For the 49ers, the biggest X-factor will be if Brock Purdy can play a clean game or not.
After a tremendous start to the season, he has 11 interceptions in his last 13 games.
If he can play a turnover-free, mistake-free game, it will be hard for the 49ers to lose.
As for a prediction, it’s very difficult to predict how this game will go.
The Chiefs defense could turn Purdy over early and take over the game.
At the same time, Purdy could come out slinging it, get the run game going and keep Mahomes off the field.
No matter who I pick, I’m not going to be confident with my selection.
With that being said, I’m going to pick the San Francisco 49ers as your Super Bowl 58 champions.
I think the 49ers run the ball well and let CMC eat.
This will set up the play-action game well and allow Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel to get out in space and make plays.
For the defense, I think they create one turnover or get a big fourth down stop and steal a possession.
I think Christian McCaffrey wins Super Bowl MVP as he goes for over 150 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns.
At the time of writing, the O/U is at 47.5, and I predict that the score goes over that number.
The 5th Quarter Super Bowl Predictions!
Tune into the 5th Quarter on 88.9 WCVF and streaming on fredoniaradio.com.
Current Standings: (not a good week for the boys)
Mitch: 8-4
Matt: 7-5
Parker: 6-6
San Francisco vs Kansas City (Sunday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. on CBS)
Favorite: San Fran. -2
Mitch: 28-23 San Francisco
Parker: 31-23 San Francisco
Matt: 24-20 San Francisco