Add Brian Baldinger to the list of prognosticators rolling with the underdog.
The Chiefs eye their third Super Bowl win in the last five years Sunday when they take on the 49ers at Allegiant Stadium. San Francisco was the top seed in the NFC and arguably the best team in the NFL this season before a couple of close calls in the playoffs.
Kansas City, meanwhile, was hardly the dominant force they typically have been in recent memory. But the Chiefs flipped the switch in the playoffs, grinding through a tough playoff slate that saw them earn wins over the Dolphins, Bills and Ravens – the latter two coming on the road.
Patrick Mahomes has been in peak form this postseason, a reminder of how lethal the Mahomes-Andy Reid combo can be. The defense has been even more impressive though, with Steve Spagnuolo putting KC’s unit in position to stymie three of the league’s best offenses in January.
Still, the Chiefs enter the game as the betting underdog – a baffling notion for some given their recent form and repeated trips to the title game. Baldinger isn’t closing the door on picking the Niners once he watches some more film, but until then, the Audacy NFL insider is going with the Chiefs.
“I just can’t go against Mahomes, I can’t do it,” Baldinger said Tuesday in an appearance on The Morning Roast on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco. “I want to pick the 49ers,and I think they have everything it takes to win the game, but I can’t go against the combination of Mahomes, Andy Reid and Spags right now. I’m not here to upset 49er nation. There’s still some film to unveil and still watch before Sunday, and something might trigger me – it’s Tuesday morning, guys, things can change – but right now it’s just hard for me to go against that trio.”
The Chiefs won their first Super Bowl of the Reid-Mahomes era four years ago against the 49ers. But this San Francisco team is perhaps even more dynamic, and, to Baldinger’s point, has all the makings to put a stop to Kansas City’s impressive run.