Broncos Pick ‘Em: Will the Kansas City Chiefs or San Francisco 49ers win Super Bowl LVIII?

Ever since Super Bowl 50, the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs have gone in complete opposite directions.

The Broncos have the second-longest playoff drought in the NFL, missing out on the postseason since being crowned Super Bowl 50 Champions. The Chiefs, on the other hand, have won eight-straight AFC West Championships since Peyton Manning retired.

Manning and the Broncos unknowingly passed the AFC West torch directly to Andy Reid and the Chiefs and Kansas City hasn’t looked back since.

Can the San Francisco 49ers knock off the Chiefs to prevent them from being back-to-back champs? Or will Mahomes continue to build his legacy?

The DNVR Broncos Crew gives their final Super Bowl LVIII predictions.

All odds below are courtesy of bet365.

Will the Chiefs or 49ers win Super Bowl LVIII?

Zac: Chiefs 27, 49ers 20 — I so hope I am wrong. But, unfortunately, I think Patrick Mahomes will win his third Super Bowl and truly be in the conversation for catching Tom Brady’s Super Bowl record.

When it comes to this game, it’s not simply Mahomes against a daunting 49ers team.

The Chiefs have the better defense, coach and quarterback. That’s, unfortunately, the winning trifecta.

Surprisingly enough, Kansas City actually has a better defense than San Francisco. On the season, Steve Spagnuolo’s group has given up the second-fewest points per game (17.3). The 49ers sit one spot behind them, giving up 17.5 points per game.

However, in the past eight games, the Chiefs’ defense has been significantly better, giving up 15.9 points per game compared to the 49ers’ 22.5 points per game. The fact that Kansas City’s defense is nearly a touchdown better than San Francisco’s defense over the past two months isn’t getting nearly the attention it should be.

When it comes to the other two factors it’s straightforward: Mahomes against Purdy isn’t even close, while Reid has the championship experience that Kyle Shanahan doesn’t.

I hope I’m wrong, but I’m very confident Kansas City will win yet another Super Bowl.

Henry: Chiefs 24, 49ers 17 —I hate this, but I think it’s right.

I’m unwilling to bet against Patrick Mahomes.

For most of the season, the Chiefs looked terrible. At points, they looked like one of the worst teams in the NFL. They only won the turnover battle four times. Their -11 turnover margin was the worst of any playoff team since 2012.

But when the playoffs arrived, the Chiefs fixed themselves.

In the postseason, Kansas City has been most prepared to play playoff football. They didn’t shoot themselves in the foot like the Ravens did in the AFC Championship, and that was the difference in the game.

I don’t like to say this, but I trust Patrick Mahomes to make the right plays in high-pressure moments. I trust him even more with Andy Reid and Travis Kelce on his side.

I don’t know if I trust the 49ers to play clean, postseason football, mostly because their quarterback has been erratic in recent weeks. They can’t afford to flop in the first half of the Super Bowl like they did in the first half of the NFC Championship.

If the 49ers pressure Mahomes and avoid turnovers, they can turn Sunday’s game into a coin toss. But I don’t expect that to happen. I think the Chiefs are more prepared to play 60 minutes of good football, so I’m picking them to win.

RK: Chiefs 31, 49ers 17 — I honestly don’t even want to talk about this. It truly disgusts me, so I’ll keep it brief. Patrick Mahomes has been here before, a lot. Brock Purdy has never been on this stage.

This game will be decided by Mahomes’ ability to make something out of nothing, something that he is exponentially better at than Purdy.

I hope I’m so wrong.

Picks Picks Picks

Patrick Mahomes passing yards over/under 260.5

Zac: Over.

Hank: Under.

RK: Over.

Brock Purdy passing yards over/under 245.5

Zac: Under.

Hank: Over.

RK: Under.

Christian McCaffrey rushing + receiving yards over/under 129.5

Zac: Over.

Hank: Under.

RK: Under.

Isaiah Pacheco rushing yards over/under 69.5

Zac: Over.

Hank: Over.

RK: Under.

George Kittle receiving yards over/under 46.5

Zac: Under.

Hank:

RK: Over.

Travis Kelce receiving yards over/under 72.5

Zac: Over.

Hank: Over.

RK: Over.

49ers-Chiefs total points over/under 47.5

Zac: Under.

Hank: Under.

RK: Over.

49ers (-1.5) @ Chiefs

Zac: Chiefs.

Hank: Chiefs

RK: Chiefs.

Leaderboard

Last Week

Zac: 4-0

RK: 2-2

Hank: 1-3

Overall

Zac: 119-101-5

Hank: 117-103-5

RK: 107-113-5