Huh. It’s almost like Tony wrote the script for this postseason. Wish we’d been out in Vegas the last couple weeks and were betting on his picks here.

CC S/U CC Spread Postseason S/U Postseason Spread
Tony 2-0 2-0 11-1 8-4
Andy 1-1 1-1 9-3 5-7

So, what happens now?

After such a truly horrible 2020–a year that saw the NHL & NBA suspend their seasons midway through, before returning to half-ass their playoffs in a bubble, and an MLB season that showed just what a bunch of absolute whiners both players and owners can be, we finally reach the culmination of the one league to manage to pull off a full season amidst the pandemic.

It wasn’t always pretty–some weird scheduling and plenty of fans whining enough about how their team was being screwed that you’d think they were in the MLB (looking at you, Pittsburgh), but the full slate of games was played, the playoffs have gone off relatively smoothly. And now we get to “The Big Game” – and honestly, I have to imagine most of the league brass couldn’t be happier with the matchup.

Tony:

Old vs new. GOAT vs GORN (that’s Greatest of Right Now). Tom Brady showing he really might be able to get it done without Bill Belichick. Andy Reid solidifying the idea that you can forget you have running backs on your team and possibly win back-to-back Super Bowls. Patrick Mahomes trying to win his second Super Bowl before you have to start to wonder if his contract will start to hurt the Chiefs’ odds of getting back.

And the game itself isn’t by any means a gimme. The Chiefs are favored, as they probably should be, but only by 3 points right now. And they’re without their starting LT in Eric Fisher, meaning they’re trotting out Mike Remmers — who couldn’t even cut it with the Minnesota Vikings OL woes a few years back — to try and stop a solid Bucs pass rush. And for their high-powered offense, the Chiefs defense has long been the weaker link. It’s not terrible, but not up to the same level, and they’ve got to stop an offense that has plenty of weapons of its own.

And the head coaching matchup … up until last year, Andy Reid seemed to be great at getting to the big games — at least the league championship games — before crapping the bed. Now that he’s got his ring … Bruce Arians might be the next on the list of guys that can’t figure out how to get over that hump (since Bud Grant and Marv Levy aren’t walking through that door).

For a prediction? I never would have guessed it, but I kind of want the Bucs to win. I’m not particularly a big Brady fan, but I’ve always had a soft spot for the formerly downtrodden Bucs … although I really wish they’d break out the creamsicle orange jerseys again. But in the end, while I’d like to see the Bucs win, I just don’t think that Patrick Mahomes will be denied. So, I’m going to give the Chiefs the edge, 27-24.

Andy:

Well, look at Tony getting all uncharacteristically verbose.

So, I suspect that it’s unlikely that 20 years from now we’ll be talking about Patrick Mahomes still playing QB for the Chiefs … or having moved on to Detroit or Dallas or Minnesota after 20 years in Kansas City to go prove that he, not Andy Reid, is the reason the Chiefs have won eleventy-billion rings during his career.

But, physically, I do think it’s possible that Mahomes ultimately ends up being recognized as the more purely gifted player. Now, don’t get me wrong. Brady has had the best career of probably any player who has ever played the game. He’s approaching running out of having enough fingers to wear all his rings. And he has rewritten the record books. Much like Jerry Rice was not the most physically gifted WR to ever play the game (that was Randy Moss or Terrell Owens or, who knows, Don Hutson?). But, Rice and Brady willed themselves to win and to compete on every play, not just when they want to play.

And that’s why this game is interesting to me. Ultimately, even when he is the second most physically gifted QB on the field tomorrow, he’s got a shot to win anyway. But Mahomes is entering his prime and Brady, as good as he has been, is past his. And that’s why I think Kansas City wins this game, and does so fairly comfortably. Chiefs 34-24.