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From that piece I posted...
The unstoppable force
In asking a handful of people around the league who they believe will win Super Bowl LIV, what has surprised me—actually stunned me—is how many are confident the Chiefs will blow out the 49ers.
Three assistant coaches and two front office executives with whom B/R spoke all picked the Chiefs, big, and I don't think this belief is isolated.
What is so striking about that view is that I have seen few teams, in decades of covering this sport, more physical—and adaptable—than the 49ers. They are tough, but they are also malleable. They won 9-0 against Washington in a rainstorm and 48-46 on the fast track of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
They can do anything and everything.
But there are good reasons to believe in Kansas City.
First, Andy Reid. It's difficult to put into words how much everyone in football respects Reid as a head coach. He's seen as coaching royalty. This is the second franchise (the first being the Eagles in the 2004 season) he's taken to a Super Bowl.
Second, quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
"There is no defense against Mahomes right now," one NFC assistant coach said. Not even the 49ers, argue the coaches and team execs. To them, no player—at any position—is playing better than Mahomes.
It's taken as an article of faith that team success in the NFL is based upon a franchise's coach and quarterback, and with Reid and Mahomes, the Chiefs have two the league feels are performing at the highest level.
And if the connection clicks again in two weeks, the Chiefs may fly home from Miami with their first championship in five decades.
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