10 Bold Predictions For Super Bowl LVIII

Super Bowl LVIII is set as the Kansas City Chiefs will take on the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on February 11. It promises to be an excellent game with star power populating both sidelines. We can't wait.

To fill the time between now and then, here are 10 bold predictions for the Big Game that I've been marinating for a while now. Hope you find it spicy enough for your tastes.

A Low-Scoring Affair

Despite featuring the best quarterback in the league on one side and the best play caller (as well as several premier playmakers) on the other, there is a strong chance this game ends up a slog. Both offenses struggled for long stretches last week; the Chiefs didn't score a point in the second half of the AFC Championship Game and the 49ers were held to merely one touchdown by one of the league's lesser defensive units. Given that both defenses are uniquely suited to stifle the other side, this isn't going to be the shootout you might imagine when thinking about Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid vs. Kyle Shanahan and friends. We're talking maybe three touchdowns total between the two sides.

Taylor Swift Will Chug a Beer With Travis Kelce

Swift's football-ification will be complete when she somehow pulls off attending the Super Bowl between international concerts and tosses back a brewski with her boyfriend's crazy brother as the crowd goes bananas. It is the final stage in her evolution and will spawn some truly amazing takes. For those accusing me of attempting to speak incredible traffic-driving content into existence -- you're right!

The Viewership Will Be Low

We here at The Big Lead already made a predictions post for Super Bowl ratings and I clocked in at just under 110 million. But it's a new day and this is new content, so my bold RATINGZ prediction is that this is a huge bummer for the NFL. Despite the Taylor Swift of it all, this was arguably the least-exciting matchup that could have come out of Championship Weekend between how rough the Chiefs looked all season, the lack of star power at quarterback for the 49ers (sorry, Brock!), and the fact that this is a rematch of a recent but not super recent Super Bowl with zero bad blood between the two sides. All that combined with the possibility that offensive fireworks could be few and far between means the average viewership number is going to come in at fewer than 100 million people. Book it.

Tony Romo Has the Game of His Broadcasting Career

Tony Romo has taken some extremely well-deserved heat over the last two seasons for his drop in broadcasting quality. Now he's set to do the Super Bowl alongside Jim Nantz, and there will be many eye-rolls at the first "I dunno, Jeem" or extremely misplaced comment. But my bet is that he's heard the noise and steps up to the plate. Athletes love nothing more than a bright spotlight. Romo is going to remind everybody why he was so beloved five years ago and get back to his old ways.

A Gambling Scandal Occurs Mid-Game

There have been plenty of think-pieces written about the NFL's strict rules about gambling in relation to their willing partnerships with gambling companies and hosting this year's Super Bowl in Las Vegas. We don't need to rehash the greasiness of it all. But there is definitely going to be trouble at some point in the lead-up to the Super Bowl involving current NFL players or personnel. Maybe not serious trouble, and probably not involving the guys who will be on the field come February 11, but there will be trouble. And the news will drop in the middle of the Big Game, much to the NFL's chagrin.

A Defensive Player Wins MVP

In line with previous predictions, the difference-maker of this game is going to come from the defense. Even with a Super Bowl overloaded with offensive playmaking talent. Whether it's the San Francisco Bosa brother, the aforementioned Warner, All-Pro world destroyer Chris Jones, or someone else, a defender is taking home the MVP hardware.

Both Andy Reid and Kyle Shanahan Will Use Their Timeouts Correctly

There's a great chance this is the boldest prediction in the column. Both these coaches have well-earned reputations for burning timeouts when they really, really, really should not. It used to be Reid's most famous quality before he won a title. But on Super Bowl Sunday both guys will keep their heads on straight and not do things like burn multiple timeouts in the third quarter to avoid delay of game penalties. It'll be hard, but I believe.

There Will Be No Penalties in the Fourth Quarter

How bold this is depends on how close you think the game is going to be. But Super Bowls are usually pretty close late. The reason I make this prediction is because the league could not be happy that the immediate discourse post-Super Bowl last year was entirely about the officiating. Someone is going to make a call that a flag absolutely cannot decide the game like it did with Chiefs-Eagles and to swallow whistles at all costs. So we won't see a speck of yellow in the final frame.

Patrick Mahomes Has the Worst Game of His Career

All the talk leading up to the Big Game is about where Mahomes belongs in the Greatest of All Time rankings after reaching his fourth Super Bowl in six years as a starter. He shut down the final legitimate critique that remained by winning two playoff games in hostile environments. In many ways he single-handedly dragged the Chiefs through this season and to this point. There is nothing about the 49ers that should bother Mahomes any more than any other defense he's faced so far. But the guy just has to have a bad game eventually. Right? Why not on the biggest stage? Sports are weird like that sometimes and I think he just might come out flat. And if he isn't his usual spectacular self then KC has no chance, so it'll automatically become the worst game of his career.

Brock Purdy Shuts Everybody Up For Good

The trend of these predictions suggest that I believe the 49ers will win in a slugfest, grind-it-out sort of affair. Which I didn't plan to do when I started writing but sometimes these things happen. So, while Purdy will therefore not up gaudy stats, he is going to make a superstar series of plays that wins the 49ers the Super Bowl and shifts the conversation from this whole "game manager" schtick to "is he a star or a superstar?" which is not much better but is, at least, different. Purdy is going to come ready to play and show out to the extent that nobody can deny his stardom-- only debate its degrees.

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