Here’s who the national experts are predicting will win Sunday’s Chiefs-Saints game
How rare is Sunday’s Chiefs-Saints game?
In terms of combined winning percentage, there have only been three games since the 1960s that featured a better matchup this late in the season.
That’s according to ESPN’s John Buccigross, who tweeted the Chiefs and Saints have a combined .846 win percentage, which is tied for fourth-best of any matchup in Week 15 or later in the Super Bowl era.
With Drew Brees expected to play for the Saints, the game will feature two of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks.
Who will win? Here is what 64 national experts are saying about the game, which kicks off at 3:25 p.m. and will be broadcast on CBS (Ch. 5).
A 34-30 Chiefs victory is the prediction from the Sporting News’ Bill Bender. This is a snippet of what he wrote: “The Chiefs withstood four turnovers to beat the Dolphins last week. Patrick Mahomes is 3-0 in indoor starts for his career, and he has a 91.8 passer rating in those games.”
The Saints will win 30-27 is the prediction from Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com. This is an excerpt of what he wrote: “(The Saints) are a proud team coming off an embarrassing loss, and Sunday’s game means far more to them than it does to the Chiefs, who can afford to lose and still get home-field advantage. The injury report will help make my pick here. The Chiefs could be down their top three tackles, while Taysom Hill ‘s limitations show up more each week. If Brees returns, I’m picking him to help Sean Payton’s Coach of the Year candidacy.”
Six of the eight CBS Sports writers think the Chiefs will win: Pete Prisco, John Breech, Will Brinson, Ryan Wilson, Jared Dubin and Jamey Eisenberg. The picks for the Saints: Dave Richard and Jason La Canfora. Prisco sees a 30-23 score. This is part of what he wrote: “The Chiefs are playing consecutive road games, which is tough, especially outside the division. But Patrick Mahomes will have success against the Saints defense on the fast track.”
The Chiefs will win, say both Mike Florio and Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. Smith thinks it’ll be a 34-20 score. He wrote in part: “This could easily be a Super Bowl preview, but I don’t think it’s going to go well for the Saints, who will need to pass the ball a lot to keep up after Patrick Mahomes gets the Chiefs an early lead.” Florio predicted a 34-27 score and wrote: “The Chiefs are at their most dangerous when they know they’re facing a dangerous foe.”
A 33-24 Chiefs win is the prediction from Yardbarker’s Chris Mueller. This is an excerpt of what he wrote: “What more is there to say about the Chiefs? Even against a Miami defense that entered the game second in the league in points allowed, Kansas City was able to sleepwalk through the first quarter, with Patrick Mahomes playing horribly, before ripping off 30 unanswered points to turn a previously close game into a rout. Miami made things close at the end after the Chiefs took their foot off the gas pedal, but what they were able to do in such a short period of time should be frightening to the rest of the NFL”
A Chiefs victory is the prediction from Benjamin Hoffman of the New York Times. Here is a snippet of what he wrote: “At their best, both teams have explosive offenses and opportunistic defenses. If the Chiefs have a fatal flaw, it is their boredom, but a road game against a top competitor should keep their attention. So where does that leave this game? It depends on Brees’s health. If he plays, and is close to 100 percent, you have to give the Saints a decent chance of an upset. Anything less than that, and a motivated Chiefs team could romp.”
Each of the nine experts at ESPN see the Chiefs winning: Matt Bowen, Mike Clay, Dan Graziano, Mina Kimes, Jason Reid, Laura Rutledge, Kevin Seifert, Damien Woody and Seth Wickersham.
Five of seven writers at USA Today think the Chiefs will win: Nate Davis (30-24 final score), Mike Jones (33-25), Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz (28-23), Lorenzo Reyes (31-24) and Tom Schad (35-30). Picking the Saints are Jarrett Bell (34-31) and Jori Epstein (31-30).
A Chiefs win is the pick from all 10 SB Nation writers: Kyle Posey, James Dator, Alexis Chassen, Pete Sweeney, RJ Ochoa, Jenna Thomas, Ed Valentine, Brandon Lee Gowton, David Fucillo and Ameer Tyree.
The three writers at Athlon Sports picked a Chiefs win: Rob Doster, Bryan Fischer and Ben Weinrib.
Five of six writers at Sports Illustrated Monday Morning Quarterback see a Chiefs win: Gary Gramling, Mitch Goldic, Jenny Vrentas, Andrew Brandt and Conor Orr. The lone pick for New Orleans came from Albert Breer.
The 10 members of the Dallas Morning-News all picked the Chiefs: Tim Cowlishaw, Michael Gehlken, Dana Larson, Damon Marx, Craig Miller, David Moore, John Owing, Newy Scruggs, Kevin Sherrington and Calvin Watkins.
Four of five writers at The Star see the Chiefs winning: Herbie Teope, Sam Mellinger, Vahe Gregorian and Sam McDowell. The lone vote for the Saints: Blair Kerkhoff.
