Earlier this week on Sunday Night Tailgate, NBC Sports Boston's Steve DeOssie, Fred Smerlas and Gary Tanguay gave their picks for Sunday night's heavily-hyped showdown in Foxborough, where the New England Patriots welcome the Kansas City Chiefs and their highly-volatile offensive led by breakthrough superstar QB Patrick Mahomes.
Across the board, our three experts like the Patriots, who are 3.5-point favorites despite the Chiefs being undefeated.
"Mahomes has been performing on pretty big stages," DeOssie said. "But I think the way that it looks right now with Edelman back in the lineup and players as healthy as they are right now, if they can just contain them a little bit, the Patriots can win by a touchdown."
Smerlas, incredulous at the line for the game, is a little heavier on the Pats' side.
"Has a rookie ever won against Belichick?" Smerlas asked. "Never, never, never, never. I feel bad for him because the crash to the ground is a long way down. Edelman’s back."
Reminded by Tanguay that Mahomes, a 2017 first-round draft pick, is actually in his second season in the NFL, DeOssie invoked an iconic exchange from Animal House.
"He's on a roll," DeOssie laughed, to which Tanguay added, "Germans bombed Pearl Harbor."
New England Patriots
Tanguay is also picking the Patriots, giving New England a clean sweep from the panel.