On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs meet at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, for Super Bowl LIV. Will Chiefs coach Andy Reid finally get his Super Bowl ring with Patrick Mahomes guiding his offense? Can 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and Kyle Shanahan’s tough San Francisco defense complete their magical one-season turnaround with a championship?
Ahead of kickoff, ESPN.com’s writers, editors, analysts, columnists and pundits make their predictions for the big game.
The tally: Chiefs have the advantage
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Of 75 experts who weighed in, the Chiefs were favored by 48 of them (64%), while the 49ers claimed 27 votes (36%).
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The most common predicted final score was 31-27, picked by eight of our experts. The lowest combined total was 37, chosen via a 20-17 final score. The highest combined score was 54-51 for a total of 105 points.
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The Vegas line currently favors Kansas City by 1 point. ESPN’s Football Power Index also likes the Chiefs (64.8%) by an average of 5 points.
See who picked: Chiefs | 49ers
Predicting a Chiefs victory
Dan Appenfeller, NFL editor: 34-27
Todd Archer, Cowboys reporter: 31-27
Ben Arledge, NFL editor: 34-27
Sarah Barshop, Texans reporter: 34-31
Dave Bearman, ESPN Chalk editor: 31-20
Dane Beavers, NFL editor: 31-20
Matthew Berry, fantasy writer: 31-27
Matt Bowen, NFL analyst: 28-20
John Buccigross, SportsCenter anchor: 27-24
Heather Burns, NFL editor: 42-28
Rich Cimini, Jets reporter: 31-28
Courtney Cronin, Vikings reporter: 34-31
Turron Davenport, Titans reporter: 34-21
Rob Demovsky, Packers reporter: 33-28
Michael DiRocco, Jaguars reporter: 31-27
David Fleming, NFL writer: 54-51
Mike Golic, ESPN radio: 28-24
Chris Grandstaff, NFL editor: 38-31
Dan Graziano, national NFL reporter: 34-28
Brady Henderson, Seahawks reporter: 23-21
Jamison Hensley, Ravens reporter: 20-17
Jon Hudec, NFL editor: 23-20
Preston Johnson, ESPN Chalk analyst: 30-24
Tim Kavanagh, NFL editor: 31-18
John Keim, Redskins reporter: 30-28
Vince Masi, ESPN Stats & Information: 36-31
Bob McClellan, NFL editor: 37-31
Vaughn McClure, Falcons reporter: 28-21
Tim McManus, Eagles reporter: 33-26
Todd McShay, NFL draft analyst: 31-27
Ian O’Connor, senior NFL writer: 27-23
Brooke Pryor, Steelers reporter: 34-28
Jordan Raanan, Giants reporter: 31-26
Jason Reid, The Undefeated writer: 41-27
Mike Reiss, Patriots reporter: 31-27
Michael Rothstein, Lions reporter: 35-24
Aaron Schatz, Football Outsiders: 38-31
Sarah Spain, espnW reporter: 27-24
Chris Sprow, NFL editor: 34-24
Pat Sutherland, NFL editor: 33-23
Adam Teicher, Chiefs reporter: 27-21
Mike Triplett, Saints reporter: 27-23
Seth Walder, analytics writer: 34-17
Mike Wells, Colts reporter: 31-21
Eric D. Williams, Chargers reporter: 33-30
Jeremy Willis, NFL editor: 34-21
Trey Wingo, NFL analyst: 34-31
Cameron Wolfe, Dolphins reporter: 31-27
Predicting a 49ers victory
Elizabeth Baugh, multisport editor: 34-27
T.J. Berka, NFL editor: 28-24
Mike Clay, NFL analyst: 28-27
Jeff Dickerson, Bears reporter: 28-27
Ben Fawkes, ESPN Chalk editor: 34-31
Jeremy Fowler, senior NFL writer: 30-27
Paul Gutierrez, Raiders reporter: 31-30
Eric Karabell, fantasy writer: 38-31
Doug Kezirian, ESPN Chalk analyst: 30-24
Mina Kimes, ESPN Daily host: 34-31
Jeff Legwold, Broncos reporter: 27-23
Steve Levy, SportsCenter anchor: 24-17
Keith Lipscomb, fantasy editor: 31-27
Marcel Louis-Jacques, Bills reporter: 35-24
Elizabeth Merrill, NFL writer: 35-31
Alisha Miller, NFL editor: 35-32
David Newton, Panthers reporter: 28-24
Katie Nolan, Always Late host: 24-21
Anthony Olivieri, researcher: 28-24
John Pluym, NFL editor: 31-28
Mike Tannenbaum, NFL analyst: 35-31
Lindsey Thiry, Rams reporter: 28-26
Kevin Van Valkenburg, NFL writer: 28-24
Nick Wagoner, 49ers reporter: 34-31
Josh Weinfuss, Cardinals reporter: 27-24
Seth Wickersham, NFL writer: 21-20
Field Yates, NFL analyst: 31-27