For the first time since the 2015 season, the New England Patriots will not represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. This year, that honor has fallen onto the Kansas City Chiefs who entered the postseason tournament as the conference’s second seed and won their first two playoff games to advance to the title game against the NFC representative San Francisco 49ers. And according to one member of the Patriots, the best is yet to come for Kansas City.
Cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who played an integral role in his team winning the Vince Lombardi Trophy last year and was a key piece of the league’s number one scoring defense this season, recently spoke with ESPN’s Dianna Russini about the upcoming Super Bowl. The 29-year-old also offered his prediction for the Chiefs-49ers showdown: “I think Kansas City wins. I just feel like they have a lot of weapons.”
Gilmore, who was voted to numerous all-star teams for his outstanding play this season, also presented a reason why he believes that Kansas City will win the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1969 season: “[Patrick] Mahomes is the... he’s tough to go against. I played against him a lot of times, and he’s the toughest guy I’ve played against since I’ve been playing — besides Tom [Brady]. But he’s great.”
New England’s number one cornerback, who will participate in the Pro Bowl this week, has plenty of experience going against Mahomes and his plethora of weapons: since joining the Patriots as a free agent in 2017, Gilmore went up against the Chiefs’ third-year quarterback three times. New England won two of those games — including a victory in last year’s AFC title game — while five of 14 passes thrown Gilmore’s way were completed for a combined 85 yards.
Despite Gilmore’s success against Mahomes and company since last year, however, the quality of Kansas City’s offensive personnel cannot be denied. From wide receivers Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Mecole Hardman to tight end Travis Kelce and running back Damien Williams — let alone the play-calling by head coach Andy Reid and coordinator Eric Bieniemy — the Chiefs field one of the most potent offensive attacks in football.