Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
A 49ers offense that has started well each playoff game. A Chiefs attack that has taken about a quarter in each of its postseason matchups to take the training wheels off.
Is this the recipe for a quick San Francisco lead, followed by a torrid Kansas City comeback in Super Bowl LIV in Miami?
Could that comeback be launched from, say, a 28-3 deficit?
Sportsbook PointsBet, surely in part because of publicity and in part some excellent trolling, is listing a unique prop bet for the Feb. 2 game: According to ESPN, 100-1 odds say Kyle Shanahan’s Niners blow a 28-3 lead, a pointed reference to the former offensive coordinator of the Falcons when they blew that lead to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI.
It’s not a bad gamble. Mahomes’ group erased a 24-0 hole against the Texans in the divisional round, then were down 10-0 and 17-7 against the Titans in the AFC Championship.
Shanahan can exorcise some 28-3 ghosts, or perhaps awake them.