Sure, it wasn't a very risky bet in 2020, but back in the 2019 preseason, when I predicted Patrick Mahomes would go to the Super Bowl, Tom Brady was still playing in the AFC.

Many pundits, noting that the Patriots had eliminated the Chiefs the year before, picked the Brady Bunch to represent the AFC. Not me — and I didn't pick the Packers, Rams, Seahawks or Saints on the NFC side, either. "They'll both wear red," I predicted.

I was wrong about who the Chiefs would play. (I went with the Falcons, who had two terrible seasons, but beat the Niners and held the Chiefs to 17 points, their lowest score of the season.) But I was right about the team colors. My crystal ball was half clear, half murky. In February, Brady will again haunt the dreams of KC — this time, as a Red Raider.

My pick of the Pack Sunday was particularly painful. The difference proved to be one play: a TD with one second left in the first half. If some high school defender had reminded the Packers' D to simply not let a receiver get behind them, Scotty Miller would have been tackled, and the half would have ended. Maddening!

However, I must say "hats off" to Tom Terrific, who I doubted could take the Bucs so far — in season one. He had help. HC Bruce Arians and coordinators Byron Leftwich and Todd Bowls were brilliant. It also didn't hurt that the Bucs had been accumulating name-brand talent on both offense and defense for several years.

Now, I have to jump ahead (because that's what readers want). Which team is better: Bucs or Chiefs? A tasty topic for today, but I will save my final verdict until days before the big game. I not only want to study the health of the players, but I also want to mull strategy. The Chiefs edged the Bucs in their regular season meeting.

For now, what I want to note is that, while the Bucs won, they played three very imperfect playoff games. Brady, for example, threw far more interceptions than we're used to seeing. Other Buc players dropped balls and made many other errors.

Had that Packer D not suffered a brain fart, the Super Bowl would have been State Farm's dream come true, and I would be 9-3 in playoff picks. And the NFC championship might well have been the Packers hosting the Saints — had the Saints not failed to get a single completion to their top receiver, Michael Thomas. So, the Bucs benefitted greatly from opponents' bad coaching.

Versus the Chiefs, if Brady throws several interceptions — even long ones, like 40 yarders — they may turn into more than just "substitutes for punts." The Chiefs are notorious for long returns — and touchdowns. Likewise, Mahomes' deep passing can be just as risky — and that Buccaneer secondary may capitalize.

So, for now, let's just contemplate strategy — and enjoy seeing all that red.