Jerry Rice makes his prediction for Super Bowl LVIII

Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice raised the Lombardi Trophy not once, not twice, but three times with the San Francisco 49ers.

And so, it should come as no surprise who he’s picking to win Super Bowl LVIII next Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Speaking with Tom Pelissero of NFL Network at the Reese’s Senior Bowl, Rice picked — you guessed it — the 49ers to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs and win their first Super Bowl since 1994, of which Rice was a part of.

Rice kept it short and sweet with his prediction, going with a touchdown-size win for the boys in red and gold.

Caught up with @JerryRice, who offered up a game plan for how his #49ers can stop the #Chiefs’ best weapons in Super Bowl LVIII, while watching his son Brenden compete in the @seniorbowl.

Coverage continues on @nflnetwork and #NFLPlus. pic.twitter.com/G2Eql2AXCh

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 1, 2024

Under Rice’s prediction, the 49ers would cover with a seven-point victory. San Francisco has opened up as a 2.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel.

49ers hoping for different outcome in Super Bowl rematch vs. Chiefs

The 49ers are back for a second Super Bowl appearance in the last five seasons, a rematch with the team which knocked them off back in February of 2020. Once again, the road to immortality goes through the Chiefs, who are looking for their third Super Bowl championship since 2019 and second in as many seasons.

While both teams have had plenty of roster turnover since then, many of the key pieces remain the same. Except this time for San Francisco specifically, this isn’t the rookie version of receiver Deebo Samuel and defensive end Nick Bosa. These are now veterans who hope the first experience in Miami will go a long way in changing the outcome of the rematch in Las Vegas.

“I think all those guys for the most part were young guys, and it was their first one,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said Thursday, via 49ers Webzone. “I think always when you go your first time you experience a lot of stuff, but I think when you go your second time, all that stuff you experienced, it’s about one thing. It’s about what happens in those three hours. I think it’s real cool for those guys who have gone to be able to talk to players who it’s their first time kind of help them not get caught up in stuff. Especially guys who are rookies and guys like Deebo and things like that. So, having experience always helps.”