Kirk Herbstreit has locked in his Super Bowl 61 prediction.
The longtime ESPN college football announcer, who also covers the National Football League for Amazon Prime, is firmly behind the Kansas City Chiefs to win it all.
Herbstreit is set to pair once more with Al Michaels on Amazon Prime’s “Thursday Night Football” telecasts this upcoming fall. While he has built a strong reputation through his college football forecasts over the years, the analyst has now offered a confident NFL outlook heading into the 2026 season.
He is selecting the Chiefs over every other team in the league as the regular season draws near.
In a post on the social media platform X, Herbstreit made his prediction clear.
“I’d take em vs the field.”
The Amazon Prime NFL announcer continues to hold the Chiefs in high regard even though the AFC contenders sat out the playoffs last season.
That support arrives as star quarterback Patrick Mahomes works to bounce back from a torn ACL injury that ended his campaign late in the year. Herbstreit is far from the only prominent voice showing belief in Kansas City right now.
His ESPN colleague Pat McAfee has voiced similar optimism about the franchise’s prospects.
“So it begins.. a young GOAT being overlooked & doubted for the first time in a long time. Coming off an injury.. Is The Chiefs still The Chiefs? I’m saying they ARE.. They were ALL on the dance floor together for the whole night at a celebration of love Chemistry very HIGH,” McAfee wrote.
The Chiefs have started to fly under the radar for certain observers after their recent struggles.
Kansas City is dealing with the aftereffects of a subpar season that featured several older players still on the roster. Mahomes, meanwhile, remains focused on his recovery from the significant knee injury.
The combination of those factors has led some around the league to question whether the dynasty can return to form in 2026.
Yet the strong endorsements from Herbstreit and McAfee suggest the core talent and chemistry remain intact despite the setbacks.
Herbstreit’s track record of bold calls adds weight to his early stance on the Super Bowl favorite. McAfee’s comments further underscore the view that Mahomes and the supporting cast are being doubted more than at any point in recent memory.
The full picture will only become clear once the 2026 regular season gets underway and the Chiefs begin to prove their standing.
For now, the Amazon Prime and ESPN voices are aligned in their early faith that Kansas City can reclaim its place among the NFL’s elite.
