New York Post

Hall of a coach sitting on fence with Super call

- Jimmy Johnson

Newly elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and a three- time Super Bowl champion, longtime Fox analyst Jimmy Johnson gives his thoughts on the Super Bowl. As told to The Post’s Andrew Marchand.

MIAMI — Pat Mahomes is like no one I have ever seen before. He is better than anyone I have ever seen. He is the most talented quarterbac­k I have ever seen.

Comparing guys is not my speciality, but I don’t even know who is No. 2. Mahomes is that special.

Whe n I look at games and think a bout who is going to win — the Super Bowl or any game — the first thing I say is: Who has the best defense? So you would say, the 49ers.

The next thing I look at: Who has the best quarterbac­k? Jimmy Garoppolo is talented, but, hands down, Kansas City has someone who is different. I think Mahomes is so good he could override the 49ers defense.

So who do I like? I’m in a quandary making the pick.

It is hard to go against Mahomes. He’s that good. He is so talented, even if he makes a few mistakes, he might be good enough to overcome them.

He is mobile. He has a great arm. He is savvy. He makes great decisions. Tell me something he doesn’t do great?

The No. 1 thing in trying to stop Mahomes is you have to put pressure on him and make sure he can’t scramble around and make the big play. Do not give him time to throw the ball down the field.

Kansas City is as wideopen as any offense in the league. They like to go deep. San Francisco will try to take that away.

Of course, there is a way to negate Mahomes somewhat and the 49ers offense can help to stop him. The Niners have a great running game, so they can keep Mahomes off the field and eat up the clock and give him as few opportunit­ies as possible.

Let’s remember the guy on the other side is no slouch. Garoppolo is an outstandin­gg qquarterba­ck in a good ss ys t e m a nd he has a great supporting ccast. He hasn’t done a lot in t he playoffs bbecause t he 49ers haven’t needed to use him to win games. But he has great talent and I have confidence in him.

The 49ers defense is better, but Kansas City’s defense has played extremely well through the last month or so.

It’s a long two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. For me, coaching in the Super Bowl, I did most of my preparatio­n throughout the two weeks. When it became game time, I didn’t need to say a whole lot to the players other than, “Let’s get on the field and win the game.”

There’s nothing like winning the Super Bowl. It’s a team thing and that is what I was all about. Going to the Hall of Fame is an individual award and I never cared a whole lot about individual awards. But after 40 years of coaching, it is nice to be recognized. Still, it is so special to win a Super Bowl because it is a team accomplish­ment.

As for my prediction, I told you I’m going back-andforth. You are going to have to tune into “Fox NFL Sunday” for that.

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