Here is who national experts predict will win KC Chiefs-New England Patriots game

When Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe was at Western Kentucky, one of his coaches was Zach Kittley. As it turns out, Kittley also was an assistant at Texas Tech when Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes played there.

Zappe told reporters this week that Kittley would mention Mahomes during their chats.

“He talks about Pat a lot,” Zappe said in a news conference. “Pat is one of the top quarterbacks in the league, of course. Kittley was able to coach him whenever he was at Texas Tech. So, there was always certain things that I would mess up and he’d be like, ‘Hey Pat tried this, let’s try that.’

“It was awesome for him to coach a guy like that and to be able to pick his brain on what Pat used to do and how Pat learned and what Pat used to like. So, it was pretty sweet.”

KC fans will be hoping Zappe doesn’t resemble Mahomes on Sunday when the Chiefs travel to Foxborough to face the Patriots.

Most NFL pundits believe Mahomes and the Chiefs will have the upperhand on Sunday. Here are who 68 national experts are predicting will win the game, which kicks off at noon and airs on WDAF (Ch. 4) in Kansas City.

A 27-13 Chiefs win is the pick for the Associated Press’ Rob Maadi. This is from his story: “Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs (8-5) are frustrated following two straight losses. Bill Belichick’s Patriots (3-10) had an extra few days to prepare after a Thursday night win.”

Each of the five writers at NFL.com picked the Chiefs to win: Ali Bhanpuri (26-16 final score), Brooke Cersosimo (24-13), Dan Parr (21-10), Gennaro Filice (24-17) and Tom Blair (23-14). Here is an excerpt of what Bhanpuri wrote: “New England’s defense is feisty enough to cause Kansas City some continued frustration, but I have complete confidence in Patrick Mahomes preventing the first three-game losing streak of his career. And a lot less confidence in Bailey Zappe picking apart Steve Spagnuolo’s defense. So on Sunday, I’ll take the dynasty that is over the dynasty that was.”

A 24-17 Chiefs win is the prediction from the Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer. Here is part of what he wrote: “The Chiefs’ offense is out of sync without reliable wide receivers beyond Rashee Rice and likely won’t have hard-running Isiah Pacheco again for the rushing attack. ... Bill Belichick will scheme to contain Travis Kelce to keep his team in the game until Patrick Mahomes breaks through in the second half.”

Picking the Chiefs are the eight USA Today writers: Jarrett Bell (20-10 final score), Chris Bumbaca (21-15), Safid Deen (26-16), Tyler Dragon (30-10), Victoria Hernandez (28-13), Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz (23-10), Lorenzo Reyes (24-13) and Nate Davis (16-10). Hernandez wrote: “Yes, the Chiefs are riding a two-game losing streak and have some major accountability issues. But there just isn’t a comparison between these two teams. Last week, the Patriots beat a scattered Steelers squad and they won’t be able to hang with an angry Patrick Mahomes.”

All eight writers at CBS Sports think the Chiefs will win: Pete Prisco, Jared Dubin, Will Brinson, John Breech, Ryan Wilson, Jamey Eisenberg, Tyler Sullivan and Dave Richard. Prisco predicts a 23-10 final. He wrote: “The Chiefs go into Foxborough angry after what transpired at the end of their loss to the Bills. An angry Patrick Mahomes is never a good thing for an opponent. But the Chiefs have struggled to score points, and the New England defense is sound. The problem is the Patriots offense. The Chiefs will limit them and win this one.”

All 12 writers at the Athletic picked the Chiefs: Mark Kaboly, Austin Mock, Larry Holder, Zack Rosenblatt, Zak Keefer, Zac Jackson, Tashan Reed, Chad Graff, Josh Kendall, Ben Standig, Michael-Shawn Dugar and Nick Kosmider. This is from that story: “The Chiefs are just 2-4 in their past six games and going through a staggering slump offensively, averaging just 19.0 points per game during that stretch.”

Five of six writers at the Boston Globe see the Chiefs prevailing: Chad Finn, Tara Sullivan, Scott Thurston, Ben Volin and Nicole Yang. Picking the Patriots: Christopher Price.

Eight of nine experts at ESPN predict the Chiefs will win: Matt Bowen, Mike Clay, Jeremy Fowler, Jason Reid, Dan Graziano, Kimberly Martin, Moses Moody and Lindsey Thiry. The pick for New England: Seth Wickersham.

All seven experts at Sports Illustrated predict a Chiefs victory: Albert Breer, Conor Orr, Mitch Goldich, Gilberto Manzano, Matt Verderame, John Pluym and Claire Kuwana.

The Chiefs are the pick for Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio (24-20 final score) and Chris Simms (21-16).

The nine SB Nation writers see the Chiefs winning: JP Acosta, James Dator, Debby Emory, Jeanna Kelly, Mark Schofield, Jared Mueller, RJ Ochoa, Matt Warren and Brandon Lee Gowton.