Who national experts are predicting will win Chiefs-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game

Fading eyesight is a common occurrence as we age, but Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles says Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ vision is getting better each season.

Ahead of the Chiefs-Buccaneers game Monday night, Bowles talked about what makes Mahomes so dangerous.

“I think he sees the game so much better,” Bowles told reporters. “Obviously, since he’s older, he’ll see it a lot better, but he can see stunts at the line, he knows when he can take off, he knows where the line of scrimmage is when to dump the ball off. He knows what to do to win the game. He’s not really looking for stats, he’s looking to win the ballgame.

“That’s very rare as a quarterback and that’s a winning formula. The athletic ability he has is unquestioned with his arm and his legs. He can see the game. It comes easy to him. He makes all 11 guys play honest and be on their A-game to beat him.”

Can the Bucs pull the upset? Here is who 69 experts are picking in the game, which kicks off at 7:15 p.m. and airs on ESPN and KMBC (Ch. 9).

A 33-20 Chiefs victory is the forecast from the Associated Press’ Rob Maaddi. Here is a snippet from his story: “Patrick Mahomes played better in his first game with new receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Now they’ll have an opportunity to light up the NFL’s third-worst defense. The Buccaneers have allowed 33.4 points per game over the past four and they’ve yielded 387 yards per game this season. A poor defense has prevented Baker Mayfield from winning more games. Even without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, the Buccaneers can move the ball. Mayfield can’t afford to sling any more picks this week and Tampa Bay’s three-headed rushing attack needs to control the clock and keep Mahomes off the field.”

A 30-23 Chiefs win is the outlook from the Sporting News’ Bill Bender. This is part of what he wrote: “Tampa Bay is in full desperation mode here, but the Chiefs have a top-five defense. Look for Patrick Mahomes to get back on track with his best game of the season against the 30th-ranked defense in the NFL.”

Taking the Chiefs are each of the seven USA Today writers: Jarrett Bell (30-23 final score), Chris Bumbaca (30-24), Nate Davis (27-24), Tyler Dragon (24-17), Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz (31-17), Lorenzo Reyes (30-23) and Richard Morin (31-19). This is what Morin wrote: “Tampa Bay was one of my sleeper picks as a Super Bowl contender this season, but I’m just not sure they have the firepower left to compete with teams like the Chiefs.”

Going with the Chiefs are these five writers at NFL.com: Ali Bhanpuri (27-20 final score), Brooke Cersosimo (28-20), Dan Parr (27-19), Gennaro Filice (26-19) and Tom Blair (26-22). This is a snippet of what Parr wrote: “The Bucs proved last week that they can still put points on the board even without the injured Mike Evans and Chris Godwin — a testament to Baker Mayfield and Co.’s resilience — but the defense let the team down once again, allowing 30-plus points for the third time in four weeks. They’ve given up a league-high 14 passing touchdowns and the second-most yards per attempt (8.7) of any team in that span (thanks in large part to having no answer for Kirk Cousins twice).”

The Chiefs are the choice for all eight writers at CBS Sports: Pete Prisco, Will Brinson, Ryan Wilson, Dave Richard, Jamey Eisenberg, John Breech, Jared Dubin and Tyler Sullivan. Prisco sees a 29-17 score. Here is part of his story: “This is a tough test for an undermanned Tampa Bay offense on the road against a good Kansas City defense. The Chiefs offense seems to be coming alive, while Tampa Bay’s defense has had major issues lately.”

Going with the Chiefs are all seven writers at the Athletic: Austin Mock, Ben Standig, Tashan Reed, Nick Kosmider, Larry Holder, Josiah Turner and Josh Kendall. This is from Stephen Louis Goldstein’s story: “Despite a litany of injuries and an unusually high turnover rate, the Kansas City Chiefs are off to their first 7-0 start of the Patrick Mahomes era. They’ll bring their undefeated record into Monday Night Football, hosting a 4-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad that’s volatile but often thrilling.”

The Chiefs are the choice for the four Pro Football Network writers: David Bearman, Adam Beasley, Dallas Robinson and Kyle Soppe. This is an excerpt from Beasley’s story: “The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense hung in there admirably in its first game without Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. Baker Mayfield still completed 74% of his passes and threw three touchdowns in a 31-26 Week 8 loss to the Falcons. But it’s a completely different challenge Monday against a Kansas City Chiefs defense that ranks fifth in yards per play (5.1), 10th in defensive EPA per play (-.067), and 12th in dropback EPA (.001).”

The Chiefs are the pick for 10 of the 11 ESPN experts: Stephania Bell, Matt Bowen, Mike Clay, Dan Graziano, Jeremy Fowler, Kimberly Martin, Moses Moody, Jason Reid, Lindsey Thiry and Seth Wickersham. Going with the Buccaneers is Kalyn Kahler.

Picking the Chiefs are the six Sports Illustrated writers: Albert Breer, Conor Orr, Mitch Goldich, Gilberto Manzano, John Pluym and Matt Verderame.

The Chiefs are the choice for these seven SB Nation writers: JP Acosta, James Dator, David Fucillo, Jeanna Kelly, Brandon Lee Bowton, Jared Mueller and Matt Warren.

The Chiefs will win, say all 10 Dallas Morning-News members: Tim Cowlishaw, Joey Hayden, Dana Larson, Damon Marx, Craig Miller, David Moore, Abraham Nudelstejer, Newy Scruggs, Kevin Sherrington and Calvin Watkins.

Taking the Chiefs are both Pro Football Talk writers: Mike Florio (27-24) and Chris Simms (31-19).