In just a few days, the Emmy Award-winning ESPN anchor Molly Qerim will bring her sports expertise, stunning looks and moderator abilities to Houston to cover Super Bowl LI. But before traveling to the Bayou City, the captivating anchor spoke with me about her playoff predictions, her hit ESPN show First Take and her co-hosts Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman.

JMG: Based on the remaining teams in the NFL playoffs (as of Jan. 12), who do you see representing the NFC and AFC?
Molly Qerim: Jacquari, this is tough. So obviously, either the Giants or the Packers are going to play in Jerry’s World (Cowboys Stadium). The reason this game is so hard to pick is because Dak (Prescott) and Zeke (Elliott) have obviously led this into a phenomenal season when Tony Romo got hurt, none of us ever expected that they would be in this position hosting a divisional game. But we don’t really know what to expect from them in the playoffs. It’s a different deal. It’s a different stage. From what I’ve seen from them, I think both of them have shown poise and they’ll continue to show up and show out on the biggest stage. But they haven’t been proven in terms of experience. And then as far as Aaron Rodgers, he was struggling a little bit and then he came out and said I’ll run the table, and his team has. They’ve been red hot and that offense has been tremendous. Jordy Nelson isn’t playing and he saw how his team fell off last year when Jordy was injured. So it’s really tough for me to pick that one. I think it will either be the Packers, Cowboys or maybe a last minute shocker. I honestly can see it going either way representing the NFC.

As far as the AFC, I think it’s a forgone conclusion it’s the Patriots. And people can sit here and argue with me on the behalf of the Steelers. Obviously, they have to get past the Kansas City Chiefs, they have the seventh scoring defense and they’re no joke. They lead the league in forced turnovers. But if the Steelers’ offense gets hot with those Killer B’s – Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell and Big Ben – they can certainly contest with the Patriots. But I’m never going to go against the Tom Brady quarterback and Bill Belichick-coached team. So I think it will be the New England Patriots against either the Cowboys or Green Bay Packers in Houston on Sunday, Feb. 5.

When you get to Houston for the Super Bowl, are there any particular events or things you want to do when you get here?
Well first I need to scout out wherever the best restaurants are. I’ve been in Houston twice before and I stayed at a great little boutique hotel, Hotel ZaZa, and I absolutely loved it. But I haven’t been able to explore (the city). So if you have any recommendations, I want to find some great restaurants I can go to. And we have a bunch of different events going on. There’s the ESPN party that I’ll go to. And then for me, it’s kind of a reunion. I’ve worked at a couple of different networks, the NFL Network and CBS as well, so it’s an opportunity for us (colleagues, friends) to see each other while we’re all down there for a week. So besides the craziness of the shows and media responsibilities, we get to catch up. It’s an awesome time of the year for that. I’m still thrilled that we’re going to be in Houston, which is a fun city with flavor and hopefully we’ll have some good weather.

Will First Take be doing any live shows in Houston during Super Week?
We will! And if you’re not too busy, you should come out. I’m not sure where we’re set up yet. But how it will work is that two hours before the show starts, we’ll open the doors and fans can come in. We’ll have a live audience. It’ll be primarily Houston folks. So we’ll be looking forward to that. I love our road shows because it’ll be an open environment. The crowd will be packed with First Take fans, football fans and we just feed off their energy and it’s so nice to meet the viewers in person. They get to ask us questions. We usually take pictures with them after. There’s nothing like having that crowd, rather than being in a quiet studio. So that’s what I look forward to the most with our remote shows. We also have a segment when we’re on the show called Mollywood. It’s basically when the fans takeover and they get to ask Steven A. and Max a question. That’s my favorite part of the show, ‘cause they kinda get to take over and put them in the hot seat and do my job and it’s so fun to see that interaction.

Stephen A. says you can put away some food. Is there any truth to that?
Oh my God! Stephen A. is my guy. There is certainly truth to it. Yes, I can eat. I love to cook. Jacquari, that’s why I work out. Probably, my favorite thing to do is go out to eat and have a good meal. He loves to tease me. His sister Carmen came on our show and she’s a phenomenal cook. She made an amazing lasagna and carrot cake. She even had some of her food in grocery stores. So he saw me throw down. And he’ll catch me after the show at the cafeteria at work. They have curly fries that I just can’t stay away from. I’m definitely not one of those girls that says, “Oh, I’ll have a salad.” That’s never gonna happen.

So what’s your secret to handling Steven A. and Max on a daily basis?
You know what, my personality is naturally pretty chill. I’m really laid back, the peacemaker. So that’s innately who I am, but I love Steve A. and Max. They’re not only brilliant and talented on TV, but they’re really good men and they have great hearts. So I know where they’re coming from. And when they get heated on the show, that’s what we want. This is a debate show. We don’t want a bunch of people agreeing. We’re sports fans and we’re passionate. We don’t take things too personal and I love that they represent both sides of the argument. They’re really good guys. I love my job, we have so much fun.