As winners of three Tremendous Bowls within the final 5 years, the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs already breathe rarefied air.
The one different 4 groups to win that many Tremendous Bowls in such a brief timeframe are the Pittsburgh Steelers of the Seventies; the Dallas Cowboys of the Nineties; and two completely different iterations of the Tom Brady/Invoice Belichick-led New England Patriots.
However with one other championship this yr, the Chiefs would stand alone.
Led by head coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight finish Travis Kelce, the Chiefs search to develop into the primary workforce in NFL historical past to win three consecutive Tremendous Bowls.
“Obviously, you want to win three in a row,” Mahomes stated. “But building those memories with the guys and with the community every single year is special. When I look back at all the different Super Bowls that we’ve won, I look back at special moments that we’ve had and special games that we’ve had. We’ll try to do the same this year.”
Kansas Metropolis dominated the 2022 season from begin to end, culminating in an instant-classic 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Tremendous Bowl LVII.
The Chiefs endured a subpar 2023 common season, no less than by their lofty requirements, by going 11-6, however rounded into kind in time for an additional championship run, which they accomplished with a 25-22 additional time win over the San Francisco 49ers in Tremendous Bowl LVIII.
This yr’s Chiefs share parts with each of the earlier groups.
They completed 15-2 — together with 15-1 within the video games Mahomes began — and are once more the AFC’s No. 1 seed. That gave them a first-round bye and ensures them home-field benefit by means of the AFC playoffs, starting with Saturday afternoon’s Divisional-Spherical sport in opposition to the Houston Texans.
However the Chiefs additionally flashed imperfections all through the common season.
Offensively, the once-high-powered Chiefs ranked seventeenth in yards per sport (327.6) and fifteenth in factors (22.6). Defensively, they ranked ninth in yards allowed (320.6) and fourth in opposing scoring (19.2).
They caught breaks all through the season, from Isaiah Possible’s toe touchdown out of bounds in Week 1; to their block of the Denver Broncos’ would-be-game-winning 35-yard discipline in Week 10; to the Las Vegas Raiders botching a snap and dropping a fumble on the finish of Week 13.
“We’re finding different ways to win and more ways to win, early on and throughout the season,” Kelce stated on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show.” “Last year, we dealt with finding ways to lose. You can learn from both, but learning from the games you win is a whole lot more fun.”
Nonetheless, the cardiac nature of the tightrope-walking Chiefs produced its share of doubters.
The Chiefs’ level differential of +59 ranked eleventh within the NFL — practically 100 factors fewer than the AFC’s No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, the Buffalo Payments and Baltimore Ravens, who each completed the season at +157.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in this team, and a lot of guys are willing to go that extra mile,” Kelce stated. “We’ve definitely heard all the chatter, and guys like [ESPN analyst] Rex Ryan saying that this team can’t win in the playoffs and he’s seen it before. We hear everything, but at the same time, we know what’s real and what’s in this building.”
A championship can be the fourth general for Mahomes, Kelce and Reid, who received their first Tremendous Bowl after the 2019 season. In addition they made it to Tremendous Bowl LV after the 2020 season however misplaced to Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Mahomes, 29, is already one in all solely 5 quarterbacks to win three Tremendous Bowls. He would develop into one in all 4 QBs to win no less than 4, becoming a member of Brady, who received seven, in addition to Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw, who received 4 apiece.
Reid, in the meantime, would be part of Belichick, who received six, and Chuck Noll, who received 4, as the one head coaches with 4 Tremendous Bowl victories.
“You don’t ever go there,” Reid, 66, stated when requested if he considers the historical past that’s on the road. “You’re kind of tunneled in here, just trying to find another play that possibly works, or a defensive play that works, or special teams guys are doing that part. It’s a weird dynamic that way. You don’t ever look at that stuff.”
Andy Reid (proper) and Patrick Mahomes have received three Tremendous Bowls prior to now 5 years. (Photograph by Justin Ok. Aller/Getty Photos)
The Chiefs would develop into the second workforce to win 4 Tremendous Bowls in a six-year stretch, becoming a member of Noll’s Steelers, who received after the 1974, 1975, 1978 and 1979 seasons.
The important thing to a different Chiefs run may once more be Kelce, who, at age 35, is coming off of a second consecutive season wherein his statistics dipped.
Kelce proved to have a lot left within the tank final postseason — with no less than 71 receiving yards in all 4 playoff video games, together with 93 on 9 receptions within the Tremendous Bowl — main many to consider his decreased regular-season manufacturing was a matter of self-preservation.
“I think it’s just the greats, man, they step up in the playoffs,” Mahomes stated. “It’s just higher intensity. The best players and the best leaders step up and make the best plays, and he’s done that, and I expect the same from him going into these playoffs.”
The Chiefs’ newest championship pursuit begins in opposition to a banged-up Texans workforce that received the AFC South however limped into the playoffs at 10-7, solely to cruise previous the Los Angeles Chargers, 32-12, within the Wild-Card spherical.
Sometimes reliant on standout second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, the Texans leaned final week on a dominant protection that intercepted 4 Justin Herbert passes.
It is going to be a lot harder in opposition to the battle-tested Mahomes, who’s 12-2 at dwelling within the playoffs.
“It’s been a fun run up to this point, but we want to get to that ultimate goal,” Mahomes stated. “We know it’s going to be challenging, so we have to just really focus in on the day and how we can get better.”
