It’s Super Bowl week, and no game is on, but I thought I’d try to bring everyone an array of Chiefs’ thoughts before Sunday’s clash between Kansas City and the San Francisco 49ers.
The Good
Patrick Mahomes is now tied for 3rd all-time in playoff wins with Peyton Manning, Terry Bradshaw, and John Elway. He only trails Joe Montana by two games and Tom Brady by several more. Pat also has the most consecutive seasons with at least two playoff wins with five. The next closest player has three. This season, Pat dealt with drops, turnovers, and penalties that were no fault of his own. Without those things, he’s likely collecting his 3rd MVP award. This offseason, I’ll write an article on where Pat already stands in the GOAT conversation.
The Chiefs are already a dynasty, regardless of what happens Sunday. Winning or losing this game will only determine where they rank on the list of all-time greatest dynasties. Since 2018, the Chiefs have had 15 postseason wins. That’s the most over six years in NFL history. The Chiefs are only the 3rd team to reach four Super Bowls over five years. Over the past six years, the Chiefs have played in six AFC Title Games and four Super Bowls and have already won two. It would be the most significant five-year stretch ever if they win Sunday.
The Chiefs defense is one of the best we have ever seen. They finished the regular season ranked second in most statistical categories, then promptly outplayed the number one defense in the AFC Title Game. In three games against three top-six offenses in the playoffs, the Chiefs allowed exactly 41 points for an average of 13.5 per game.
The Dolphins were the number one offense, the Bills number four, and the Ravens number six. Our defense handled them all quite quickly. We have a fantastic group of talent, the youngest in the league on that side of the ball, and a coach in Spags who knows where to put all the pieces. And here’s food for thought. Of the other five teams in history with 19 games that never allowed an opponent to score 28 points, they all won the Super Bowl that year. The Chiefs have 20 such games.
Even with the Chiefs’ issues this year, I frequently said this could be the best team Kansas City has ever had. As a fan, I can’t recall ever having an offense and a defense capable of playing at such a high level. According to DVOA, which is a solid way of evaluating how good a team is, no team since 1981 has ever had a rougher path to a title than this year’s Chiefs if they beat the 9ers in the Super Bowl.
The Bad
This is not a bad thing from a Chief’s perspective but rather from human nature concerning people who have disdain for our team. My friend Nathan recently reminded me of a quote from The Dark Knight, “You either die the hero or live long enough to become the villain.” The Chiefs were media and national fan darlings only a few years ago. People were so excited to see this team do well. It didn’t take long for that to change with each year and each fantastic season, and now we are despised. I’d argue more than any team in history over the short term. I’ve seen charts with X data over the past 90 days that support this thinking.
Fans used to despise the Patriots during their success, but you never saw the media bias towards them like we do today. Most fans in the NFL root for two teams each week: their own and whoever the Chiefs are playing. The AFC Championship game was the most watched title game in history. As much as everyone hates us, they don’t mind watching and hoping we fall. Chiefs fans, we have fully arrived, revel in it.
The Ugly
The ugly award goes to select Ravens fans and fans of other teams who believe that the Chiefs were helped yet again in any way whatsoever by the officials in the Title game. The Chiefs had at least 9 points taken from them in just two plays alone: the missed tripping call against Chris Jones in the end zone, who has an injury for this cheap shot that he’s dealing with, and the phantom hold on Trey Smith on Rashee Rice’s touchdown. Since Mahomes became the starter, the Chiefs rank in penalty yards differential, which means how many penalty yards went against as opposed to for a team the Chiefs have ranked near the bottom of the league. In one of those years, they ranked 17th, which was about the middle of the pack, but in the other five, they ranked between 25th and 31st, with two finishes at the 31st spot. When taken as a whole, the Chiefs have not benefited from officials in the Mahomes era. And this season alone, the Chief’s opponents have had the 2nd fewest penalties called against them regarding the other 32 teams.
Why do I bring this up? If you spend time on X or other fan sites, some fans still attempt to spin a false narrative by pointing out calls against the Ravens. While I’m quick to acknowledge some calls didn’t go their way, if you compare the calls people claim to have helped each side, the points were much more affected by the calls not going the Chief’s way. You lost, and I appreciate the Ravens fans who can step back and acknowledge officials were not a factor. The honest and knowledgeable ones have been. And let this be a lesson to us Chiefs fans.
If we lose in the Super Bowl, regardless of why, please remember how poor it looks to behave that way. Can officials affect the outcome? Absolutely, but it does no good to complain about it, even though I’m still bitter about that first half against Tampa. Thanks to Lee for this final note on the Ravens. “All the draft experts who said Zay Flowers could help the Chiefs get to a Super Bowl were right.”
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