Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid cement legacies in Super Bowl win
The Kansas City Chiefs were in need of a miracle. Patrick Mahomes delivered one, and in the process, changed a multitude of narratives.
“I need you.”
Three simple words from Patrick Mahomes to a downtrodden Tyreek Hill.
With 11:57 remaining in Super Bowl LIV and the Kansas City Chiefs trailing the San Francisco 49ers 20-10, Mahomes found Hill for a would-be first down inside the red zone. The ball was a bit behind Hill, hitting the speedy receiver’s hands before bouncing into the waiting arms of San Francisco cornerback Tarvarius Moore.
The game appeared over. Hill was despondent. Mahomes never quit.
“We kept believing,” Mahomes said after the game. “That’s what we did all postseason. I felt like if we were down 10, we weren’t playing our best football. The guys really stepped up. They believed in me. I was making a lot of mistakes out there early. We found a way to win it at the end.”
The result was a stunning 21 unanswered points in the final 6:13, giving the Chiefs a 31-20 win and their first Super Bowl title in 50 years.
The game-changer came with Hill after the defense forced a stop. On 3rd and 15, Mahomes drifted back and launched a 44-yard rainbow to the 49ers’ 21-yard line. Four plays later, Mahomes found Travis Kelce for a touchdown, and the onslaught was on.
“They were playing this kind of robber coverage all gambling where the safety was coming down and kind of robbing all our deep cross routes, and we had a good play call on it where we had (Travis) Kelce do a little stutter deep cross,” Mahomes said of the deep ball to Hill. “We had Tyreek getting one-on-one with that safety, but the biggest thing was we needed really good protection. … They gave me enough time, and I put it out there and Tyreek made a great play.”
It’s easy to say Mahomes was the reason Kansas City won, because he’s certainly the biggest of them. However, it’s lazy to miss the larger point.
Last year, the Chiefs wouldn’t have won this game. The defense wouldn’t have gotten three consecutive stops in the fourth quarter to allow for such a rally. General manager Brett Veach deserves credit, taking a huge gamble by cutting Justin Houston and Eric Berry before trading Dee Ford, essentially replacing them with Frank Clark and Tyrann Mathieu.
In each of their three playoffs wins, the Chiefs saw the game virtually ended by Clark sacks. The defense will always get second-class attention in Kansas City but took on a first-class look in the end, forcing two punts, a turnover on downs and an interception in the fourth quarter.
“That’s the best feeling in the world as a defense,” Clark said. “You’ll wonder why I feel so good about this defense. Look at us. You put us in these crazy situations and we don’t bend and we don’t break. Consecutive time after consecutive time you keep on going. After awhile you just start feeling good, and as you should.”
Kansas City’s win may reverberate for some time. It certainly will for Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid.
At 24 years old, Mahomes is the youngest player to ever win the MVP and a Super Bowl. He’s clearly the league’s face moving forward.
Had Mahomes lost on Sunday, people would have whispered. He’s great, sure, but is he going to be the greatest to never win? Will he be Dan Marino? Those questions are forever shelved.
For Reid, the win is a ticket to Canton. Sixth all-time in regular season wins, Reid now has the Lombardi Trophy to complete his resumè. If Reid retired tomorrow — he’s not planning on it — he would walk into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, potentially on the first ballot.
While Reid deflected the questions about his legacy in the postgame afterglow, his team understands the significance for both themselves and their leader.
“We’re married together forever now,” Kelce said. “He can’t get rid of me now. I’ll be over at Thanksgiving. One of these days I’ll tell him how much I appreciate him.”
“I told Coach Reid, ‘We’re not leaving this place unless we have a ring,” said jubilant Chiefs defensive end Chris Jones about his pregame talk. “I’m not getting on that bus unless we have a ring. There was no doubt in my mind that we were going to win it. No doubt in my mind.”
Jones proved correct.
Reid, Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs got on their bus out of Miami Gardens in the early Monday hours different than how they arrived.
With legacies solidified, forever champions.
Power rankings
Top 10 teams able to improve this offseason (cap space and draft capital)
1. Miami Dolphins ($90 million and three first-round picks)
2. Indianapolis Colts ($87.6 million and three top-44 picks)
3. Buffalo Bills ($80.2 million and two top-54 picks)
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($79.9 million and two top-45 picks)
5. Dallas Cowboys ($77.2 million and two top-51 picks)
6. Denver Broncos ($61.9 million and two top-46 picks)
7. New York Giants ($61.9 million and four top-100 picks)
8. Las Vegas Raiders ($54.9 million and two first-round picks)
9. Arizona Cardinals ($53.7 million and two top-40 picks)
10. Seattle Seahawks ($50.8 million and three picks in top two rounds)
Quotable
"“Honestly, it’s funny because Sherm (Anthony Sherman) came in the game and was like ‘Follow me.’ That’s exactly what I did, I followed him. The run was supposed to go inside, he went outside, so I went outside and I said ‘Forget it, I’m taking it to the house.'”"
– Chiefs running back Damien Williams on his title-clinching 38-yard touchdown run
Sometimes, you have to go off-script. What a moment for Kansas City.
Podcast
https://twitter.com/MattVerderame/status/1223800564640817152
Random stat
The New York Jets hold the longest current draught between Super Bowl titles. It’s been 51 years and counting.
Info learned this week
1. Chiefs are the clear heir to Patriots’ throne
Kansas City won the Super Bowl in the same year New England began to clearly slide. Now, the Chiefs are assuming the mantle.
This isn’t to say Reid’s club is about to go on a Belichickian ring spree. No team in league history has enjoyed a run like New England over the past two decades, and believing the Chiefs — or any other team — will do so is folly. The Patriots are the ultimate exception to the rule of parity.
Still, the Chiefs are loaded both now and into the future. While they have some free agents to address in Chris Jones, Kendall Fuller and others, Kansas City has almost all of its key guys signed for years to come. The quarterback, coach and general manager are a phenomenal trio to build around, and they’re going nowhere. Defensively, assuming Jones gets taken care of, the triumvirate of Jones, Mathieu and Clark is a heck of a base.
It’s never easy to stay on top, but the Chiefs have a hell of a chance.
2. Jackson wins MVP, now it’s onto 2020 pressure
Lamar Jackson became only the second unanimous NFL MVP on Saturday. Now the pressure is on.
Last year, it was Mahomes earning MVP honors in his second season. He was the darling of the league but faced a daunting reality. If the Chiefs didn’t get to the Super Bowl, all the statistics wouldn’t silence the doubters and critics.
For Jackson, that pressure is even higher. The Baltimore Ravens have most of their core coming back. The expectation will be Super Bowl or bust. Additionally, Jackson plays an unconventional style. There are those who still believe he’ll fall flat over time. In 2020, the Ravens and Jackson need to play in February. Anything less will be seen as a win by many of the skeptics.
Jackson has announced himself as an elite player in the game. Now he has to elevate even further.
3. HOF voters get it right, but OL logjam remains
The current-era Hall of Fame inductees were announced Saturday night, capping the centennial class including 20 new members.
The voters selected Steve Atwater (S-Denver Broncos), Isaac Bruce (WR-St. Louis Rams), Troy Polamalu (S-Pittsburgh Steelers), Steve Hutchinson (G-Seattle Seahawks/Minnesota Vikings) and Edgerrin James (RB-Indianapolis Colts). While some will quibble about Bruce over running mate Torry Holt or Atwater over Leroy Butler and John Lynch, it’s impossible to say anybody in the class isn’t deserving.
Most of the consternation around the vote revolves centers on the offensive linemen. Jacksonville Jaguars tackle Tony Boselli continues to wait despite a brilliant career. The same is true for Steelers guard Alan Faneca. Between them, the duo amassed nine All-Pro teams and 14 Pro Bowl nominations.
So why do they continue to sit on the ballot? The Hall of Fame only permits five new players every year. It’s impossible to accommodate everyone. Boselli and Faneca are great bets to eventually earn enshrinement, and the inclusion of Hutchinson is great news. One less roadblock.
The class of 2020 is fantastic. For Boselli and Faneca, 2021 may well be.
4. As we move into draft season, don’t buy the smoke
Don’t see the fire? Don’t believe the smoke.
This is an important rule to live by during draft season. Teams love to float misinformation out there to see what other franchises are thinking. They’re trying to gain an upper hand.
Case in point? The Cincinnati Bengals and their apparent openness to taking someone other than Joe Burrow. The Heisman Trophy-winner and LSU’s championship-winning quarterback is the presumptive top pick, and while the Bengals may try to cause a diversion to see if they can land a legendary haul, it’s Burrow all the way at this point.
After Burrow? Read the room. Trades always muddy the waters, but the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Chargers and Carolina Panthers are all in the conversation for Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert. Perhaps Carolina tries to run it back with Cam Newton, but even so, he’s entering the final year of his deal.
Three months until the draft. Look for flames. Don’t believe otherwise.
5. Important dates to know as we enter the offseason
All 32 teams are finished playing. Time for the 2020 season.
While the confetti is still settling, let’s take a look at dates you need to be aware of in the coming months.
Clubs have between Feb. 25 and March 10 to use franchise and transition tags on their players. IN the meantime, the NFL Scouting Combine will run from Feb. 24 through March 2. Free agency’s tampering period officially begins on March 16 with the market opening on the 18th, although free agency really begins behind closed doors in Indianapolis hotels during the combine.
From there, the league’s annual owner’s meetings will be March 29-April 1 in Palm Beach. The typical news from there will revolve around rules changes and what could be put to a vote later in the spring.
Finally, the draft in Las Vegas comes April 24-26. The schedule will be announced sometime in April, usually about a week before the draft.
History lesson
The Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions were both powers in the 1950s, but are the only pre-merger teams to never play in a Super Bowl.
Cleveland has reached the AFC Championship Game three times, all in the ’80s, all losses to the Broncos. Detroit has only gotten so far once, getting hammered by the Washington Redskins in 1991.
Parting shot
With the 100th NFL season in the books, it feels we’ve arrived at a changing of the guard.
Tom Brady and the New England Patriots have dominated for 20 years. Now, the Chiefs are champs, and they appear built for the long haul. The Ravens also look to be a force behind another 20-something quarterback in Jackson. Lest we forget the 49ers, who have one of the best young cores in the game.
Indeed, times are changing.
Yet it’s clear Mahomes is setting the pace. He’s the best the game has to offer and at 24 years old, will be the measuring stick for Jackson, Deshaun Watson and all other young quarterbacks in the coming decade and perhaps beyond. Until one of them also wins a ring, this is inarguable.
For the NFL, this is great news. With Brady turning 43 in August, the league needs a new cover boy. It has him. It needs new great rivalries. Those appear to be budding throughout the sport.
Yes, there are problems. Concussions. Potential labor strife. Diversity in coaching staffs and the front office. That’s real and those issues need to be addressed.
What’s also real? The NFL has never, ever, been in better shape.