Champions until dethroned. Despite losing twice as many games as they did a season ago, the perennial powerhouse that resides in the AFC West isn’t going quietly. It’s hard to pick against a club that has reached the Super Bowl three of the past four seasons.
For the second time in four years, the Kansas City Chiefs are still in position to repeat as Super Bowl champions. All Andy Reid’s team has to do is get past the top-seeded Ravens at Baltimore on Sunday, which will be easier said than done. No team has won back-to-back Lombardi Trophies since the New England Patriots turned the trick in 2003 (XXXVIII) and ’04 (XXXIX).
The Chiefs are underdogs at Baltimore on Sunday afternoon. With all due respect to John Harbaugh’s club, picking against the reigning Super Bowl champions may be an exercise in futility. This is a balanced team on both sides of the ball.
3. Young and effective defensive unit
You could make a case that this the team’s best defensive showing since the second half of the 2019 season, when coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s unit caught fire for nine games, including the postseason, on the way to winning Super Bowl LIV.
This season, only the Ravens (280) allowed fewer points than the Chiefs (294). Meanwhile, Kansas City gave up the second-fewest total yards in the league. Kansas City finished with 57 sacks, second only to Baltimore (60). The team managed only 17 takeaways and showed some vulnerability to the run. However, the Chiefs have allowed only 33 offensive touchdowns in 19 total contests. A year ago, in 20 total games, Kansas City surrendered 51 offensive TDs.
2. Andy Reid
There’s a lot to be said for being in the playoffs for nine consecutive years, which is tied for the second-longest streak in NFL history behind Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots (2009-19). There is also a lot to the fact that only Belichick (31) has won more postseason games as a head coach than Andy Reid (24).
The longest current tenured head coach in the league is in the midst of his 25th campaign as an NFL sideline leader. Including his 24-16 postseason record, he ranks fourth in league annals with 282 overall victories. That figure is topped only by Don Shula (347), Belichick (333) and George Halas (324).
Reid was 10-9 with Philadelphia and is 14-7 with the Chiefs when it comes to postseason play. Sunday’s contest at Baltimore will mark the 11th conference title game for the two-time Super Bowl champion. He was 1-4 with Philadelphia, and now 3-2 with Kansas City.
Obviously, Reid has had much more playoff success with the Chiefs than with the Eagles. Still, he’s been far from perfect in the postseason. With Kansas City, there have been three occasions in which his team squandered 18-plus points leads on the way to defeat. On the other hand, the club rallied from a 24-0 hole vs. the Texans in the 2019 AFC Divisional Playoffs and won by 20 points, 51-31.
The point is that Reid has seen it all, both the highs and the lows as he approaches his 41st playoff game as a head coach. That experience is invaluable as the postseason unfolds.
1. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce
Football is a team game and it takes an entire roster to succeed. A big part of the Kansas City Chiefs’ current nine-year playoff run has been the play of the starting quarterback and his favorite target. The duo continues to not only put up big numbers during the regular season but are climbing up the NFL charts when it comes to their postseason play.
Patrick Mahomes has started 16 playoff games for Andy Reid’s team dating back to 2018. The Chiefs own a gaudy 13-3 record in those contests, two of those overtime home losses to the Patriots (2018) and Bengals (2021) in the AFC title game and a Super Bowl LV setback to the Buccaneers, 31-9.
Mahomes’ postseason numbers are frankly astounding. He’s completed 66.8 percent of his throws for 4,561 yards, 38 scores and just seven interceptions. He’s run 75 times for 443 yards and five touchdowns. All told, he’s turned over the ball only eight times in 16 playoff outings. Mahomes’ 38 touchdown passes are sixth in NFL annals.
Tight end Travis Kelce was with the franchise four years before Mahomes arrived, although he played in only one game in his rookie season in 2013 (Reid’s first year with the franchise). His postseason statistics are also impressive. His 145 catches, 1,694 receiving yards and 18 touchdown receptions are all second in NFL playoff history behind Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice. The latter’s 151 catches and 22 TD grabs in the playoffs could be in jeopardy sooner than later.
This prolific duo has played a big hand in this year’s playoff wins over the Dolphins and Bills. The best may be yet to come.