The Kansas City Chiefs’ AFC Championship Game performance against the Baltimore Ravens was sloppier than the playoff victories before it, but style wasn’t required on Sunday. For the third time in a row this season, it was enough to move on.
Up next is Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers. Even in what looked like a down year at times, the Chiefs are going to the big game with an opportunity to bring the Lombardi Trophy back again. The macro formula, again, was surrounding quarterback Patrick Mahomes with talent to win big games.
While the process looked different (read, defense-focused ) this year, that bar has been cleared on multiple occasions with one more to go. The result is generally the same: Mahomes and company competing late into January or early into February. After Sunday’s win, head coach Andy Reid tipped his cap to his superstar signal-caller for helping get everyone over the proverbial hump.
“Pat Mahomes did a great job again, as he normally does,” Reid said. “Starting the game off with 11 completions, that’s something. Something special. And then to manage the game… things that kind of get thrown by the side [are] him taking a sack there at the end as opposed to trying to fit the ball in. He took the sack, kept the clock running [and] good things happened there at that particular time.”