This Sunday the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It will be the Chief’s fifth Super Bowl appearance in their history and their third in four years.
In the Philadelphia Eagles and Nick Sirianni, the Chiefs will face tough opposition, but it would take a brave person to bet against Patrick Mahomes pulling off some more magic and leading his team to their third Vince Lombardi trophy.
Predicting the outcome of Sunday’s game at this stage is a fool’s errand and is perhaps better left to those daredevils who love to wager on football’s biggest game – if that’s you, check out the odds to win Super Bowl.
Rather than doing that, we’ve decided to take a look back at the long road that has taken the Kansas City Chiefs from preseason hopefuls to Super Bowl dreamers.
The Regular Season
The Chief’s gut-wrenching defeat to the Bengals in last season’s Championship game was still fresh in the memory by the time this season finally kicked off. An opening day rout of 44-21 away to the Arizona Cardinals went some way to banishing those painful memories.
That victory was followed up with a narrow home win over the Los Angeles Chargers before the Chiefs tasted defeat in their third game of the season, losing out to the Indianapolis Colts. Two more victories followed that defeat, before the Chiefs came undone again in Gameweek 6 in their home game with the Bills.
Fortunately for Chiefs fans, their team responded in the perfect way to that defeat, going on to win their next 5 games in a row. Despite those victories, a pattern was emerging, in which the Chiefs looked increasingly incapable of fully seeing off teams and putting up points.
The 20-17 OT victory over the Titans in Gameweek 9 was followed up a fortnight later with a 30-27 win over the Chargers. In Gameweek 13 the Chiefs found themselves on the wrong end of one of those tight scorelines losing to their tormentors in chief the Bengals 24-27 at the Paycor Stadium.
That defeat was to be the Chiefs last, with another five game winning spree bookending the regular season, but not without another OT scare, this time against the Texans in a 30-24 win in Gameweek 15.
(The Chiefs claimed the AFC West title after this OT win over the Texans.)
Regular Season Heroes
Patrick Mahomes II: There is an argument that without Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs would struggle to post a winning season let alone reach the Super Bowl, and it’s hard to find evidence to the contrary.
The 27-year-old has been in phenomenal form this season, leading the way in almost every quarterback statistic and, on more than one occasions, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat for his team.
Travis Kelce: Speaking of arguments that are difficult to refute; Travis Kelce is the greatest tight end of all-time and without him, the Chiefs would struggle to post a winning season…
Like Mahomes, Kelce has been in superb form this season, racking up 1,338 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
(Travis Kelce with some strong words for a certain someone.)
The Chiefs Playoff Campaign
The Philadelphia Eagles practically waltzed to the Super Bowl, swotting aside all that stood in front of them to set themselves up for a shot at the Vince Lombardi trophy. The Kansas City Chiefs meanwhile were forced to do things the hard way.
In the Divisional Round they saw of a spirited Jaguars side in a tight 27-20 victory before facing off against their old foes the Bengals in the Conference Championships game. It was another tight game, this time with the Chiefs coming out on the right side of a 23-20 game.
Mahomes was once again pivotal in his side’s victory, but it was Harrison Butker who took the plaudits, kicking a 45-yard field goal with three seconds left to give the Chiefs the victory and write himself into Chiefs folklore.
(Harrison Butker sees off the Cincinnati Bengals.)
Can the Chiefs Win the Super Bowl?
Can they? Certainly. Will they? We’re not so sure. There were plenty of walking wounded after that hellish encounter with the Bengals in the previous game, which is not ideal when you’re facing a well-rested, athletic team like the Eagles.
That being said, if you were to look at the Chiefs season as a whole in a positive light, you’d say that they have made a habit of coming out on top in tight, scruffy affairs. If they can make Sunday’s game as tight and difficult as possible, then there’s no reason to suggest they can’t emerge from that at the end victorious.
See more:
- When Was the Last Time the Philadelphia Eagles Went to the Super Bowl?
- When Was the Last Time the Kansas City Chiefs Went to the Super Bowl?
- Super Bowl Winning Prize Money
- How To Stream Super Bowl in US, UK & Canada!
