Patrick Mahomes, Super Bowl-bound Kansas City Chiefs continue to break new ground

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Star Black quarterbacks no longer are the exception – they’re the rule. Throughout the football season, this series will explore the prominence and impact of Black QBs from the grassroots level to the NFL.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Before delving into the Kansas City Chiefs’ 32-29 victory Sunday night over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game, there’s a matter that must be addressed: For the Chiefs and superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the job is not finished.

Defeating the Bills in the postseason, something the Chiefs are quite accustomed to doing in the Mahomes era, was only a means to an end. As much delight as they took in ending the Bills’ season yet again at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs are focused on breaking new ground in the history of America’s national pastime.

The two-time defending Super Bowl champs now head to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans in an effort to win three straight Super Bowls – which would be an unprecedented accomplishment. On Feb. 9 at the Caesars Superdome, the AFC champion Chiefs will face the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, whom they defeated in Super Bowl LVII at Glendale, Arizona, to begin their current championship run.

That Super Bowl was the first featuring two Black starting quarterbacks. Now, Mahomes and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts – who played well in leading his team to a 55-23 blowout victory over the Washington Commanders in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game – will run it back.

After tying for the NFL’s best record during the regular season, winning their eighth straight AFC West division title, securing homefield advantage throughout the AFC playoffs and eliminating the Houston Texans in the divisional round, the Chiefs ruined yet another season for the Bills and their long-suffering fans. On social media, on sports-talk radio and wherever the table-destroying Bills Mafia gathers, it believed this was finally Buffalo’s year.

But despite being reminded constantly, the Bills and their fans still don’t seem to understand that they’re not on the Chiefs’ level. Perhaps it will finally sink in after their fourth consecutive gut-wrenching playoff loss to the NFL’s best team.

Again, Buffalo is headed back to Western New York to lament about what could have been. The Chiefs are headed back to the Super Bowl. Or to put it another way: A typical NFL season for each team.

“That’s a great football team we played,” Mahomes said of the Bills. “But at the end of the day, I’m trusting my teammates versus anybody.”

The trust is born of results.

The Chiefs will become the first team to play in five Super Bowls in a span of six seasons. Additionally, they’ve won nine consecutive playoff games. If the Chiefs defeat the Eagles in the Super Bowl, they’ll tie the New England Patriots (2001-05) for the most consecutive postseason victories with 10.

To understand the Chiefs’ success, one needs to start with the person who plays the most important position in sports for them.

Mahomes is fabulous during the regular season. His two AP league MVP awards and his AP Offensive Player of the Year award attest to his status within the league.

In the playoffs, however, Mahomes takes things to a higher level.

Both with his passing arm and his feet, Mahomes was in good form again Sunday. He completed 18 of 26 passes for 245 yards and one touchdown, an 11-yarder to rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy in the second quarter (more on him in bit). As a runner, Mahomes had 43 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He had an outstanding passer rating of 111.9 and a sparkling Total QBR of 87.1.

“Pat Mahomes was phenomenal,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said.

Said Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt, “Patrick Mahomes is at his best when the games are on the line. He and his teammates almost always find a way to get it done.”

With the victory, Mahomes improved to 17-3 in the playoffs. He’s now alone in second place on the NFL’s all-time playoff wins list behind Tom Brady, who has 35. Mahomes is 29 years old.

Although the Chiefs thrived during the regular season, NFL observers lauded other quarterbacks more. As the Chiefs struggled with major injuries and problems at left tackle, Mahomes wasn’t as productive statistically as Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Bills signal-caller Josh Allen, who are considered the leading contenders for this season’s AP league MVP award.

The regular season is irrelevant now.

For the fourth consecutive time in the postseason, Allen came up short against Mahomes. What’s especially infuriating for the Bills and their fans is that Allen has played well against the Chiefs, and he did again Sunday.

Allen completed 22 of 34 passes for 237 passing yards and two touchdowns. He also had 39 rushing yards. He had a 104.7 passer rating and a 71.0 Total QBR, which are both impressive numbers, especially in a game of such magnitude.

That established, Mahomes, despite losing a fumble in the first quarter for the game’s only turnover, still outperformed Allen. In their postseason matchups, Mahomes is 4-0 against Allen, marking the first time in league history one quarterback has four victories over another in the playoffs.

“I have so much respect for Josh,” Mahomes said. “[He’s] a true competitor, a true warrior, a great football player. [These games] always come down to the wire. Luckily, we were on the winning side.”

Of course, Mahomes didn’t do it alone.

Twice in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs stopped the Bills on fourth down.

At Kansas City’s 41-yard line with about 13 minutes to play, the Chiefs stuffed Allen for no gain on fourth-and-1. On the ensuing possession, Mahomes scored on a 10-yard run, and then he connected with wide receiver Justin Watson to give the Chiefs a 29-22 lead.

Then on fourth-and-7 from Buffalo’s 47, Allen failed to connect with tight end Dalton Kincaid. The Chiefs took possession with 1:54 remaining on the game clock. They gained two first downs, the last coming on running back Samaje Perine’s 17-yard catch-and-run pass from Mahomes, to run out the clock.

The irony of the Chiefs’ success at the expense of the Bills is that the Chiefs traded with the Bills to move up in the 2017 NFL draft to pick Mahomes. Talk about a move that changed the course of NFL history.

Clearly, the Bills didn’t learn their lesson from that lopsided transaction.

During the 2024 draft, the Bills traded with the Chiefs again, enabling the Chiefs to select Worthy, who set an all-time NFL scouting combine record of 4.21 seconds in the 40-yard dash. On Sunday, Worthy led the Chiefs with six receptions for 85 yards and the touchdown reception.

Regardless of the outcome of Super Bowl LIX, the Chiefs are assured the best finish of a team that has won consecutive Super Bowls.

In the Super Bowl era, which began in 1967, nine teams have won consecutive titles (the Pittsburgh Steelers completed the feat twice). The Chiefs are the first such team to return to the Super Bowl a third consecutive season. The 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers, 1990 San Francisco 49ers and 1994 Dallas Cowboys returned to their conference championship games the season after becoming back-to-back champions.

The Chiefs, as they have done repeatedly during the Mahomes era, have broken new ground. They’ve gone where no other team has gone. And make no mistake, the NFL’s best player has his sights set on clearing the biggest hurdle of all.