Welcome to the New Chiefs Kingdom
Remember how difficult it was to be a Chiefs fan before 2020? The pain and agony of falling just short. Well now, all of the faith and tears and loyalty to the team from the fans was paying off big time.
The Chiefs came back for the 2022 season without their primary wide receiver Tyreek Hill, but many new faces were on the horizon and ready to make a big splash.
A couple of players include rookie running back Isaiah Pacheco, wide receiver Skyy Moore, and linebacker Nick Bolton who also went to the University of Missouri (Mizzou).
Andy Reid was back for his 10th season at the helm of the Chiefs, and Patrick Mahomes was ready to bring it back home. The 27-year old from Texas was once again voted the NFL MVP that season.
The Chiefs came firing right out of the gate to reclaim their championship glory. The team went 14-3 that season, secured the No. 1 seed and had another first-round bye in the playoffs.
In the divisional round, the Chiefs faced the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Mahomes suffered an ankle injury during the first half of that game. He was sent off the field to the trainer’s room to see the damage that was done. Meanwhile, backup quarterback Chad Henne filled in quite nicely, propelling the Chiefs down the field for a touchdown while the future hall of famer was recovering.
By the end of the fourth quarter, the Chiefs had a 27-20 victory and were on their way to their second straight AFC Championship.
Their opponents there were the Cincinnati Bengals. The Chiefs began the AFC Championship game with vengeful hearts as Cincy eliminated them from the 2022 playoffs, and now in 2023, the Chiefs were eager to right a wrong that had been simmering within them all year.
The game lived up to its hype. The Chiefs scored first and took a 13-6 lead going into halftime. But come the second half, they stalled on their first drive, and the Bengals came back to tie it up.
The game’s second half went back and forth, but the Chiefs never trailed during the game. As the game got deep into the fourth quarter, the Bengals got the ball at the two-minute warning, and that was when the Chiefs defense stepped up big time, led by Chris Jones with getting a couple of sacks off Cincy quarterback Joe Burrow, giving the ball back to Mahomes, but there was less than a minute remaining in regulation with the score tied at 20.
The Bengals punted the ball, and what happened next was exactly what the Chiefs needed… a 29-yard return from Skyy Moore to put the Chiefs on the Cincinnati side of the field.
It was time for some Mahomes magic.
With the clock winding down, Mahomes tried to scramble even on a battered ankle, and was pushed out of bounds when he was already nearing the line, and it went for a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty that put them in field goal range.
Next up was Harrison Butker, the 27-year-old kicker from Georgia Tech.
From 45 yards, the kick was up and GOOD!!
The Chiefs won the game 23-20 and were headed to another Super Bowl.
“You can dislike the Chiefs, you can disrespect the Chiefs, you’re going to have to live with the Chiefs as AFC Champions!” - Mitch Holthus
The Chiefs were headed to their third Super Bowl in four years.
Next up were the Philadelphia Eagles, the number one team in the NFC. Super Bowl 57 had a lot of ingredients to the storyline… it was Andy Reid going up against his former team, the first Super Bowl where two black quarterbacks were squaring off, and the Kelce brothers were going up against each other, Travis with the Chiefs and his older brother Jason with the Eagles.
Like they did in their previous Super Bowl win, the Chiefs found themselves trailing by 10 points, and had to pull off a dramatic comeback.
Patrick Mahomes was out there ready to go, battered ankle and all.
A big play that managed to turn the game around was a fumble recovery by Nick Bolton who ran it into the endzone which, at the time, tied the game at 14. The Chiefs trailed 24-14 though as the game went to halftime.
Then, come the third, the Chiefs scored a touchdown to pull then to within three. A field goal by the Eagles put them back six as the game went to the final countdown: the fourth quarter.
Then, BANG BANG BANG! A touchdown by the Chiefs, then a stop on defense, and then another touchdown suddenly put Kansas City ahead 35-27, and they had all the momentum.
But what good is a Super Bowl without another comeback and dramatic finish? The Eagles got the ball back and answered the call with a touchdown and converted on the two-point conversion to tie the game at 35.
One more chance in regulation.
Then, Mahomes got his offense into field goal range, and managed to run the clock with 10 seconds remaining in the game.
Up next, Harrison Butker again (the butt-kicker).
Once again, he nailed the shot, put the ball through the uprights and put Kansas City back ahead 38-35 with that 27-yard make.
It was all over, and the Chiefs had done it again! Two Super Bowl victories in four years! They were considered the underdogs by each of the ‘experts’ before the game began, and they had defied the odds again.
Mitch Holthus on the call: “Six seconds to play, one more shot for the Eagles, and the pass is INCOMPLETE! It’s incomplete! Everyone who claims the Chiefs Kingdom will raise a banner above the National Football League again! For the second time in four seasons, the Lombardi Trophy has a yellow and red reflection!”
The celebration was on in Kansas City.
What did the Chiefs do the next year for an encore?
Well, in 2023, they recorded an 11-6 record, won another AFC West Division, and despite their statistics not looking as good as the year before, their franchise value did.
Of all people in the world, Travis Kelce met Taylor Swift and they became a couple. What followed was a return trip to the playoffs, and the legendary singer brought in over $300 million for the Chiefs and their franchise.
People who hadn’t been football fans suddenly were following the Chiefs because of their love for Taylor Swift. The Chiefs were suddenly becoming the most talked about team in the NFL, and maybe all sports in America.
Once the playoffs began, the Chiefs met their old receiver Tyreek Hill and his Miami Dolphins in the wild card round at Arrowhead Stadium and made quick work winning 26-7.
Up next were the Buffalo Bills, a team that the Chiefs had come to know well and own over their past two playoff matchups. In 2022, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were trailing by three with 13 seconds left as they got the ball back, and Mahomes still managed to guide his team to victory.
A muffed field goal by the Bills late in the fourth gave the Chiefs a 27-24 victory and were headed for their sixth straight AFC title game.
Their opponents there were the Baltimore Ravens, the AFC’s top team that season, and the Chiefs went right into their home in Baltimore, never trailed during the game, and led by Chris Jones, the defense sent them packing as Kansas City won 17-10 and stamped their ticket to their fourth Super Bowl in five years.
The team waiting for them in Super Bowl 58, the San Francisco 49ers, their foes from four years ago.
What followed was one of the greatest Super Bowls ever.
After a scoreless first quarter, the 49ers seemed hungrier for the title as they put the Chiefs in a 10-0 hole late in the second quarter. Well, it’s groundhog year, here we go again, this same old down by 10 stuff in the Super Bowl needing to make another comeback.
Harrison Butker hit a late field goal to put the Chiefs on the scoreboard heading to halftime. Then, Kansas City took control in the third quarter scoring 10 points and holding the 49ers in check to go ahead 13-10 heading into quarter number four.
The 49ers came back to score a touchdown of their own and went back ahead, but the Chiefs blocked the extra point attempt, and little did they know at the time just how big that was going to be.
For the next several minutes and remainder of regulation, it was a field goal kicking contest as both kickers matched themselves, and then after 60 minutes of play, the score was tied at 19.
For only the second time in its 58-year existence, the Super Bowl was heading to overtime.
The niners got the ball to start and settled for a field goal, putting the pressure back on Mahomes and the Chiefs. One last time. BAM. BAM. BAM down the field, and finally, Mahomes found wide receiver Mecole Hardman.
TOUCHDOWN!!!
It was all over!
Three Super Bowl victories for the Chiefs in five years. It was a dynasty. Over the course of 5-6 years, the Kansas City Chiefs had gone from one of the most star-crossed NFL franchises to a dynasty, and their fans couldn’t get enough.
Mahomes was once again the Super Bowl MVP, and the city of Kansas City had never seen a dominant team like this certainly in recent memory, if ever.
Through 24 years of the 21st Century, the state of Missouri has witnessed seven championships combining baseball, hockey, and football. And the Chiefs are not done! Who knows how much more Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, and Andy Reid have left in them.
But my oh my what pride for Missouri and for Kansas City to open the 2020s.
