KC Chiefs exorcised past demons en route to Super Bowl appearance
The KC Chiefs are representing the AFC in Super Bowl LIV and a lot of fans never thought they’d see the day their team appeared in the big game. They had to overcome a lot of old demons in order to get to this point.
For essentially my entire life, the Kansas City Chiefs were labeled as a team who couldn’t win the big game or advance in the playoffs. After the Chiefs fell to the Bills in the 1994 AFC Championship Game, they’d go the next 22 years without a playoff win.
Not only would the Chiefs fail to win in the postseason, but they’d lose in the most heartbreaking ways. From the Lin Elliott game to the no punt game to the collapse in Indianapolis and so many other instances, the Chiefs put their fans through a lot of hell during that time. It felt like every playoff loss would top the one the previous one.
While the Chiefs did win a playoff game in the 2015 season, it came on the road and they’d go on to lose in the next round to the Patriots. That’d be the only playoff game they’d win with Alex Smith as their quarterback and most fans seem to have forgotten that it happened.
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When Patrick Mahomes finally took over as the starter, things started to seem different. The Chiefs’ first demon they needed to exorcise was against the Colts, a team who had notoriously had their number for decades. Well, the Chiefs kicked the crap out of the Colts in that Divisional Round match-up by a score of 31-13. Being able to defeat Indianapolis to advance to the AFC Championship (KC’s first since 1994) was the first step in the right direction.
Losing to the Patriots in the AFC title game hurt, especially considering it came in overtime and Kansas City didn’t even get a chance to get the ball. This year, the Chiefs didn’t have to play the Patriots in the playoffs, but they did knock them off in the regular season, which gave them the head-to-head advantage.
That proved to be vital, as the Patriots ended up having to play on Wild Card weekend and had an early exit in the postseason for the first time in several years. Beating the Patriots was something Mahomes hadn’t done during his brief time as a Chief and it ended up being a huge victory because it ended up being one of the deciding factors in why KC earned the two seed.
The biggest demon to exorcise in this year’s postseason was defeating the Titans, another team who had been able to get the best of the Chiefs over the years. Tennessee had won the last three meetings in the most bizarre ways, but not this time. No, the Chiefs fell behind early, but they finally were able to take down the Titans and it came in the most important moment.
Another big thing that haunted the Chiefs throughout their recent history was building big leads in the playoffs and then imploding. They overcame that obstacle, but this time around, they actually fell behind in both of their playoff games.
Past Chiefs teams would have crumpled being down 24-0 (most teams would honestly), but the Chiefs came back down double digits and went on to win the game by double digit points. These two playoff games proved that the 2019 Kansas City Chiefs are different from the past teams who have broken our hearts and crushed our spirits throughout our lives.
All of the things that have made people count the Chiefs out in years past haven’t been the case this year and that’s why fans should feel good heading into Super Bowl LIV.
Must Read. Chiefs All-Decade Team for 2010s. light
Covering a team in the Super Bowl is going to be a blast and I can’t wait! A lot of us have been waiting our entire lives for this moment and hopefully it lives up to the hype.