Four reasons why the KC Chiefs are going back to the Super Bowl

Reason 4: Andy Reid & Staff

Andy Reid is one of the smartest coaches in the league, and that trickles down to his assistants. He squared off against one of his former proteges from his Eagles days on Sunday, and Reid showed why he’s still the teacher.

Before talking about the Bills game, though, let’s back up to Week 17. Now, of course, that was a meaningless game in the scheme of things as the Chiefs had already wrapped up the No. 1 seed. Still, it paid dividends in that Chad Henne, who had played hardly at all during the first 16 weeks, got to shake off the rust.

That paid dividends against the Browns in the Divisional Round. Yes, Henne had that absolutely terrible interception (shades of Carlton Banks on the hardwood, no?). But after that, Henne came up huge with a 13-yard scramble when the Chiefs faced 4th-and-14 with only a bit left to play and up 22-17.

It’s the next play that illuminated Reid’s calm personality and trust in not only his staff and superstars but other players on the team. Instead of pinning the Browns back, Reid ran a play at which Mahomes has excelled. Naturally, Henne nailed it, the Chiefs won the game and moved on to face the Bills.

Against the Bills, Reid showed his trust in Mahomes, as he should have. Still, it wouldn’t have been questioned had Reid relied more on the run game considering a) the team’s success on the ground against Buffalo earlier in the season and b) Mahomes being banged up.

Reid didn’t do that. He knows more than anyone what got the Chiefs to this point, and he stuck with it. He even stuck with it after left tackle Eric Fisher sadly tore his Achilles.

On a day when young head coaches for the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills made head-scratching decisions that ultimately ended their teams’ seasons, Andy Reid stood tall, kept to his philosophy, and will now be coaching in his third career Super Bowl