Yesterday saw the matchup of Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. It turned out to be one really entertaining game with plenty of action, twists and turns, and both superstar quarterbacks playing at the top of their game. Sure, the ending was rather anticlimactic with yet another questionable call from the referee that basically decided the outcome (To be fair, the calls of the game were mostly even on both sides until that one) but it was certainly thrilling nonetheless. While I’m sure sports fans from Philadelphia will definitely take this Super Bowl loss has a hard pill to swallow (and that’s not even taking out also losing the MLS championship and the World Series just 14 weeks ago), the Kansas City fans out there have plenty to celebrate now and definitely for the foreseeable future.
This Super Bowl win for the Chiefs makes it their third title won in their franchise history and the second title they won in the last four years. Despite not being the favorites to win with Eagles being favorited by 1.5, they were still able to get the job done and prove that their championship from 2020 wasn’t a fluke. Because of their recent playoff success for the last five years including five straight conference championship appearances, three Super Bowl appearances, and now two Super Bowl titles, I think it’s fair to call this core group of the Kansas City Chiefs as a dynasty. A dynasty that proved they can win it all more than once and basically have nothing else to prove to anyone else in the league. Can they win more? Absolutely but they have now won more than enough to prove they are indeed the real deal.
The best comparison I can make with the Kansas City Chiefs in recent memory is the Houston Astros. The Astros have been an absolute juggernaut of a team since 2017, which includes six straight league championship appearances, four World Series appearances, and now two World Series titles. After having to deal with the fallout of controversy from teams and fans everywhere due to the cheating scandal that took place in 2017 (even if it’s now been confirmed that they weren’t the only team to cheat recently), the Astros had something to prove. They had to prove that they are capable of winning it all fair square with no cameras or trash cans to speak off. Not only that but they would have to proved this with nearly everyone else in the league hating their guts. Despite failed attempts of getting the job done in 2019 against the Washington Nationals and 2021 against the Atlanta Braves, they were able to win it all once again in 2022 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Not only did this win confirm that the Astros were legit and didn’t need to cheat to win, it showed that Houston is in fact a dynasty at the moment. They are certainly the biggest dynasty in baseball since the late 90s/early 00s New York Yankees. While there are plenty of folks how there that still don’t like the Astros for what they did in the past, I’m sure there are now more folks that at least respect with what they’ve been able to accomplish since then.
Granted, unlike the Astros, the Chiefs didn’t have to deal with backlash involving cheating in the same way that the Patriots did during Tom Brady’s first ever Super Bowl win. However, after failing to win it all back-to-back years against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021 and falling short in the Conference Championship against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022, there were people that were begin to doubt that the Chiefs were an actual dynasty in the making. Many were starting to believe that their Super Bowl victory in 2020 against the San Francisco 49ers was just blind luck and overachieving. They had a complete group of high end talent but not good enough to be champions multiple times over. After their win yesterday and the way they were able to win it, I think most folks who thought so cynical of the Chiefs would probably take back some of their previous statements.
All you have to do is take a look at Patrick Mahomes himself during this game and even the entire postseason. He’s been a young star quarterback since his debut and became the MVP of the 2022 regular season but he had to fight through the postseason in quite some pain. Mahomes had been dealing with a messed up ankle all postseason long and was not at his 100%. Folks were doubting Kansas City could win it all this year and their luck would eventually run out once Mahomes becomes too injured to play. And how does Patrick response? By fighting through the pain and pushing himself and his team to three straight victories to end his spectacular year.
Despite many folks believing he was done in the first half of the Super Bowl after getting knocked down in clear pain in his ankle, Mahomes returned in the second half as a completely different person and was able to Karate Kid his way (Yes, I did just say that!) to victory. In so doing so, he was rewarded the Super Bowl MVP, the first player in the NFL to win MVP in the regular season and the Super Bowl since Kurt Warner in 2000 when he won it all with the St. Louis Rams. While it might be premature to start calling him the best quarterback off all time and even better than Tom Brady right now considering he still has a LONG way to go before we start having those conservations (Remember, he’s only 27!), I don’t think anyone would argue that Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the game at this very moment. Even when he’s not at his full 100%, he still beats out the majority of other quarterbacks in the league. Let’s be honest. Who would you rather have? Mahomes at 50 to 75% or Josh Allen at full 100%? Even if you have to think on that for a second, that should tell you all you to know.
Of course, this victory wasn’t just because of Mahomes as it’s always a full team effort. Travis Kelce is still probably the best tight end in the game, the defense was able to wake up just enough to hold the Eagles until the last minute, and Andy Reid seems to be at his best coaching whenever things come full circle for him (Eagles fans punching the air right now!) but no doubt Patrick Mahomes will be the leader and center of this current dynasty of the Kansas City Chiefs and will be hugely responsible for the majority of their success now and in the future. Even if Mahomes is currently in the middle of one of the longest and most expensive sports contract in sports history, I don’t think anyone from Kansas City regrets a single penny that they’ve spend on him.
In the end, the Kansas City Chiefs are hands down the best ran organization in the NFL right now and this Super Bowl win all but confirms that. While they will still need more Super Bowl titles to be on the level as the Patriots two-decade long dynasty, this has definitely been something special in the making for many years now and it’s all paying off the Chiefs greatly. There is still plenty more winning seasons ahead of them but they have now won enough to officially be crowned as a dynasty. A dynasty that has been in the making for quite some time now and a dynasty we will likely see continue for a very long time.
Adam's Blog 