The Chiefs are headed back to the Super Bowl, trying to become the first team in NFL history to win it three consecutive times, and one of the biggest reasons why is that they have something John Wayne and Jeff Bridges have had over the years.
True grit.
No matter the circumstances – the odds, the deficits, the injuries that seem insurmountable – the Chiefs always find a way in the end. That was the case again Sunday night, when Patrick Mahomes led them to the go-ahead field goal and the Kansas City defense stopped Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills late to preserve a 32-29 victory in the AFC title game.
“I think the guys kind of thrive on that,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Monday. “When given the opportunity, they’ve stepped up in those situations, and as a coach you love that part. And you know that’s a rare thing. These games could have gone either way, no different than last night, and guys, they take so much pride in stepping up, and they don’t shrink in those situations.”
They’ve been in a lot of them.
The Chiefs have won an NFL-record 17 straight one-possession games dating to a 20-14 loss to the Raiders on Christmas Day in 2023. In so many of them, Mahomes and the Chiefs had to rally in the second half, including the victory over Buffalo, where Kansas City found itself trailing 22-21 in the third quarter but managed to pull ahead on Mahomes’ TD run in the fourth.
They held on from there, becoming the first back-to-back Super Bowl champion to win their ensuing conference title game.
Now, they get to face the Eagles on Feb. 9 in New Orleans in a rematch of the first Super Bowl of their current run.
Read the full article here
