With a first-ever Super Bowl three-peat in sight, the Kansas City Chiefs collapsed at the final hurdle in a humbling defeat last weekend to the Philadelphia Eagles. What most expected would be a close Super Bowl and a narrow Chiefs win turned in to a laugher; the Eagles had built a 34-0 lead late in the third quarter and had sufficient breathing room to withstand a late Patrick Mahomes-led rally in a 40-22 victory.
Super Bowl LIX unfolded the way it did in part due to Mahomes‘ ineffectiveness throwing the football. In a pass-heavy scheme, the three-time NFL champion struggled to push the ball downfield and suffered six sacks. Mahomes was intercepted twice, with Cooper DeJean returning one of those picks for a touchdown, and overall endured a terrible time against Philadelphia’s defensive front — which hardly blitzed over the 60 minutes of game time.
Did “Super Bowl fatigue” undo the Chiefs’ dreams?
Amid defensive tackle Chris Jones‘ comments about the Chiefs “being used to winning”, some have theorized that Kansas City suffered from “Super Bowl fatigue“, the culmination of three consecutive deep playoff runs that led to exhaustion around the Chiefs’ locker room.
It can be said that winning consistently breeds complacency, but Mahomes himself has disputed the notion that the Chiefs grew complacent after consecutive Super Bowl wins in 2022 and 2023. For one, Mahomes promised Chiefs fans at the 2024 Super Bowl parade that Kansas City would clinch their three-peat in 2025 — a broken vow that haunted him in the press room at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
“Any time you lose the Super Bowl, it’s just the worst feeling in the world. It’ll stick with you for the rest of your career. These will be the losses that motivate me to be better,” Mahomes said. “It hurts probably more than the wins feel good.”
The Chiefs are considered among the early favorites to reach Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California next season, though Travis Kelce retirement rumors continue to follow the franchise. Nevertheless, Mahomes’ greatness will make Kansas City a tough out no matter what — and the 29-year-old could enter the 2025 NFL season with a larger chip on his shoulder than ever before, as fans and analysts endlessly debate his legacy.
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