The Kansas City Chiefs are going to the Super Bowl…
…for the third straight season, for the fifth time in six years, with a chance to make history.
They earned that right by beating the Buffalo Bills for the fourth time in the last five postseasons. They earned it by overcoming the second-best quarterback in the NFL. They earned it with fourth-down stops, two-point conversion stops and easy execution on offense.
It must be absolutely miserable not to be a Chiefs fan at this point (and we’ve seen it and heard it all week). This was a complete team win by a championship franchise that knows exactly what it takes, and they got it done.
How can I call anyone in that building a loser this week?
Winners
Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images
Wide receiver Xavier Worthy: There’s something poetic about watching the undersized wide receiver come down with a contested catch down the field and go Superman-style at the pylon. The same receiver that the Bills didn’t want, so they traded with the Chiefs in this year’s draft. Yes, Xavier Worthy was outstanding on Sunday, with over 100 yards of offense and a touchdown. He looked like a guy who was more talented and wanted it more than the other guy. The Chiefs drafted, developed and figured out how to get him involved — and he’s paying big dividends as a rookie.
Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster: If you bet the over on JuJu Smith-Schuster’s receiving yards this week, you probably got some tremendous odds. He’s somewhat of a forgotten man now that the Chiefs wide receiver room features Xavier Worthy, Hollywood Brown and DeAndre Hopkins, but Smith-Schuster made two of the biggest pass plays of the evening, exploiting the space in the Bills secondary. You have to feel good for Smith-Schuster, who came back this season and helped the Chiefs overcome the loss of Rashee Rice, only to be leapfrogged by those other guys — until it mattered most.
Linebacker Nick Bolton: Never known for his pass coverage, Nick Bolton did what he does best on Sunday. He made some tremendous tackles, none bigger than a fourth-quarter stop of Josh Allen on fourth-and-1. The Bills tried to pick on him in coverage (and it worked for a bit), but Bolton made a play on a pass to Dalton Kincaid that helped force a three-and-out and a Chiefs touchdown drive.
Defensive lineman Chris Jones: The Bills dared to block Chris Jones one-on-one 11 times in the first half. Jones responded with an extraordinary seven quarterback pressures. There was a two-point conversion where Jones terrorized the offensive lineman and hit Josh Allen’s arm to shut it down. I expect that upon rewatch, we’ll see Jones in the mix on the biggest plays of the game. He sheds and causes tears — Jones is the best there is.
Defensive linemen Mike Danna, Charles Omenihu, Turk Wharton and George Karlaftis: Jones wasn’t the only member of Sack Nation to step up in the AFC Championship game. Mike Danna recorded a sack and two quarterback hits. Charles Omenihu continued his playoff run with a tackle for loss and a batted pass. Turk Wharton had a sack on first-and-goal, and George Karlaftis hit Josh Allen three times, including the final defensive play of the game. It was a tremendous defensive effort all afternoon.
Kansas City’s coaching staff: Coming into the game, we wondered if the Chiefs could blitz Allen — or if there was any way to stop him on quarterback sneaks and designed runs. Steve Spagnuolo found a way. The most decorated coordinator in NFL history put on a clinic with beautifully timed and executed blitz calls and a well-prepared defense. It was a legacy game for Spagnuolo, but we can’t overlook what Andy Reid has accomplished and built in Kansas City. This franchise is forever changed by the dynasty Reid started. He rebuilt the coaching staff, front office and roster in his own image, and the rest of the league can only try to poach and replicate. Reid also called a masterful game on offense — the execution, preparation, poise and play-calling looked effortless. But we know it was due to the efforts of this staff day in and day out.
Kick returner Nikko Remigio: The Chiefs only forced one returnable punt. Remigio took it 41 yards to set up a first-half touchdown drive. He bounced back from what looked like an injury and didn’t miss a return, averaging 26.8 yards on kickoff returns. The former undrafted free agent has become a reliable playmaker on special teams as of late, and nothing turns a playoff game quite like a big return.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes: In a record-breaking career, Patrick Mahomes has put together two of his best, most efficient games in this playoff run. Some might see 245 yards and one passing touchdown and assume a mediocre outcome. But Mahomes averaged 9.4 yards per attempt — well above his career and even postseason standard. He did so without a huge game from Travis Kelce or DeAndre Hopkins and many explosive plays. Mahomes was surgical in his decision-making and execution this week. Oh, and when he needed to run, he became the most accomplished rushing quarterback in playoff history, recording his first game with two rushing touchdowns. Mahomes did all of this with a calm presence that surely made both teams feel he was inevitable.
Losers
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
The excuses: All we heard all week was talk about the Chiefs benefiting from favorable calls and some imaginary conspiracy that allows a small-market team to build a dynasty. It couldn’t possibly be that they’ve built a proven winner around a Hall of Fame coach, coordinator, quarterback, defensive lineman and tight end. It couldn’t be that they prepare and practice, they fight through injuries, they reload the roster when they have to, they draft well, they have the right leaders in the locker room. To go to three straight Super Bowls and five in six years, something has to be rigged. Allen said it best after the game: “To be the champs you have to beat the champs, and we didn’t do it tonight.“ He added, “You can either get it done or you can’t, and we didn’t get it done.”
Here’s to hoping the rest of the NFL community can be more like Allen and understand that the Chiefs know how to get it done.
Note: Applying the labels “winners” and “losers is not intended to be a judgment on the talent or character of any of these people. It’s just a simple way to grade their performance in a single game. No disrespect is intended.