For the fourth time in the last five years, the Kansas City Chiefs are headed to the Super Bowl.
The Baltimore Ravens came into Sunday’s contest as a 3 ½ point favorite to advance to their first Super Bowl of the Lamar Jackson era, which has been since 2018.
However, the Chiefs had other plans, and it was Patrick Mahomes and the rest of his teammates who left the ‘Charm City’, Baltimore, on top.
The Chiefs, after taking a double-digit advantage, 17-7, into the locker room at M&T Bank Stadium, held on by the skin of their teeth to secure a return trip to the Super Bowl. They beat the Ravens by a touchdown, 17-10, in the AFC championship game, putting a stop to the Ravens’ dominance this season in the AFC.
Patrick Mahomes will not take home NFL MVP in 2023. He did not deserve it based on his regular season production. That is most likely just fine in his book since the Chiefs are going back to the Super Bowl.
“They were going to challenge us, and the guys stepped up and made plays,” Mahomes said in his postgame, on-field interview on CBS, with Tracy Wolfson. “We accepted the challenge, and we’re better for it.”
Mahomes, who has already been a part of three Super Bowls, two of them wins, against the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles, was a man on a mission from the opening kickoff. The Chiefs took control of the ball and time of possession and the box score, holding a 20:39 to 9:21 advantage. Baltimore broke the seal on the scoreboard with a 30-yard bomb from Jackson to Zay Flowers, but Mahomes and Kansas City otherwise had a strangle hold on the first two quarters. Travis Kelce, who eclipsed the G.O.A.T. Jerry Rice’s postseason receptions record in this game, caught the first touchdown of the day for the Chiefs.
The second half brought more of the same. The Ravens, despite holding the Chiefs to a goose egg, struggled to generate any offense, especially on the ground. They seemed shell shocked and did not have any rhythm. It appeared that they forgot what brought them there.
Baltimore had their opportunities but failed to cash in on them. With 6:45 left and the ball at the Chiefs’ 25, Jackson threw an ill-advised pass into triple coverage to the end zone and safety Deon Bush had an easy interception. The turnovers by Flowers and Jackson in the fourth quarter were massive reasons that Ravens took the ‘L’. Flowers was so frustrated that he cut his hand on the bench. The Ravens had one final shot to get the ball back trailing 17-10 but Marquez Valdes-Scantling caught a long third-down pass from Mahomes just before the two-minute warning to seal the AFC title.
Embed from Getty Images“It’s been a heck of a year,” Mahomes said. “We’re not done yet, but this is a way to get there.”
Travis Kelce made even more NFL history on Sunday.
As stated previously, the Chiefs’ tight end surpassed Jerry Rice for the most postseason receptions in league history during his team’s 17-10 win over the Ravens in the AFC championship game. Kelce broke a tie with Rice when he caught an 8-yard pass from Mahomes in the first half. The catch was one of nine by Kelce in the first half.
Kelce, despite being completely covered by cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who just came back from a calf injury, expertly turned around and caught the pass before falling into the end zone.
The touchdown was the 17th between Mahomes and Kelce in the playoffs. What a marriage.
Kelce finished the day a perfect 11 of 11 for 116 yards and his touchdown, which helped push the Chiefs to a fourth Super Bowl appearance in the last five seasons. It also marked Kelce’s eighth playoff game with at least 100 receiving yards, which tied Rice’s record for most in league history. Mr. Consistency.
Some people thought he was done, but Kelce still managed to rack up 984 receiving yards in the regular season, marking his first time under 1,000 since the 2015 campaign, with Alex Smith under center. The 34-year-old had five catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns in the Chiefs’ divisional-round win against the Buffalo Bills last week. He had another seven catches in their wild-card win over the Miami Dolphins.
Rice had 151 postseason receptions in his career. Julian Edelman is third with 118 in his career, and Rob Gronkowski had 98 catches in the playoffs before he hung up his cleats. Tyreek Hill is the closest active player to Kelce on the postseason reception list, though he has just 96. Julio Jones is 11th with 77.
The Chiefs are looking to extend their dynasty. Either the Detroit Lions or the San Francisco 49ers will provide the opposition in Las Vegas.
