When the Kansas City Chiefs drafted Patrick Mahomes 10th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, I’m not sure even they envisioned what has come along with it. Super Bowl LVIII has just concluded with the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the San Francisco 49ers in overtime by a final score of 25-22, where Patrick Mahomes led a game-winning drive that felt all too familiar. This is Kansas City’s third Super Bowl win in five seasons, cementing them as a dynasty, but according to Mahomes, the dynasty is far from over.
“It’s the start of one,” Mahomes said. “We’re not done.” As the confetti continued to rain over Allegiant Stadium’s illustrious field, like many other people, I have come to wonder what makes the Kansas City Chiefs so inevitable, how are they so good every year, even when they go through such hardships? How has a culture of winning been created through years of success?
Mahomes’ First Season Starting
The 2018 NFL season marked the first time Alex Smith would not be the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs in five seasons, and questions were being asked about what was to come next. Pieces were already put in place, Andy Reid was one of the best head coaches in the NFL, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill were dynamic weapons that could take over a game, but the biggest question was at the quarterback position, but those questions were quickly gone as Patrick Mahomes kicked off the season with a four-touchdown performance against the Los Angeles Chargers, that would go on to be a spoiler for what was to come in the near future. The Chiefs finished 12-4, and won the AFC West for the third straight season. Mahomes took home MVP honors in his first year starting, and led the Chiefs to their first home AFC Championship game in team history.
Kansas City would fall short to Tom Brady’s Patriots in overtime, but it was one of the best games us fans had seen in some time. The Chiefs showed character and heart in a place they’d never been before, character and heart they’d fastly develop throughout the course of six seasons.
First Super Bowl Win and Loss
One year removed from a devastating AFC Championship loss, the Kansas City Chiefs went on to win their first Super Bowl in the Mahomes era, and it was a long time coming for a team that had been knocking on the door for some time. The players were battle tested from the previous season, and turned that experience into gain by achieving football’s biggest feat. The culture had now been set, two years of winning doesn’t come by accident, it comes by hard work and dedication to your craft, that’s what the Chiefs culture had become.
In the next season Kansas City would fall short to Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl, but had now been to three straight AFC Championships, and two straight Super Bowls. A lot of teams lose Super Bowls, and they begin to gradually get worse soon after, but when a winning culture is put in place, losing is not something that brings you down, but helps you learn for years to come.
Second Super Bowl Win
Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs best wide receiver left in free agency to join the Miami Dolphins, leaving a bit of uncertainty in the locker room of a team that has been so dominant. This was truly the first time Kansas City had faced any hardship from the inside, but the question was what would they do with that hardship? Kansas City became even more dominant, as Mahomes took home his second MVP, and the team went on to win another Super Bowl against a very good Eagles team. The NFL world was put on notice once again, and the Chiefs continued to be great.
Third Super Bowl Win
In a season never experienced in Kansas City before, the Chiefs just simply did not look like a good team. Receivers couldn’t catch the ball, Kelce was underperforming and Mahomes was having his worst year as a starting quarterback. At one point in the season, the Chiefs were at threat of losing the AFC West as well, something they haven’t worried about in seven years. The Chiefs finished 11-6, six losses being the most by a Mahomes led team thus far. It finally looked like the Super Bowl fun might be a thing of the past for Kansas City.
After a Wild Card win, the Chiefs were forced to go on the road into freezing Buffalo in the Divisional round, something they’d never experienced before. But the hardships they’d been through before, had them battle tested for what was to come, as Kansas City narrowly defeated Buffalo. Kansas then defeated Baltimore in the AFC Championship game, extending the history books once again. Looking overmatched going into Super Bowl LVIII, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl once again, exceeding expectations that were already out of sight. A year of hardships couldn’t bring a team down, it would instead raise them up for bigger occasions.
When a culture is set in a building, it is hard to take that culture away. A winning culture is something we see very rarely in sports, but what makes a winning culture so successful is the work and hardships a team goes through behind closed doors. In six seasons, Kansas City has been doubted, they’ve been overlooked, and they’ve been defeated, but every single time they responded. They’ve now won three Super Bowls in five seasons, and created a dynasty for their own. The Kansas City Chiefs have not only become successful, but they have become inevitable, and are the first back-to-back champions in 19 years.
