The Kansas City Chiefs have reached the AFC Championship game for the seventh consecutive season, or every year Patrick Mahomes has been the starting quarterback of the franchise. This is all part of the Chiefs’ quest to win their third consecutive Super Bowl, becoming the first team to win three straight Super Bowls and the first team to win three straight NFL titles since the 1965-1967 Green Bay Packers.
Kansas City has been one of the elite teams in football again, having home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs with a 15-2 record and just one loss in which the starters played — to the Buffalo Bills in Week 11 (the Chiefs’ AFC Championship opponent).
History is at stake for the Chiefs in their quest for a three-peat. Kansas City is seeking to become the first team seeking a Super Bowl three-peat to reach the Super Bowl and the first team to make five Super Bowl appearances in a six-season span. Andy Reid is on the verge of coaching in his sixth Super Bowl while Mahomes is one win away from playing in his fifth. The Chiefs are the NFL’s current dynasty and showing no signs of slowing down.
Reaching the conference championship is no easy task. Here’s how the Chiefs got to this point.
Notable acquisitions
Kareem Hunt (RB): Six years after the Chiefs released him when a video surfaced showing Hunt kicking and shoving a woman outside his residence, Kansas City brought him back after Isiah Pacheco went down with a fractured fibula. Just one week after being on the practice squad, Hunt was back on the Chiefs active roster and a significant contributor to their 15-2 record. Hunt started eight games and had two 100+-yard performances, finishing with 728 yards rushing and seven touchdowns (3.6 yards per carry). Hunt has been part of a 1-2 punch since Pacheco returned, having eight carries for 44 yards and a touchdown in the divisional round win over the Texans.
Hollywood Brown (WR): The Chiefs signed Brown this offseason in order to boost the wide receiver room for Mahomes, giving the quarterback a No. 2 option with Rashee Rice. He suffered a clavicle injury on the first play of the preseason and was out until December, a much-needed presence as a pass catcher with Rice out for the season and Xavier Worthy being inconsistent as a rookie. Brown had nine catches for 91 yards in his first two games back, but hasn’t had a catch in his one playoff game yet.
DeAndre Hopkins (WR): The Chiefs acquired Hopkins prior to the trade deadline due to their injuries at wide receiver with Rice and Brown. Hopkins had 41 catches for 427 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games with the Chiefs, having a significantly more impactful role with Kansas Cit y than with Tennessee. He had just one target in the playoff win over Houston.
Xavier Worthy (WR): The Chiefs’ first-round pick has been inconsistent throughout his rookie season, but has been the big-play threat Mahomes has needed in the offense. Worthy has four touchdowns of 20+ yards this season (two rushing, two receiving) as a dual-threat playmaker in the offense. He finished with 742 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns (638 yards receiving).
Turning point
The Chiefs rebounded from their lone loss of the season to the Bills in Week 11 by winning six straight games to wrap up home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Kansas City continued to prevail in one-score games, going 11-0 in such contests this season.
Their quest for a Super Bowl three-peat went in the right direction in the three victories after the Bills. Mahomes led a game-winning drive to beat the Panthers 30-27 in overtime following the Bills’ loss, getting the wins back on track. Five days later on “Black Friday,” the Raiders botched a snap on their final offensive play to give the Chiefs a 19-17 victory — keeping Kansas City in control of home-field advantage in the conference. The next week, Matthew Wright (the third-string kicker) doinked a 31-yard field goal off the left upright to give the Chiefs a 19-17 win over the Chargers — and the AFC West title.
The Chiefs cruised to a 15-win season, but their victories were far from pretty. Without those three close-call wins, their season could have ended differently.
Key win
The “Black Friday” victory over the Raiders was the biggest win of the season, based on how it was a victory Las Vegas should have had. The Raiders drove within range of a field goal with 15 seconds left and the Chiefs clinging to a 19-17 lead — this after the Raiders started the drive on their own 8-yard line with just under two minutes to play. Rather than try a 50+-yard kick to win it, the Raiders wanted to get a closer kick with time to spare.
Center Jackson Powers-Johnson snapped the ball high and it bounced off Aidan O’Connell’s shoulder, and Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton pounced on the football and sealed the improbable win. The Chiefs didn’t lose another game with their starters for the rest of the regular season, sealing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
2024 season results
| Week (2024 season) | Opponent | Result (Record) |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
vs. Ravens |
W, 27-20 (1-0) |
|
2 |
vs. Bengals |
W, 26-25 (2-0) |
|
3 |
at Falcons |
W, 22-17 (3-0) |
|
4 |
at Chargers |
W, 17-10 (4-0) |
|
5 |
vs. Saints |
W, 26-13 (5-0) |
|
6 |
Bye |
|
|
7 |
at 49ers |
W, 28-18 (6-0) |
|
8 |
at Raiders |
W, 27-20 (7-0) |
|
9 |
vs. Buccaneers |
W, 30-24 (8-0) |
|
10 |
vs. Broncos |
W, 16-14 (9-0) |
|
11 |
at Bills |
L, 30-21 (9-1) |
|
12 |
at Panthers |
W, 20-37 (10-1) |
|
13 |
vs. Raiders |
W, 19-17 (11-1) |
|
14 |
vs. Chargers |
W, 19-17 (12-1) |
|
15 |
at Browns |
W, 21-7 (13-1) |
|
16 |
vs. Texans |
W, 27-19 (14-1) |
|
17 |
at Steelers |
W, 29-10 (15-1) |
|
18 |
at Broncos |
L, 38-0 (15-2) |
|
AFC divisional |
vs. Texans |
W, 23-14 |
|
AFC Championship |
vs. Bills |
? |
Will the Chiefs play for their third straight Super Bowl title? Kansas City will have to beat Buffalo in over to advance to get to Super Bowl LIX, as the Bills were the only team to beat the Chiefs when their starters have played in their last 22 games.
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