by Matt Crossland
For the third time in franchise history and the second time in four years, the Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl champions. I never thought I would say those words this season, considering what our offseason was like and all the hurdles we had to overcome throughout the season. Before we talk about the game, let’s talk about the expectations before the season started and the offseason that could’ve changed everything.
The last two years for the Chiefs had been disappointing, to say the least. A Super Bowl loss against the Bucs and a humbling conference championship loss at home to the Bengals. Going into the offseason the Chiefs were laughed at and clowned on by fans across the country for a wide variety of reasons. As a team, they had tough decisions they needed to make. It was going to be an interesting offseason when I heard that the Chiefs were planning on shaking up their roster. The Chiefs ended up trading Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins for the 29th overall pick, the 50th overall pick, a 2022 4th round pick, a 2023 4th round pick, and a 2023 6th round pick. Never did I think we would trade our best receiver, Tyreek Hill.
Tyrann Mathieu, the leader of our secondary, would end up signing with the Saints. I didn’t really understand why the Chiefs would allow him to walk. The answer was to look to the future while also retooling the talented team we have now. We still had weapons on the offense such as Travis Kelce and Mecole Hardman, but the defense would be the biggest issue. The Chiefs have a great d-line led by Frank Clark and Chris Jones, but the secondary was going to be the biggest problem. Another problem was what the other teams in the AFC West did. The Chargers got a better defense, the Broncos got Russell Wilson and the Raiders got Davante Adams. Sports analysts were labeling the AFC West as a “bloodbath”, and some even would go so far as to say that the Chiefs “wouldn’t even make the playoffs.”
Patrick Mahomes isn’t just a great football player; he is one of a kind. A player you rarely see in this league who will undoubtedly be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he’s done, and this Super Bowl surely proved that. Do you know who else will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer? Travis Kelce. He is the best tight end in the league, no doubt about it and his evolution from raw headcase to downright superstar has been nothing short of awe-inspiring. It wasn’t just those two who helped us win a ring, it was their entire offense who really stepped up. The O-line was sublime with Creed Humphrey and Orlando Brown leading the way. Even though Mecole Hardman was out for the Super Bowl, the other wide receivers had massive games with Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore scoring touchdowns respectively. Isiah Pacheco has been an animal all season and has become our next Tyreek even wearing his same number, not bad for the 7th-round pick out of Rutgers. The defense was subpar all game long but when we needed stops, we got them. The secondary really stepped up, but the biggest surprise of the whole defense was Nick Bolton with his defensive touchdown although it should’ve been two but the second one got called back.
The Chiefs were the underdogs in this game and were down by 10 at halftime. Everyone doubted the Chiefs, but once again, you can never count out the Chiefs. The Chiefs dominated the second half, outscoring the Eagles 24-11, and carved up the Eagles’ defense. What this game proved to me is that the Chiefs are going to be dominant for a long time. Even in their so-called “rebuild year” they still managed to win the Super Bowl. For all the doubters and naysayers who will keep saying that the Chiefs’ reign over the AFC is dwindling just remember, you must beat the Chiefs in order to dethrone them. So far, not a lot of teams have done that. If no team can stop the Chiefs, we may have another dynasty in the NFL and a team that is sure to dominate the landscape of the NFL for years to come.
And one final thing – shoutout to Sam Fretto for predicting the score correctly in his preview article.
