To no one’s surprise, the Kansas City Chiefs are among the last teams standing in the NFL Playoffs.
At least conference finalists in each of the last seven seasons, the Chiefs have established themselves as the NFL’s dynasty of the 2020s.
They will attempt to achieve the first three-peat in NFL history on February 9, 2025, when they face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, marking the franchise's third consecutive Super Bowl berth.
Before this year, you only have to go back to February 2024 and Super Bowl LVIII for Kansas City's most recent appearance in the big game, which they won in overtime, 25-22 over the San Francisco 49ers.
In that game, the Chiefs trailed 10-3 at halftime, going behind via a trick play that saw 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings throw a touchdown pass to Christian McCaffrey.
But the Kansas City defense rose to the occasion in the second half, blocking an extra point that ultimately allowed them to tie the game and send it to overtime locked at 19-19.
The most memorable moment of this Super Bowl may have come between the end of regulation and the start of overtime, when the 49ers won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff of OT.
After the game, it was revealed that several Niners players didn’t know the rules for Super Bowl overtime, which were altered just a few years prior to guarantee both teams get at least one possession.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes confirmed after the game that if Kansas City had won the coin toss, they also would have elected to give the ball to their opponents to start OT. Kansas City wanted the ball second so they would know exactly how many points they needed to win the game, which, in this case, was anything more than a field goal.
San Francisco kicked a field goal on their opening possession of the extra period before the Chiefs won it with a walk-off 3-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Mecole Hardman.
The Chiefs also reached the Super Bowl in the 2022, 2020 and 2019 seasons, two of which resulted in championships and one in a blowout loss to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 season.
Both Kansas City’s 2023 and 2019 titles came against the 49ers, while their 2022 triumph was over the Philadelphia Eagles in a 38-35 shootout.
The Chiefs are just the third team in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl four times in five seasons, joining the New England Patriots (2014-2018) and Buffalo Bills (1989-1993).
Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid have been the main protagonists during this reign of dominance. Reid has been at the helm in Kansas City since 2013, and Mahomes leading the offense since 2018. Tight end Travis Kelce and defensive tackle Chris Jones have also been key cogs in every Chiefs Super Bowl run.
Prior to the Mahomes-Reid era, the last time Kansas City made the Super Bowl was 1969, the fourth edition of the game, when they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 23-7. They also appeared in Super Bowl I in 1966, a 35-10 loss to Bart Starr and the Green Bay Packers.