How ’bout those Chiefs?!

February 13, 2023

The Kansas City Chiefs are once again Super Bowl champions. And true to form, they came back late in the game to take the lead in the fourth quarter and then ultimately win the game and their second championship in the last 4 years.

I said before the game that I wanted it to be a well-played game by both teams with the Chiefs coming out on top. I was a bit nervous going into the game. Super Bowl 55 was painful to watch. The Buccaneers did an amazing job of shutting down Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense. The Chiefs never felt like they were in that game and Mahomes spent way too much time running trying to avoid the Buccaneer’s pass rush. The loss led to a retooling of the offensive line, a line that did an amazing job last night against the Eagle’s pass rush.

I was hoping that even if the Chiefs lost last night that it would be a close game that they were still in till the end.

I love to watch Patrick Mahomes play the game of football. I think he is just such a smart player. I thought for sure that he was gone after that hit that led to a high ankle sprain against the Jaguars in the divisional round. I could not believe that he came back into the game and led them on a crucial drive down the field to put the game away in the second half.

And like many others, I wondered how he would do against the Bengals, knowing he was not as mobile as he would normally be. Mahomes is a gutsy player and he put the team on his shoulders at the end of the game with a gutsy run that set up the game-winning field goal (with the help of the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty).

Patrick did not have the ball that much last night, but when he did, he made it count. I was amazed at how quickly the Chiefs would drive down and score. They came up with two big plays on defense (fumble recovery for a touchdown) and the punt return to the 5-yard line in the 4th quarter.

But in the end, Mahomes led them down the field confidently. And the Chiefs were very strategic in not scoring a touchdown and giving the Eagles any time to respond. Seems appropriate that Butker gets a chance to win the game on the field that he slipped on in the first game of the season and missed several games after. Butker has been the hero in the past two games kicking the game-winning field goal in both of them.

It was an exciting win last night. I count myself very fortunate that I have gotten to see a lot of championships with the teams that I follow. Two Chief’s championships in the last 4 years. I have seen the Royals win the World Series twice. And the Jayhawks have won three national championships since I was a student or alumnus, the first one coming my freshmen year with Danny and the Miracles and the most recent one only 10 months ago when KU mounted the biggest comeback to take the crown.

I loved watching the Chiefs win three years ago against the 49ers. That game came in the midst of a very stressful time for our family and the win provided an enjoyable moment in the midst of that trial.

My dad told me that my mom had really enjoyed and looked forward to watching the Chiefs this year. She was excited about the prospect of another Super Bowl. Unfortunately, she died right before the playoffs started. So I thought about my mom last night. And enjoyed texting my dad at various times during the game. (That has been one of the connecting points for our relationship over the past few years.)

We had a challenging January with losing my mom and then having the whole family get hit with COVID-19. So in a lot of ways, this Super Bowl win is sweeter as it comes on the heels of those life challenges.

How ’bout those Chieeeefs?!

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