If you’re surprised to see the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 55, you haven’t been paying much attention. The Chiefs have been the betting favorites to win Super Bowl 55 since the moment they beat the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl 54 last February. Kansas City has emerged as a potential dynasty since quarterback Patrick Mahomes seized the starting job to begin the 2018 season. Since then, the Chiefs have done a whole lot of winning.
How did the Chiefs get to Super Bowl 55?
The Rich Got Richer
The Kansas City Chiefs saw almost no roster turnover between the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Over the years, we have seen plenty of Super Bowl-winning teams lose plenty of talent from one season to the next. Coaching staffs get raided, and previously-unheralded players leave for big paydays elsewhere. That just wasn’t the case with Kansas City last offseason.
In fact, it’s pretty easy to suggest that the Chiefs got better in the time between 2019 and 2020. Andy Reid was able to keep the vast majority of his title-winning coaching staff in place. The Chiefs signed Mahomes to the largest contract in NFL history to ensure that he would likely spend the rest of his career in Kansas City. The team also slapped the franchise tag on defensive tackle Chris Jones while re-signing Bashaud Breeland and Demarcus Robinson.
And with the final first-round pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select LSU RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 24, 2020
In the draft, the Chiefs added LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire with their lone first-round selection. Edwards-Helaire was one of the most dynamic playmakers in the nation during his time in Baton Rouge. Adding another game-breaking talent to a team with no shortage of playmakers hardly seemed fair.
Hot Start To The Season
The Chiefs hit the ground running to begin the 2020 campaign. Despite the cancellation of the preseason and unique protocols for training camp, Kansas City looked no worse for the wear once the games actually began. The Chiefs hosted Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans in the first game of the season back on September 10 in a rematch of last year’s AFC Divisional Round. In case you forgot, the Chiefs trailed 24-0 in that game before storming back to crush the Texans by the final score of 51-31.
Edwards-Helaire enjoyed one of the best NFL debuts in recent memory against Houston in Week 1.
The rookie running back carried the ball 25 times for 138 yards with a touchdown in the game as the Chiefs breezed their way to an easy 34-20 victory. Mahomes picked up right where he left off last season, finishing with three touchdown passes, as well.
Kansas City started the season 4-0 with impressive wins over the Chargers, Ravens, and Patriots. Mahomes, who began the season as the odds-on favorite to win MVP, built quite a case for himself early on. Mahomes amassed 1,134 passing yards with 11 touchdown passes to zero interceptions through the first four games of the campaign. Three of the Chiefs’ first four wins of the year came by at least two touchdowns.
First Setback
Kansas City’s dreams of putting together an unbeaten regular season didn’t last long, however. The Chiefs were upset in stunning fashion 40-32 at home in Week 5 by the Las Vegas Raiders. Kansas City had absolutely no answer for Derek Carr, who silenced the small crowd at Arrowhead Stadium by throwing for 347 yards and three touchdowns. Josh Jacobs supplied a pair of rushing TDs for Vegas, while rookie Henry Ruggs broke off a pair of huge plays through the air.
Raiders end Chiefs’ winning streak with 40-32 upset https://t.co/M8OciXHRzf
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) October 11, 2020
Mahomes and co. didn’t have much trouble moving the ball against the Raiders’ defense. Mahomes wound up with 340 passing yards of his own while accounting for three touchdowns. However, the defense’s inability to slow down the Raiders was ultimately their undoing in this one. Vegas converted half of their third-down opportunities while going 2-for-2 on fourth down, as well. The Raiders also held the ball for over 35 minutes.
A few days after their first loss of the year, the Chiefs plucked former All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell off of the free-agent wire. There were plenty of questions about whether Bell was past his prime following his release by the Jets, but the move was seen as a low-risk/high-reward type of gamble for the reigning champs.
No Stopping KC From There
While Bell really didn’t have a huge impact on the Chiefs’ performance, the loss to the Raiders seemed to galvanize Andy Reid’s crew. With a renewed focus, Kansas City subsequently reeled off 10 consecutive wins following their defeat at the hands of Las Vegas. That streak included an impressive win at Buffalo against an up-and-coming Bills team, as well as a last-second win over the Raiders just before Thanksgiving.
While the Chiefs were winning every week, not every game was a blowout. Kansas City won five of their final eight games of the season by four points or less.
All four NFC South opponents gave the Chiefs a run for their money. KC picked up a three-point win over Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in Tampa back on November 29. The Chiefs also picked up three-point wins over the Saints and Falcons in Weeks 15 and 16, respectively.
With the top seed in the AFC locked up, Reid decided to rest most of his starters in Week 17 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Kansas City dropped that meaningless season finale by the score of 38-21 to enter the postseason at 14-2.
Mahomes’ Injury Scare vs. Browns
The Chiefs kicked their feet up and watched the Wild Card Round from their couches just like the rest of us thanks to their first-round playoff bye. However, their first playoff matchup with the Cleveland Browns was hardly an easy one. The Browns came to Arrowhead feeling confident after trouncing the Steelers the week prior.
Kansas City jumped out to a 19-3 halftime lead, though, and many believed the Browns’ Cinderella run was about to come to an end. Cleveland’s offense had played pretty well, but an untimely fumble just before halftime looked like it may have been a fatal blow.
However, Cleveland turned the game into a dogfight.
Mahomes suffered a concussion in the third quarter after taking a hit from Browns linebacker Mack Wilson. Mahomes’ head hit the turf, and he was forced to leave the game. Mahomes’ absence took a lot of the bite out of the Chiefs’ offense as they struggled to move the ball with Chad Henne under center.
The Browns fought their way back into the game, but they were unable to overcome their halftime deficit in the end. Henne managed to convert a crucial fourth-down late in the game to put the game on ice and end Cleveland’s hopes of pulling the upset.
Mahomes Returns For AFC Championship
While the Chiefs were able to celebrate their win over the Browns, all eyes were on Mahomes’ status in the run-up to the AFC Championship Game. Mahomes had to clear the NFL’s concussion protocol in the week leading up to their highly-anticipated clash with the Buffalo Bills.
The Chiefs opened as three-point favorites due in large part to the uncertainty surrounding Mahomes. However, it never truly felt as though his status was in much doubt. Mahomes was cleared to play by Friday, which ensured that he would be on the field to help the Chiefs defend their AFC crown.
Patrick Mahomes says he’s cleared concussion protocol.
He’s good to go Sunday. pic.twitter.com/QE0j88kqra
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 22, 2021
The former Super Bowl MVP looked no worse for the wear against Buffalo. While the Bills jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, it took KC very little time to erase that deficit. The Chiefs scored three unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 21-12 lead into halftime. Kansas City then outscored Buffalo 10-3 in the third quarter before adding another score early in the fourth.
The Bills’ inability to capitalize against the Chiefs’ defense was the story. Kansas City has struggled defensively at times this season, but they were able to keep Buffalo out of the end zone on a number of occasions in the AFC Championship Game. That bend-but-don’t-break style doesn’t always work, but it certainly helps to have Mahomes putting up points on the other side of the football.
Mahomes completed 29 of his 38 passes for 325 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in the game. Tyreek Hill (172 yards) and Travis Kelce (118) became the first teammates in NFL history to each record at least 100 receiving yards in back-to-back postseason games.
The Chiefs successfully defended their AFC title with a 38-24 win to pave the way for their second trip to the Super Bowl in as many years. Kansas City will look to become the first team since the 2004-05 Patriots to win back-to-back titles when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, February 7.
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith has been a staff writer with GamblingSites.org since early 2017. Taylor is primarily a sports writer, though he will occasionally dabble in other things like politics and entertainment betting. His primary specialties are writing about the NBA, Major League Baseball, NFL and domestic and international soccer. Fringe sports like golf and horse racing aren’t exactly his cup of tea, bu …
