The Kansas City Chiefs will play in their third Super Bowl in the last four seasons after eking out a 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship. The Chiefs have not lost since a three-point setback in Cincinnati on December 4, and none of their three losses this season came by more than four points. They steamrolled to their seventh straight AFC West championship; the last time a different team won the division, it was the Denver Broncos, who won Super Bowl 50 over Carolina. Let’s break down the Chiefs’ season and their path to the title game, as you consider your Super Bowl betting strategy.
NFL News: The Kansas City Chiefs’ Road to Super Bowl LVII
→ A Season of Consistency
Most teams stumble here and there throughout the long march of the NFL regular season, but the Chiefs found ways to get around most of their stumbles and escape with wins. We saw this in both games against the Los Angeles Chargers; in Week 2, it was a late pick-six by the Chiefs that secured a three-point win, and it was also a late turnover that led to a three-point win in Week 11. The only real stumble came in Indianapolis, where the Chiefs only managed 17 points in a three-point loss to a Colts team that would turn out to be a laughingstock by the end of the season. The defense bent at key moments against inferior offenses, as in wins at Denver and Houston, but the team was able to win nonetheless. Delivering in moments of adversity is a hallmark of a champion, and the Chiefs have done that ll season long – not just in the AFC Championship.
→ The upcoming bye week
The Chiefs saw a lot of players go down to injury in the AFC Championship. Linebacker Willie Gay (shoulder) was limited to 26 snaps. Wide receivers Kadarius Toney, Mecole Hardman and JuJu Smith-Schuster all had to leave due to injury. Defensive back L’Jarius Sneed also had to leave. If the Super Bowl were next week, the injury report would look grim indeed. However, the bye week gives all of these players time to recover and get healthy. The same is true about Patrick Mahomes’ high ankle sprain, which did not keep him from excelling when it counted against the Bengals. He only had a week to bounce back from the sprain in the divisional round, and he was adequate against Cincinnati. With two weeks to recover, he should be even better against the Eagles.
→ Experience goes a long way
The Chiefs have played in five straight conference championships and now play in their third Super Bowl in four years. The Chiefs’ core group has played in two of the last three Super Bowls, and this is Andy Reid’s fourth Super Bowl as a head coach. It is true that the Eagles went to (and won) a Super Bowl in 2018, but they had a different starting head coach, a different quarterback and a largely different roster. For those who think that this experience gap is insignificant, it is telling to look at Brock Purdy’s midweek interview last week, when he said that big games in college had prepared him for the NFC Championship. It did not take long for that to unravel – and for the rest of the team to unravel when Purdy went out of the game. Jalen Hurts has also won on the biggest stages in college, but the lights of the Super Bowl are brighter than any others.
→ The Chiefs have a collective chip on their shoulder
In the week before the AFC Championship, it came out that some in Cincinnati were referring to Arrowhead Stadium as “Burrowhead” because of the success that Joe Burrow and the Bengals had had over the Chiefs in the last two seasons. Once the Chiefs won, tight end Travis Kelce mentioned this in comments after the game, and he also called out Cincinnati’s mayor, who had suggested that Joe Burrow was Patrick Mahomes’ “daddy” in a tweet. Let’s just say that the Chiefs have plenty of wounded pride after getting routed in a Super Bowl two years ago and giving up an 18-point lead at home in the AFC Championship last year.
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