With years of NFL dominance have historically come villains. The New England Patriots have experienced it, and now the Kansas City Chiefs are facing the same thing as football's most hunted sovereign.
Andy Reid's Chiefs are two wins away from becoming the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls after defeating the Houston Texans 23-14 on Saturday to reach their seventh straight AFC Championship game against the Buffalo Bills Josh Allen.
Patrick Mahomes is seeking his fourth career Super Bowl crown after leading the Chiefs past the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas last February to confirm a dynasty.
Once the league's most explosive and trick-or-treating offense, the Chiefs have rebranded themselves as a hard-nosed winning machine that relies on Steve Spagnuolo's stubborn, shape-shifting defense after also winning 11 games by one score this season.
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Highlights of the action from the Houston Texans' clash with the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs
“We watch the Chiefs and I think in general there's Chiefs fatigue in the public eye,” Sky Sports NFL's Neil Reynolds told Inside the Huddle.
“They became the Patriots. Only Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have gone to more consecutive AFC Championship games, repeated and reset as the Patriots.
“Now, everybody thinks they get called every week. I think Patrick Mahomes got a few calls to his favor that he probably shouldn't have gotten.”
Hop on your social media platform of choice this season and you may have come across accusations of favorable decisions by officials, trial protection for Mahomes and even claims of Chiefs voodoo. All just an opinion, of course.
Just ask Texans kicker Kaʻimi Fairbairn, who kicked a field goal and an extra point Saturday while seeing another late field goal blocked.
The Chiefs, however, benefited from controversial roughing the passer penalties against Will Anderson Jr. and Henry To'oTo'o in their Divisional Round win over the Texans, both of whom saw long streaks end with key points.
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Jason Bell and Ndamukong Suh discuss the controversial call on Patrick Mahomes in the NFL divisional round playoff game between the Houston Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs
“I see the frustration on the outside with the occasional call, but I think people should enjoy it and recognize, as I did with Brady, the greatness, the historic greatness,” Reynolds added.
“I enjoy other teams getting to the Super Bowl, but this is a really good streak where the Chiefs, historic streak, best seven-year stretch in history, but they get some calls every now and then.
“When they ended the Patriots' dynasty, they were the good guys!”
The Chiefs entered the playoffs after ranking 11th in scoring margin during a regular season in which they blocked a last-second field goal to beat the Denver Broncos, were saved by a last-second fumble against the Las Vegas Raiders and overcame a strained toe Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely.
As it had to do with their survival through injuries in the marquee, consistent pass protection issues, and the effectiveness of Mahomes and his stutter in reinforcing a sense of inevitability. They were anything but convincing at times, but still finished 15-2 to earn the No. 1 seed and a bye in the first round.
“I'm listening to the radio after the game and everyone else is saying it's fixed, Mahomes is getting this and that,” Jeff Reinebold added.
“What's starting to be heard is that people hate the Chiefs! For decades, they were a team in the middle of America that no one thought much of.
“They were a small market that nobody thought too much about. Now they are an evil empire and you have to drive them out.”
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Mahomes finds reliable tight end Travis Kelce to extend the Kansas City Chiefs' lead over the Houston Texans
Travis Kelce came to life at his favorite time of the year over the weekend, leading the Chiefs with 117 receiving yards and a touchdown to surpass Jerry Rice for most 100-yard postseason receptions in NFL history.
He averaged 16.7 yards per catch on the day and managed just 8.5 yards during the regular season, which also led him to a career-low but still high 823 receiving yards.
“If you froze me in a cryo chamber for 10 years, took me out and put me back in, and I was watching Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce, I'd know it was January,” Reynolds said.
“That's ridiculous. Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce, how does that happen?
“It's the Chiefs. 212 yards of offense, fewest offensive yards in a playoff win since 1991. There should be concern, but here they are again in the championship game, because of Mahomes, Kelce, the usual suspects.
“He caught a pass over the middle of the field and I saw the cruise ships turn faster.”
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A look at the best plays Mahomes combined with Kelce from the 2024 NFL regular season.
All four losing teams from the weekend's Divisional Round contest finished their games with superior rushing yards compared to their opponents, the Chiefs managing just 50 yards on the ground while seeing Mahomes throw for a paltry 177.
“Kansas City was outplayed by Houston in first downs, third-down efficiency, total plays, total offense, yards per play, passing — this is Mahomes we're talking about — rushing … and they won the football game,” Reinebold said. .
It was the 300th career win for Chiefs head coach Reid, who is now just four playoff wins away from tying Belichick's all-time record of 31.
Would a third straight Super Bowl win the Patriots' iconic rival the right to be considered the greatest coach of all time?
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Highlights of the action from the Baltimore Ravens-Buffalo Bills matchup in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs
“I don't know how he can't be up there as the greatest, being in that special class with some of the best of the best,” Reinebold said.
“If he can somehow drag this team to another Super Bowl win and make it a three-peat, which no one has ever done, including Belichick, then how can you not put him on the same pedestal.
“I think about Belichick's prickly nature, Andy wants to spread the good and wants everyone to feel like they're the reason why they're winning, the Patriots culture has never been like that.
“He's not like that. Their defense is what wins football games, not their offense, and that doesn't bother him.”
What's next?
The NFL Conference Championships are Sunday, January 26 – live Sky Sports NFL – with the Philadelphia Eagles first hosting the Washington Commanders in the NFC title game at 8:00 p.m., then the Chiefs taking over at 11:30 p.m.
Super Bowl LIX takes place on Sunday, February 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, live on Sky Sports NFL.