Kansas City Chiefs Punch Ticket To Super Bowl LVII

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For the third time in the last four seasons, the Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl bound. In a nail-biter, the Chiefs finally exorcised their demons against the Cincinnati Bengals. It was not always pretty. Though, Kansas City once again secured a playoff victory with a full team effort. Patrick Mahomes showed his toughness after suffering a scary ankle injury last week. Moreover, Steve Spagnuolo and the Chiefs defense came up huge when it mattered most.

For a team that was doubted since the offseason, Kansas City proved that they are still the top dog of the AFC. The AFC West spent millions of dollars to add stars. They still could not dethrone the Chiefs. The Buffalo Bills and the Bengals were riding tremendous heaters late in the season. They still could not best Kansas City or get to the Super Bowl this year. Now, the Chiefs have a chance to win their second Lombardi Trophy in the last four years.

What were the major sticking points from the AFC Championship Game? Plus, what are some key headlines to watch for as Super Bowl LVII prep begins? Let’s kick it off.

Mahomes Puts Chiefs Offense On His Back

We are not saying that Mahomes did not receive some help in the AFC Championship Game. Yet, you saw just how the Chiefs’ signal caller built his MVP case this season. He carried the team on his back to get the job done. It happened when Kansas City had their backs pinned against the wall. It happened when a number of his wide receivers suffered injuries in this conference title game. Finally, Mahomes did it while playing with a sprained ankle.

The Chiefs tried to run the football in spurts. Nevertheless, Cincinnati stuffed it and eliminated that area throughout the duration of the game. In total, Kansas City only had 42 rushing yards on 20 carries, good enough for only 2.1 yards per carry. To boot, the Chiefs had a long carry of only six yards for the entire game.

Mahomes fit some unreal throws into tight windows. On top of that, the Texas Tech product escaped and slid away from pressure, when possible. He finished with 326 passing yards, while delivering to all areas of the field. Amazingly, around 88 percent of the total yards from the Chiefs offense came from Mahomes’ arm. In high-pressured moments, he came through to deliver a Super Bowl appearance.

Kansas City Defense Puts Pressure On Burrow

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The Chiefs defense did something that they were unable to do in this year’s regular season trip to Cincinnati. That would be, getting pressure on Joe Burrow. Kansas City registered five total sacks, with Chris Jones landing two and Frank Clark finishing with 1.5. Meanwhile, the Chiefs had 12 quarterback hits. They were relentless, played with emotion and energy and set an early tone against the Bengals blocking unit. Spagnuolo had some unique wrinkles and designs that appeared to catch Cincinnati off guard upfront.

Even when the pressure was not as close to getting home, the Chiefs defensive backs put pressure on Burrow, in a sense. Other than a handful of hiccups, Kansas City was extremely tight in coverage. This forced Burrow to be perfect with his accuracy. Sometimes he answered into traffic. Other times, the Bengals pass catchers failed to come through for him. Kansas City also came up with two interceptions. Each of those came from a pair of rookies, Jaylen Watson and Joshua Williams.

You knew that Burrow and the Bengals were going to get theirs at some point. But overall, the Chiefs defense answered the stiff test of Cincinnati’s offense adequately. It was a masterclass by Spagnuolo in his defensive play calling and designs. Lastly, the Chiefs came through in situational football, something that lacked in previous meetings with the Bengals.

Wholesome Super Bowl LVII Headlines

There are plenty of headlines to point towards that simply put a smile on your face entering Super Bowl LVII. First and foremost, Andy Reid getting to face the other team that he was a head coach of is rarefied air. He spent 14 years in Philadelphia with the Eagles, which were extremely fruitful. Now 10 years with Kansas City, and his Chiefs tenure has been just as marvelous, if not more incredible.

Another headline involves a pair of siblings. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Eagles center Jason Kelce will have to put their energetic relationship to the side for one game, so to speak. Both have each won one Super Bowl. As a result, whoever wins in Arizona will be guaranteed to hold an advantage of two Super Bowls compared to one in this battle of the brothers.

The quarterback matchup will always draw in the headlines. However, there is a bit of history involving Mahomes and Jalen Hurts for Super Bowl LVII. This will be the first Super Bowl ever with two black starting quarterbacks. Furthermore, both Mahomes and Hurts are Texas natives, making this a battle of passers from the Lone Star State.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.