Kansas City Chiefs win AFC title for 4th time in 5 years،
BALTIMORE — The Kansas City Chiefs, who for most of this regular season have looked more vulnerable than ever since Patrick Mahomes became their starting quarterback in 2018, are heading back to the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs scored a touchdown on each of their first two possessions, then held on to beat the Baltimore Ravens 17-10, sending Kansas City to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in the last five years.
The Chiefs, who defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVIII last season, are looking to become the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champions since the New England Patriots in 2004.
“You don’t take it for granted,” said Mahomes, who went 30 of 39 for 241 yards and a touchdown. “You never know how many you're going to hit or if you're going to hit one. So it's really special to do it with these guys after what we've been through all season. The guys are coming together, it's really special. But I told them, 'The work isn't done.' Our job now is to get ready to play a good football team in the Super Bowl and try to get that ring.
The deciding play was a 32-yard pass from Mahomes to Marquez Valdes-Scantling on 3rd-and-9 with more than two minutes left. A miss would have given the Ravens the ball with enough time to tie or win.
The Ravens blitzed and Mahomes threw a perfect pass to Valdes-Scantling. The Chiefs then managed to run out the clock.
“It wasn’t hard to decide,” coach Andy Reid joked afterward. “Just a few words. It was zero blitz. We knew it would be zero blitz or at least we had a good idea. You never really know, but we thought we knew and it did and that set MVS in a great position…that's right…to make the play.”
Tight end Travis Kelce had 11 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. During the game, he broke Jerry Rice's all-time postseason record of 151 receptions. With an 11-6 regular season record, the Chiefs have lost more games than ever with Mahomes as the starter. They played sloppy games, including a Week 16 home loss to Las Vegas in which the Raiders scored both of their touchdowns on defense following Chiefs turnovers on consecutive plays from scrimmage.
But general manager Brett Veach said the loss to the Raiders served as something of a wake-up call to the Chiefs, who won their final two regular-season games and three more in the playoffs.
“Sometimes the worst things that happened to you or happened to you during your season turned out to be the best,” Veach said. “We were finding ways to win games, but something wasn't right, whether it was on offense or defense or on special teams. It just wasn't in sync, but we were winning and I think sometimes it It's just deodorant…
“That loss, I think, really hit us hard and I think it gave the whole organization a look in the mirror. So I really emphasize that this game is really one of the key motivators for that Everyone listen here.”
Mahomes had in many cases the worst statistical season of his career with a QBR of 63, a yards per attempt average of 7.0 and a career-high 14 interceptions. He was affected by the problems around him. The Chiefs dropped more passes than any team in the league and were second in offensive penalties. Among the league's highest scoring teams in recent years, the Chiefs finished 15th this year with 21.8 points per game.
But in three playoff games, Mahomes has five touchdowns and no interceptions.
After beating the Miami Dolphins at Arrowhead Stadium in the wild-card round, the Chiefs had to play on the road for the first time in Mahomes' playoff career in the divisional round against the Buffalo Bills . The Chiefs were underdogs but beat the Bills 27-24.
