You too, San Francisco? It happened again Sunday evening, another team clawed its way to a 10-point lead over the Kansas City Chiefs only to be systematically dismantled by the play-calling of coach Andy Reid and sleight-of-hand brilliance of quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
This time, the Chiefs dug their way out of that familiar hole to win in overtime, 25-22, with Mahomes not only winning his third Vince Lombardi Trophy, but his third Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award.
If that sounds familiar, it’s because the Chiefs trailed by 10 against the 49ers four years ago, and against the Philadelphia Eagles last season, and won both of those games.
“Never a doubt,” said Reid’s wife, Tammy, standing outside Kansas City’s locker room after the game and wearing a pair of glittering championship rings that looked as big as donuts. She wasn’t ruffled when the Chiefs fell behind 10-0.
“I told everybody [in the suite to calm down], we got this,” she said. “I’m sick of that. I want us to be ahead by five touchdowns at all times. I’ve told the players, I’ve told him and nobody listens.”
On the other side of the locker room doors, nobody could hear anyway. The air was filled with cigar smoke, champagne spray, thumping music and team chants.
Mahomes and Reid are the new Brady and Belichick, only Tom and Bill never seemed to have this much fun.
The game wasn’t a pristine masterpiece for Mahomes, who had an interception and two fumbles, both of which were recovered by Kansas City. At halftime, the Chiefs had only three points and seven first downs. They could not jump-start their offense.
But dismiss Mahomes at your peril.
“He comes to work every day humble, wanting to be great, challenges the guys around him to be great every play,” Reid said. “He never flinches. ‘You dropped the ball? We’ll get the next one,’ or, ‘I need you in this spot, right here.’ It’s not like chewing them out or any of that. … That’s the way he operates.”
Just about every coach in the Pro Football Hall of Fame had at least one quarterback who was likewise enshrined. One day, that will be the case for Reid and Mahomes
“Certainly there have been a lot of great quarterbacks in the history of the National Football League, and a pretty good one who won a bunch of Super Bowls over the last 20 years,” said Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, referring to Brady and his seven rings.
“But at 28 years old, Patrick’s already put together a very impressive resume and I know he’s going to build on it.”
A cornerstone of Mahomes’ success has been All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce, who wasn’t a big factor in the first two quarters but made nine of his 10 receptions after halftime.
