In some ways, it can be tough to process just how impressive this run by the Kansas City Chiefs has been. Only eight teams have won back-to-back Super Bowls, and none have won three. If Patrick Mahomes were to win his fourth Super Bowl, along with two regular-season MVPs, he will have put together one of the greatest résumés in any sport, all before he turns 30.
On this episode of Scoop City, Dianna Russini and Chase Daniels break down the unique greatness of Mahomes and these Chiefs.
The partial transcript below has been edited for clarity. You can listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or watch on YouTube above.
Dianna: You’ve been saying this since training camp. You have not wavered, you have not stuttered, you have not hesitated. Even when we were criticizing some of the offense — and even some of the defense at times during this season — yet you kept doubling down saying, “They’re going to do it, they’re going to win the Super Bowl, they’ll figure it out, and they always do.” We saw a version of Patrick Mahomes against the Bills that is true Patrick-Mahomes-in-the-playoffs type of play. I want to really first just get your thoughts after you’ve had now a good 24 hours to sit and watch some of this over and over.
Chase: Well, I think a couple of things were true. I thought that Andy Reid had a masterful game plan. There were like three or four RPOs in the first series of the game, sort of set the tone. Didn’t let the defensive line for Buffalo get into the backfield and affect Patrick Mahomes. Thought they ran the ball really well — 135 yards rushing for an Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes team, that’s a lot, took some pressure off Patrick. And then Patrick Mahomes. He’s never had a two-touchdown rushing game in his entire career. By the way, we saw a designed quarterback run for a touchdown with Travis Kelce leading the way! People are going to miss it, but they actually ran that play the series prior and he handed it off. He was actually reading it. But more importantly, forget about the X’s and O’s. I think that when the game and the season and a career of Josh Allen, really, is on the line, no one shows up more in these moments than Patrick Mahomes. Look at his first seven years as a starter. He’s reached the Super Bowl five of those years and he’s reached the AFC championship in the other two. He’s 5-2 in the AFC championship. I think it’s — I don’t think, I know it’s one of the greatest starts to a career in any sport. I had people go back and look at like, who has won four championships and two MVPs in all four major North American sports. There’s like 10 people in hockey, in baseball. You’re talking like Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Wayne Gretzky — legendary names. It’s because he plays his best when his best is needed. It might not look good throughout the season. Early in the season, you might throw 11 interceptions. They didn’t turn the ball over, until their last game, in nine straight games. No one’s talking about that. He had the fumble, he had the miscue, but they were able to overcome it. And man, playing at home is a big deal in this whole situation.
Dianna: So, our colleague and friend Mike Silver was at the game and his postgame story was really well done. He talked to Matt Nagy, just about what Patrick had been like over the weekend. And Matt said, “Well, why don’t I show you a text I sent my wife after the team meeting on Saturday night?” The text said, “Pat’s slowly turning into his superhero creature tonight at the hotel as we speak. It’s the coolest thing ever. Not many people understand. He creates an edge and becomes a different person as he gets locked in. It’s fascinating. He’s got that look in his eye tonight that normal people just don’t have.”
Chase: The look in his eye.
Dianna: The look in his eye. I do feel like that superhero title is handed out all the time. We talk about it when when these quarterbacks are becoming the stars as the reason why their teams are winning. But I think he has a superhero power almost like we’ve never seen before. Because he’s able to find ways to win consistently. I had a GM text me during the game — obviously wasn’t one of those playing in the AFC championship Game: “I hope we appreciate all of this because he’s having fun, and he wants to be this great.” It’s easy to take it for granted, and it’s easy to get that Chiefs exhaustion. When we talk about the exhaustion, when we talk about them going for the three-peat, I did think it was really interesting, Andy Reid’s perspective on it. Remember, I asked him, “You’re allowing these guys to go to say, ‘We’re going for the three-peat.’” I just thought that that was aggressive. Because that can slap you in the face at some point, put a target on your back. It could be cocky. Whereas, as you know, both teams you talk to, most players will say, “One game at a time, we’re worried about the next game.” The Chiefs are out here going “Super Bowl three-peat.” Let’s take a listen to how Andy described it when we asked him why he’s comfortable letting these guys focus on going for a third straight.
Andy Reid (from a previous episode): It’s not healthy. I mean, it’s a nice goal to put out there. It’s hard to get one. So these guys busted their tail to get one. They busted their tail to get two. I come back to that training camp thing, that grounds you. You have to do this, this and this to even think about getting to there. They’ve got to go through the process and I can take care of that part. If they keep thinking that we’re going to do great things, more power to them.
Dianna: He knew it then.
Chase: It’s amazing.
Dianna: But he also points out, I think the takeaway — not just in sports, but in life — it is about everyday doing the work. You always hear about how hard their practices are, how hard their training camps are. They never let down. I was thinking about Andy, too, watching that game, and when I used to do pregame reports for ESPN, I used to always give him a hard time in my reports about how impatient he’d be in the run game. I’d always say, “Well, you know Andy’s not going to run the ball,” right? I thought at least in Sunday’s game and even this whole season, he’s become a patient play-caller on the ground. And you see it and it’s working. I’m not talking about a run game like Saquon Barkley out there. They’re not doing that. They did just enough to make the Bills have to worry about it, to make the Bills go, “All right, we can’t just worry about their weapons. We’re going to have to figure out a plan for what’s on the ground.”
Chase: He’s process oriented. I was with him for three years when he first signed there in 2013. I was part of the start of the building of the dynasty. I mean, we didn’t really win anything — we won one playoff game in three years there. But he was always focused. Their training camp is in St. Joseph, Missouri. If you’ve ever been to St. Joseph, Missouri, there is nothing there whatsoever. It is literally a place for them to escape. You’re in dorms on these horrible beds and it’s just a way for you and your team just to get your head on right. You’ve won back-to-back. All these guys are getting media deals. You’re seeing Mahomes, you’re seeing Kelce, you’ve seen everyone on these national commercials. It’s almost like an escape. It’s almost like they can’t wait to get there to sort of regroup, to go for three. They’ve already made history, in my opinion. There’s been eight teams that have gone back to back. They’re the first team ever to even reach the Super Bowl in a quest for three. Now, it would be awesome if they won it, but they’ve already made it. It’s so hard to tell people how incredibly not normal this is.
Dianna: Tell Taylor.
Chase: Yeah, tell Taylor. She’s at back-to-back Super Bowls. I’m like, what are we doing here? She gets it. But just the fact that you’re able to win as many games as they have and to consistently be great, it’s not even good. Week in and week out, for like 60 straight games over a three year span, you are great. Iit’s really hard to explain to people that have not played the game and don’t know what it takes to go in just to one game. Now we’re talking about three whole seasons for a Super Bowl. The mental stamina of a guy like Patrick Mahomes. Week in, week out, these game plans change. For him to just be up there and just to be the guy who they count on day after day, week after week, year after year, and it’s a different game plan every week. You have different protection rules. You got to do so much more around you because you’re Pat. It’s just incredible.
Dianna: I want to do like another 15 minutes about this, but we’ve got two weeks of prep to discuss, preview and get into the Kansas City Chiefs.
Chase: Yes. We have a lot.
Dianna: We didn’t even touch on Spags! we don’t even touch on his magnificent blitzing.
Chase: Game on the line and you blitz a corner. I mean, unreal.
Dianna: But at the same time if you’re the Bills, how do you not see that coming?
Chase: How are you in empty? Why are you in empty when you know it’s coming?
(Photo: Brooke Sutton / Getty Images)
