Here's how each season has ended for Mahomes:
2018: Loss in AFC Championship, Overtime to Patriots
2019: Win in Super Bowl LIV, over 49ers
2020: Loss in Super Bowl LV, to Bucs
2021: Loss in AFC Championship, Overtime to Bengals
2022: Win in Super Bowl LVII, over Eagles
2023: ?
If you're keeping score, the worst outcome the Mahomes Chiefs have had is going to overtime in the AFC Championship and losing. So if the Ravens beat the Chiefs in regulation, that will represent the worst finish for this Chiefs era.
Every single year that Mahomes has played, the Chiefs are in the AFC Championship. 6 for 6.
Over the first 5 years with Mahomes, the Chiefs were more likely to go to the Super Bowl than not.
When the Chiefs got to the Super Bowl, they were more likely to win it than lose it.
It was impressive when Mahomes started his career with two AFC Championship appearances. Now he's 6 for 6.
In the 48 AFC Championships before Mahomes, the Chiefs went 1 time.
In the 6 AFC Championships with Mahomes, the Chiefs have gone 6 times.
Such an odd feeling. On the one hand, my whole life until 6 years ago the Chiefs were a letdown. They found new ways to break my heart in the playoffs each and every time. And now they're reliable winners. So I have both the feeling of trust in Mahomes + Reid, but I'm still not used to this.
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The Mahomes-Kelce duo is now your all-time leader in playoff touchdowns.
They passed Brady-Gronk and they passed Montana-Rice.
I remember when the Chiefs drafted Brodie Croyle making jokes that Croyle-Bowe was going to be the new Montana-Rice. Croyle went 0-10 as a starter. But Mahomes-Kelce just surpassed everyone including Montana-Rice for playoff touchdowns.
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We gotta talk about the Bills.
A Bills fan posted it after the Chiefs beat the Jaguars last year in the Divisional Round. This guy says about Chiefs Kingdom "there isn't a fanbase more uninvited to a party" that still shows up.
See, the thing is, when your team keeps winning in the playoffs, that's being invited to the party. When you make it to 3 Super Bowls in 4 years, possibly 4 in 5, that's being invited to the party.
Let's check-in on how the Josh Allen era is going in Buffalo.
2018: misses playoffs
2019: Lost Wild-Card Round to Texans
2020: Lost AFC Championship to Chiefs 38-24 (blown out in KC)
2021: Lost Divisional Round to Chiefs 42-36 OT (13 second game in KC)
2022: Lost Divisional Round to Bengals 27-10 (blown out at home)
2023: Lost Divisional Round to Chiefs 27-24 (wide right at home)
3 out of last 4 seasons have ended to the Chiefs.
Of their last 4 playoff losses, 2 were blowouts. 2 were close. The 13-second game and tonight's wide right.
And the last two years, they lost at home.
And as for that post. Last year, a hobblin ass Mahomes beat the Bengals, the team that blew out the Bills, then won the Super Bowl. This year, that guy was in the stands to see Mahomes get the win tonight. So yeah, I bet he's pretty fuckin tired of the Chiefs.
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I made this prediction in 2020:
So let's do a quick check-in for AFC Championship Games that take place since January 1, 2020:
Chiefs: 5
Bengals: 2
Titans/Bills/Ravens: 1
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While we're here, we might as well look at the Ravens seasons with Lamar:
2018: Lost Wild-Card Round to Chargers
2019: Lost Divisional Round to Titans (choked as 1-seed)
2020: Lost Divisional Round to Bills (17-3)
2021: last in division
2022: Lost Wild-Card Round to Bengals (Lamar missed game to injury)
2023: ?
Not exactly setting the world on fire. Lamar is now 2-3 in the playoffs with a 2020 Wild-Card win over Titans and a win over the Texans yesterday.
To be fair, the Ravens looked great yesterday, particularly their defense. So it wouldn't surprise me at all if Baltimore wins next week.
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Let's update the list through January 2024:
Brady: 13
Mahomes: 6
Manning: 5
Roethlisberger: 5
Flacco: 3
Sanchez: 2
Burrow: 2
Stewart: 1
Gannon: 1
McNair: 1
Plummer: 1
Rivers: 1
Luck: 1
Bortles: 1
Tannehill: 1
Allen: 1
Lamar: 1
Peyton Manning played 17 seasons, all in the AFC. He made the AFC title games 5 times, never back to back.
So going 6 for 6, is uh, pretty good.
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This game featured 5 straight touchdowns. It was 27-24 with 14 minutes to go in the 4th. Nobody could get a stop.
Then the Bills go 3 and out. Plus a fake punt that didn't work.
Chiefs takeover on Bills 32. First play give it to Pacheco for 29 yards. Now it's first and goal from the 3. Should we give to to Pacheco again? Or give it to Hardman on a sweep who already fumbled on a sweep earlier in the game? As soon they handed it to Hardman I screamed what are you doing. Then it looked like he might score. Then he fumbled through the end zone.
So Josh Allen gets a second chance. 3 and out again. Real punt this time.
The Bills defense forces a punt of their own.
Josh Allen gets a third chance. On 3rd and 10, he scrambles, fumbles and it's bouncing towards the Chiefs.
The question will this be a scoop and score or just a Chiefs recovery. And Kincaid reaches it for and knocks it away from the Chiefs and Bills recover.
So Allen gets a 4th chance.
It's 1st and 10 from the KC 27. Cook stopped for a 1 yard gain.
2nd and 9. Instead of getting the ball to a wide open Diggs on a short cross that would have gained 6-8 yards, Allen fires to the end zone but is way off target.
3rd and 9. Chiefs defense gets good pressure, no running lanes, and Allen throws it away to the sideline.
So yes, the Bills kicker pushed it wide right but the Bills offense had so many chances to get a touchdown.
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Mahomes is now 13-3 in the playoffs. 81% winning percentage in the playoffs, best all-time.
Reid is up to 24 playoff wins as head coach, 2nd all-time. 7 behind Belichick.
(Before Mahomes, Reid had 11 playoff wins. So added 13 and counting in 6 seasons. All of a sudden, it's not crazy that in 5 years Reid could pass Belichick for playoff wins, assuming Belichick doesn't start adding 2 per year somewhere.)
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Sunday vs the Ravens will be the 2nd road playoff game for Mahomes. First one went alright.
The Ravens are favored at home and will be tough. This whole season the Chiefs have not been on the level they were last year. And I've doubted the Ravens all year, and they kept proving me wrong.
So I'm not making any confident predictions. Let's just hope for a good game and see what happens.
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