They were on the precipice of a historic three-peat, only to emphatically be knocked off their perch by the Philadelphia Eagles in a 40-22 drubbing at Super Bowl 59 that, if anything, flattered them.
So what next for the Kansas City Chiefs?
This is no crisis, no prompter for blind panic. The Chiefs are still the all-conquering force that has never experienced anything less than an AFC Championship appearance in all of Patrick Mahomes’ seven seasons as starting quarterback – reaching five Super Bowls in that span.
He’s won three of those, named MVP on each occasion, but has tasted defeat in the other two.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes describes his Super Bowl 59 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles as the ‘worst feeling in the world’.
“Any time you lose a Super Bowl, it’s the worst feeling in the world that will stick with you for the rest of your career,” Mahomes said after the defeat.
“It’s hard to come back from that in the Super Bowl. I have to learn from that and try to be better the next opportunity that I hopefully get.”
The best of the action from Super Bowl 59 as the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans.
Mahomes is far from running out of opportunities. As well as pursuing the three-peat, he was hoping to become the first quarterback in NFL history to win four Super Bowls before turning 30.
But it doesn’t mean that defeat stings any less. Mahomes was seen teary-eyed on the Chiefs sideline as the final seconds ticked by in New Orleans, Tom Brady’s record haul of seven Super Bowls feeling that little bit more unattainable.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was teary-eyed as he suffered a second Super Bowl defeat in five visits
“I think about, unfortunately, the three [Super Bowl] losses probably more than I think about the seven wins,” Brady himself admitted during his first broadcast as commentator on the big game.
“It hurts to lose this game. We lost to the [New York] Giants in 2007. We were on the precipice of history [and an unbeaten season] and we faced a Giants team that played their hearts out that day and beat us.
“I still haven’t really lived it down, because you care so deeply. And I know that this Chiefs team does as well.”
Mahomes’ second Super Bowl loss with the Chiefs actually had a very familiar feel to his first, which came against Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to cap the 2020 season.
Tom Brady celebrates the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Super Bowl LV win over the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021
Mahomes also threw two interceptions in that 31-9 blowout defeat to the Bucs, albeit he was sacked just the three times compared to the six he wore in the Superdome in New Orleans
“It completely had this boa constrictor feel around it,” Sky Sports’ Phoebe Schecter said on the Super Bowl-review Inside The Huddle podcast. “The Eagles defense gave them no air.
“They are a team that is number one in not allowing explosive plays. They’re so good at open-field tackling, and they’re really smart. They only rush four, which challenges the quarterback on what he is seeing.
“The offensive line struggled so much. The Eagles started to bully them and Mahomes had nowhere to step up into to throw the football.”
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ pass is intercepted by Philadelphia Eagles’ Cooper DeJean, who takes it to the house for a touchdown.
The Eagles defense forced 11 pressures of Mahomes on the night, while the Bucs got to him 10 times in their triumph four years ago, which prompted a major overhaul of the offensive line in the offseason.
They spent free agency dollars on left guard Joe Thuney, traded draft picks to acquire left tackle Orlando Brown Jr from the Baltimore Ravens, and selected center Creed Humphrey and right guard Trey Smith in the 2021 NFL Draft.
It had the desired effect. Kansas City returned to the Super Bowl two years later, in 2023, and would get the better of the Eagles on that occasion, before Brown vacated for the Cincinnati Bengals the following free agency.
Still there was no derailing the Chiefs, with back-to-back championships clinched against the San Francisco 49ers last year.
Patrick Mahomes was sacked six times in Super Bowl 59, in keeping with the Kansas City Chiefs’ struggles to protect him all season
But, in 2024, familiar failings crept in as Thuney was forced out to left tackle and Jawaan Taylor struggled on the other side of the line. Mahomes was hit 109 times during the regular season and sacked 47 times (including the playoffs) – both record highs for his career.
“The Chiefs have always been able to stay ahead of the sticks in that they’ve been able to add upgrades to their team time and time again,” Schecter said.
“They’re maybe not where they want to be right now. But they can be comfortable with who they’ve got going forwards.
“They were in 12 one-score games [this season], and they still managed to get here. They just have to make some little tweaks.”
A look at the best of the off-field action from Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans..
Kansas City are certainly capable of dipping into free agency again and bolstering their squad via the draft once more, just as they did after that last Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay… the only difference is this time, there could be some significant players – and one in particular – heading out through the exit at the same time.
Travis Kelce set the Super Bowl record for the most career receptions in the defeat to the Eagles – his four catches taking him to 39 and two past Hall of Famer Jerry Rice – but his future remains unclear.
Mahomes certainly hopes the 35-year-old tight end will return for a 12th full NFL season.
“I know he still has love for the game,” Mahomes said. “He’ll get time to spend with his family and make that decision on his own. He’ll be welcomed back here with open arms.”
Might Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes have played their last game together, with rumours of the former’s impending retirement?
Kelce dismissed reports of his impending retirement earlier in the week, saying: “It’s moments like these that make me feel like I could play this game forever.”
“I feel like I still have a lot of good football left in me,” he added.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Saturday that Kelce hasn’t made up his mind about retiring, while he wasn’t asked nor did he address his playing future following Kansas City’s Super Bowl defeat.
His main takeaway from the loss was: “You don’t lose bad without everything going bad.
“There were a lot of things going wrong. You can’t just say it was the O-line or anything like that. I think it was accumulated of everything really not going our way today.”
Asked what head coach Andy Reid told the Chiefs after the game, Kelce added: “You know, this will hurt. Let it hurt and figure out how to get better.”
Kelce or not, that’s something this Chiefs squad certainly have within them.
Such is their consistent track record of success over Mahomes’ tenure at QB in particular, that bookmakers already have them listed as favourites to win it all in a year’s time.
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“I got on the bus after that game [against the Giants]; I absolutely believed 100 per cent that we were going to win and it was just devastating,” Brady added. “I couldn’t speak for the rest of the night.
“I just remember waking up the next morning and I thought, ‘That’s a nightmare, that game didn’t happen, I was dreaming, we haven’t actually played the game yet’.
“The reality of a loss in this game is you don’t ever get over them. It’s a difficult feeling to have.
“But Patrick is the ultimate competitor. If there’s anybody that can rebound, it’s Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, this organisation and what they’re built on.”
