BALTIMORE – The Kansas City Chiefs, who for most of this regular season looked more vulnerable than at any time since Patrick Mahomes became their starting quarterback in 2018, will return to the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs scored a touchdown on each of their first two possessions and 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 beat the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVIII last season, are looking to be the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champions since the 2004 New England Patriots.
“You don't take it for granted,” said Mahomes, who completed 30 of 39 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown. “You never know how many you're going to reach or if you're going to reach any. So it's really special to do it with these guys after what we've been through all season. The guys come together, it's really special. But I told them, ' The job is not done.’ Our job now is to prepare to play a good football team in the Super Bowl and try to get that ring.”
The final play was a 32-yard pass from Mahomes to Márquez Valdés-Scantling on third-and-9 with more than two minutes left. An incomplete game would have given the Ravens the ball with plenty of time to tie or win.
The Ravens charged and Mahomes threw a perfect pass to Valdes-Scantling. The Chiefs were then able to run out the clock.
“It wasn't hard to score,” coach Andy Reid joked afterward. “Just a couple of words. It was a zero bomb. We knew it was going to be a zero bomb or at least we had a good idea. You never really know, but we thought we knew, and we did and it put MVS in a great position right… to make the play.”
Tight end Travis Kelce had 11 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown. During the game, he broke Jerry Rice's career playoff record of 151 catches.
With an 11-6 regular season record, the Chiefs lost more games than ever with Mahomes as the starter. They played several sloppy games, most notably a Week 16 home loss to Las Vegas in which the Raiders scored both of their touchdowns defending Chiefs turnovers on consecutive plays from scrimmage.
But general manager Brett Veach said the loss to the Raiders served as a wake-up call for 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 in your season turned out to be the best,” Veach said. “We were finding ways to win games, but something was wrong, whether it was on offense, defense or special teams. It just wasn't in sync, but we were winning and I think sometimes that's just deodorant…
“I think that loss really affected us and I think it allowed the entire organization to look in the mirror. So I really point to that game as one of the key motivating factors for everyone to be here.”
Mahomes in many ways had 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 this season finished 15th in scoring at 21.8 points per game.
But in the three playoff games, Mahomes has five touchdowns and zero 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' postseason career in the divisional round against the Buffalo Bills. The Chiefs were underdogs but defeated the Bills 27-24.
