Since Patrick Mahomes was named the starting QB of the Kansas City Chiefs ahead of the 2018 NFL season, K.C. has been a juggernaut. They’ve reached the AFC Championship every single season—that’s seven in a row for those mathematicians out there—and emerged as conference champs in five of those campaigns. That kind of dominance is not only unprecedented, but it has created something of a logjam of elite AFC QBs behind Mahomes, all searching for Super Bowl glory.
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The Chiefs QB is still only 29 as well. That has Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson pondering if any of those other guys will ever be the bride and not the bridesmaid. The simple answer? “The other guys are going to have to wait,” Johnson said.
It’s a situation reminiscent of the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls, the late ’90s Yankees, or the Belichick-coached Patriots—all dynasties that prevented other great teams from reaching the pinnacle. And it’s exactly what the Chiefs and Mahomes are doing now.
“Think about the ’90s Bulls, the Lakers, the Celtics, think about the New York Yankees when they had their run, you think about Coach Belichick when he had his run with Tom [Brady]… Mahomes is still only 29, so he’s gonna play for another decade, Andy Reid will still be there. So even though other teams are improving, so are the Chiefs as well,” Chad said.
These days, the “Big 4”, is often mentioned to denote the elite QBs in the AFC. Alongside Mahomes, there’s Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals, and Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens. All three of those guys have lost to Mahomes in the playoffs since 2020.
Ochocinco believes that, to get over the hump, they’ll have to slay their demons. Much like the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens did in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
“At what point will Lamar [Jackson], [Joe] Burrow, or anyone else have their Ben Roethlisberger moment? Or their Joe Flacco moment? Because, you’re going to always have to knock down the big dog… It’s gonna be a very, very long time, and everyone has to have their moment.”
Mahomes has gone 6-1 against Burrow, Jackson, and Allen in the playoffs, with Burrow leading the only successful challenge during a win in Kansas City during the 2021 AFC Championship. But even then, Burrow and the Bengals fell short in the Super Bowl against the Los Angeles Rams.
That trio of tragic QB figures will need to overcome Mahomes if they want to be champions. A couple of former Super Bowl champs broke down the best way to do just that on Inside the NFL.
Super Bowl winner Chris Long reveals what champions have in common
Chris Long, who was a two-time Super Bowl champ with the Patriots in Super Bowl 51 and the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52, knows a thing or two about success at the highest level.
Making plays is crucial in the postseason. However, Long pointed out that it’s actually masking your weaknesses and ensuring you play mistake-free football that separates the best, like the Mahomes and his Chiefs, from the herd.
“That’s what the playoffs are about too, is finding the weakness. But winning a Super Bowl is about… not making the big mistakes. It’s not allowing your weakness to get exposed, and I think the Chiefs have done a great job of that.”
Ryan Clark, a 13-year NFL veteran and Super Bowl-winning safety for the Steelers in Super Bowl 43, concurred with Long to an extent. He believes teams need to know their identity and find a way to “accentuate your positive and minimize your weaknesses.”
“Who could show up as more of themselves than the other team? By that point, you are who you are. You’re gonna win football games or lose football games the way you did the entire season. How do you accentuate your positives and minimize your weaknesses.”
Since 2019, only the Buffalo Bills, at 0.46 turnovers per game, have taken better care of the ball in the playoffs than the Chiefs, at 0.89 turnovers per game. Most other teams, with at least six playoff games over that span, had 1+ turnovers per postseason game.
That puts into perspective how good Patrick Mahomes is. But, it also shows how unlucky Josh Allen and the Bills have been in their four playoff losses to K.C.
