Patrick Mahomes was not alleged to get to the Tremendous Bowl this 12 months.
Although he and the Chiefs are the defending champions, it felt that individuals doubted them at each flip.
They misplaced to the Lions within the first recreation of the season, and that introduced questions. Their receivers seemed under common.
Travis Kelce had a worse season than he has ever had with Mahomes. They misplaced 4 of six video games in the midst of the season. They seemed terrible in a Christmas Day defeat to the Raiders.
All of it added as much as it feeling like this is able to be a reset 12 months for the Chiefs. Positive, they most likely would make the playoffs, but it surely felt like they’d fall in need of the Tremendous Bowl.
Then Mahomes was playoff Mahomes, and the Dolphins, Payments and Ravens paid the worth.
There needs to be no extra doubters for the 28-year-old Mahomes, however the 49ers are the favorites within the Tremendous Bowl, one thing that certainly will gas the Chiefs star.
You marvel if Lamar Jackson being the favourite to win the MVP gave Mahomes one thing further in Baltimore final week for the AFC Championship recreation.
Bear in mind Michael Jordan explaining in “The Final Dance” that Karl Malone profitable the MVP in 1997 drove him within the NBA Finals once they performed that 12 months?
Mahomes was alleged to be challenged by the opposite quarterbacks within the AFC. His contemporaries — Jackson, Josh Allen and Deshaun Watson — have been supposed to present him competitors. However none of them have reached the Tremendous Bowl.
The up-and-comers — Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence and Justin Herbert — posed one other risk, however solely Burrow has a playoff win over Mahomes, and Mahomes avenged that final 12 months.
Even some previous gunslingers in new locations — Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers — have been thought to pose a risk. However Wilson has been a complete catastrophe for the Broncos, and Rodgers has but to finish a cross for the Jets.
Regardless of all these challengers, Mahomes stays the unquestioned king at an important place in sports activities. He has moved into the class of chasing historical past. Most notably, can he surpass Tom Brady and grow to be seen as the best ever.
Mahomes has an opportunity to do one thing that Brady was the final quarterback to do — win back-to-back Tremendous Bowls. Brady’s Patriots gained consecutive Lombardi Trophies in 2003 and 2004. Nobody has executed it since.
Mahomes and the Chiefs had an opportunity to repeat in 2020 when Brady’s Buccaneers stopped them. Mahomes in contrast this shot at going back-to-back with that one this week.
“They’ve been such totally different seasons, I believe that’s been the largest factor,” Mahomes stated. “The final time we tried to go back-to-back we gained like — I believe we have been like 14-1 going into that final week, acquired to relaxation, misplaced that recreation after which form of rolled by way of the playoffs. It’s by no means straightforward, however we performed effectively, and we have been simply form of like, ‘Oh we’re going to do it once more.’ We’re going to go on the market and play once more, and we acquired our butt kicked.
“This 12 months it’s been utterly reverse. It’s been a wrestle all through the season, and we’ve needed to proceed to get higher and higher. That’s what I’ve at all times preached. … I believe now it’s not simply being happy with getting there — this can be a nice soccer workforce we’re going up in opposition to, it’s going to take our greatest soccer, form of prefer it’s taken the final three weeks that we’ve performed.”
These Chiefs really feel like a extra full workforce than any Mahomes has been on. Steve Spagnuolo’s protection has been terrific within the playoffs. Isiah Pacheco offers Mahomes a greater working recreation than he has had earlier than.
His surrounding forged within the passing recreation just isn’t as star-studded as a number of years in the past, however it’s a must to marvel if it issues with Mahomes taking part in quarterback.
It could be an exaggeration to say nobody anticipated Mahomes to be right here. However he has confronted extra doubts this 12 months than he has since 2019, and he has quieted all of them. It appears like Mahomes has been on a mission, and the 49ers are the one factor standing in the best way from him including one other line to his already superb résumé.