Chiefs Beat 49ers 25-22 in Overtime, Become First Repeat Super Bowl Champions Since 2003-04 Patriots

The careers of great athletes look inevitable in retrospect, even if those careers did not look inevitable from the onset or during critical moments. In 10 years--if not sooner--the Kansas City Chiefs' 25-22 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII to clinch back to back championships will be viewed as just another triumph during the midst of the Chiefs capturing three Super Bowls in a five year span. The Chiefs are the NFL's first repeat champions since the 2003-04 New England Patriots. Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes earned his third Super Bowl MVP, joining Tom Brady (five) and Joe Montana (four) as the only players to win at least three Super Bowl MVPs. Like Brady and Montana, Mahomes has often engineered come from behind scoring drives to reach and then win the Super Bowl; a dropped pass, a tipped ball, or a missed kick could have derailed any of those drives, but after those drives enter the record books they look inevitable, not fragile.

During Super Bowl LVIII there were many moments when a Chiefs' victory seemed far from inevitable. The 49ers were favored in every game that they played during the regular season and the playoffs, and they lived up to that billing for most of the Super Bowl; they scored first in the Super Bowl, taking a 3-0 lead at the 14:48 mark of the second quarter. They did not trail until Mahomes connected with Marquez Valdes-Scanling on a 16 yard touchdown pass that put the Chiefs up 13-10 with 2:28 remaining in the third quarter, and the 49ers quickly countered with a 75 yard drive culminating in a 10 yard touchdown pass from Brock Purdy to Jauan Jennings with 11:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, putting them ahead 16-13; the Chiefs blocked Jake Moody's point after touchdown, which proved to be a pivotal play affecting strategy and play calling for the rest of the game due to the critical difference between leading by four points and only leading by three points. The teams exchanged field goals during the final 5:46, with the Chiefs' Harrison Butker sending the game to overtime by drilling a 29 yarder with :03 remaining in the fourth quarter. The 49ers took the opening kickoff of overtime and drove 66 yards before Moody made a 27 yard field goal to put them up, 22-19. The 49ers were one defensive stop away from dethroning the reigning Super Bowl champions--but Mahomes led the Chiefs on a 13 play, 75 yard drive culminating in his three yard touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman. Mahomes completed all eight of his passes during the game-winning drive as the Chiefs had two third down conversions and one fourth down conversion. Overall, Mahomes went 34-46 for 333 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception while also leading the team in rushing with 66 yards on nine carries.

Anyone who has played sports at any level understands that a great player elevates his team not only because of his individual talent but also because of the confidence that he inspires in the team: when you play alongside a great player, you know that the game is rarely if ever truly out of reach, so you keep plugging away at your job with the understanding that if the game is close at the end then the great player will probably find a way to put the team over the top. Conversely, teams that do not have a great player are more apt to lose confidence or hope, and thus not keep pushing; when things are not going well, it is human nature to get frustrated and lose focus, but great players transcend that aspect of human nature and thus they inspire their teammates to be transcendent as well.

That is not meant to suggest that the 49ers lack great players or that they gave up. Purdy may be a great player in the making, and it is worth noting that he put his team in the lead after each of his final two drives, forcing Mahomes to direct a drive to tie the game and then direct another drive to win the game.

Football is a game of inches, and Chiefs have repeatedly demonstrated the ability to find the inches that they need to win games. Change just a handful of plays, and Mahomes has no Super Bowl wins instead of three, but that is not how football--or life--works. Mahomes has proven his ability to rise to the occasion when it matters most, regardless of how he, his team, or the other team performed prior to the critical moment. In retrospect, this seems inevitable, much like we don't think about the hypothetical ways that Michael Jordan might not have won six NBA titles; those championships seem inevitable in retrospect.

However, just a few months before Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to their first NBA championship, his teammate Bill Cartwright provided this assessment of Jordan (as related on page 249 of Sam Smith's book The Jordan Rules): "He's the greatest athlete I've ever seen. Maybe the greatest athlete ever to play any sport. He can do whatever he wants. It all comes so easy to him. He's just not a basketball player." Many "experts" declared that Jordan was too selfish to ever win a championship; what looks inevitable in retrospect did not seem likely or even possible to many people before it happened. It is fascinating to watch narratives develop and shift over time. Did Michael Jordan's essence as a player change in just a few months, or did he exploit opportunities as those opportunities presented themselves? It took Jordan seven years to reach the NBA Finals for the first time, but after that point he won all six times he reached the NBA Finals. During those championship runs, Jordan's Bulls beat the L.A. Lakers 4-1 in the 1991 NBA Finals after losing game one, they overcame a 2-0 deficit versus the New York Knicks in 1993, they survived a tough seven game series with the Indiana Pacers in 1998, and they beat the Utah Jazz 4-2 in the 1998 NBA Finals after losing game one. In retrospect, all we remember or see is that Jordan went 6-0 in the NBA Finals; the bumps in the road are forgotten, and the prevailing narrative describes a smooth, inevitable path: Jordan's career is summarized by listing the six championships that he won, not the preceding years during which he failed to reach the NBA Finals, and not the playoff series during which his team trailed and could have lost.

Similarly, Mahomes' journey has not always been smooth, but with three Super Bowl wins by the age of 28 he has entered rarefied air, and thus the prevailing narrative compares him with the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. In that conversation, it is important to remember that Tom Brady won seven Super Bowls (including a victory versus Mahomes' Chiefs in Super Bowl LV) and Otto Graham won seven championships in a 10 year AAFC/NFL career. In other words, Mahomes will have to add another haul of Super Bowl rings equal to the career totals of Terry Bradshaw or Joe Montana just to tie Brady or Graham; it should be obvious that this will not be an easy task even for someone as young and great as Mahomes. Football is perhaps the ultimate team sport: the quarterback runs the show on offense and deservedly gets a lot of credit for team wins/team championships, but team wins and team championships are impossible to achieve without the combined efforts of dozens of other players, plus the coaching staff.

Speaking of coaches, remember when Andy Reid was derided as a coach who is not capable of winning the big game? Hall of Fame coaches Don Shula and Tom Landry were both saddled with that label before winning two Super Bowls each, and now Reid is one of just five coaches with at least three Super Bowl wins, though it should be noted that Paul Brown won four AAFC titles plus three NFL titles, while George Halas won five NFL titles, and Vince Lombardi won three NFL titles before capturing two Super Bowl titles. Shula and Landry are revered as winners, and no one talks about their early, painful playoff defeats; in a similar fashion, Reid has transformed the narrative about his career. Just as it may have once looked inevitable that Shula, Landry, and Reid would never win the big one, in retrospect it seems obvious that they were destined to capture multiple championships.

Next season, Mahomes, Reid, and the Chiefs have an opportunity to win an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl--and if they accomplish that feat, no one will remember how close that game was.

Placing Tom Brady's Greatness in Historical Context

Tom Brady entered uncharted territory by capturing his seventh Super Bowl title and his fifth Super Bowl MVP after leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 31-9 victory over the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs. Brady put up efficient, if not gaudy, numbers, completing 21 of 29 passes for 201 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He joins Peyton Manning as the only two quarterbacks to win at least one Super Bowl with two different franchises. Brady extended his lead over Charles Haley for most Super Bowls won by a player at any position (Haley won five Super Bowl rings), and he is now three ahead of Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana among quarterbacks. Bradshaw's standard of four Super Bowl titles seemed daunting when he set it, and Montana was often described as the greatest quarterback of all-time after he matched Bradshaw's record while compiling superior individual statistics.

The Chiefs had won 25 of their previous 27 games, including a 27-24 victory against Tampa Bay this season, but they had no answers for a Buccaneers team that did not lose again after that Kansas City defeat dropped them to 7-5. The Buccaneers won their last four regular season games, they won three road playoff games before becoming the first team to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium, and they became the first team to beat three former Super Bowl MVPs (Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes) during one playoff run.

Many analysts considered Brady to be the greatest quarterback of all-time prior to yesterday, and now Brady has added another amazing chapter to his already impressive career. 

The other narrative swirling around Brady involves comparing his legacy to the legacy of Coach Bill Belichick. Belichick and Brady teamed up to win six Super Bowls together--setting the record for a coach-quarterback duo--and media members have often speculated about who was most responsible for the New England Patriots' sustained success. It is not surprising that the media narrative veered in Brady's favor as Tampa Bay advanced through the 2020 playoffs while the Patriots failed to qualify for postseason play. Tampa Bay's victory closes the book on this narrative for many media members, who now gleefully proclaim that Brady had more to do with New England's success than Belichick did.

Narratives are easy to construct, and they are often based more on emotion and selective recall/understanding of history than on objective reality.

For example, a popular narrative ranks LeBron James as the greatest basketball player of all-time, but objective analysis reveals that this assertion overlooks the accomplishments of not only some of James' predecessors but even those of his contemporaries, including Kobe Bryant. After James won his fourth NBA title and fourth NBA Finals MVP last season, the narrative uplifting James became even more prominent, but based on MVPs and championships won (two of the criteria often used to support elevating James), James has not surpassed Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, or Michael Jordan.

There is no doubt that James belongs in the greatest basketball player of all-time conversation, just as there is no doubt that Brady belongs in the greatest quarterback of all-time conversation, but the reality is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to objectively select one individual as the greatest performer in a team sport; even in an individual sport such as tennis there is not a clear choice, though that sport also has a media-driven narrative favoring one person (Roger Federer).

Championships won is the simple number often cited to buttress popular narratives, but it is interesting to see which championships "count" when narratives are told. It has become common practice to suggest that Michael Jordan holds some kind of record with six NBA titles, because that is often depicted as the number that Kobe Bryant was chasing (Bryant finished his career with five titles), and it is often depicted as the number LeBron James is chasing now--but Bill Russell won 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons, in addition to leading his teams to two NCAA titles plus an Olympic gold medal. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won six NBA titles but for some reason his titles do not "count" when basketball greatness is being discussed. 

Similarly, much was made of Roger Federer's Grand Slam singles titles, but the talk of the significance of Grand Slam titles became much quieter after Rafael Nadal tied Federer with 20. Narrative creators feel free to change the stories and change the rules as opposed to changing the narrative: once Roger Federer or Tom Brady or LeBron James becomes the favored son, it takes a lot to convince media members to anoint someone else.

There is no disputing the greatness of Federer or James or Brady. Brady has not only won more Super Bowls (seven wins in 10 appearances) than any other player, but he has more Super Bowl wins than any other franchise! He would likely make the Hall of Fame just on the basis of what he has accomplished since the age of 37, including three Super Bowl wins plus earning a regular season MVP award. In that sense, he is similar to Abdul-Jabbar, whose accomplishments past the age of 35 (four NBA titles, one NBA Finals MVP, four All-NBA First Team selections, and eight All-Star selections) exceed what many Hall of Famers accomplished during their entire careers.

However, if championships are the touchstone and measuring stick of professional football greatness in general and/or the greatness of a quarterback in particular, then it must be remembered that Otto Graham made 10 championship game appearances in 10 professional seasons, leading the Cleveland Browns to seven titles. He went four for four in his All-America Football Conference championship game appearances, and then he followed that by winning three titles in six NFL seasons, including leading the Browns to a 30-28 win over the favored L.A. Rams in the 1950 NFL championship game. Against the Rams, Graham completed 22 of 33 passes for 298 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception, while also running 12 times for 99 yards. That victory happened in the first season after the NFL and AAFC merged, and it demonstrated that the Browns' AAFC titles deserved full recognition. 

It is not at all clear why NFL titles are not given equal weight with Super Bowl titles; an NFL championship is an NFL championship, regardless of what it was called in 1950 or what it is called now. AAFC titles should "count" just as much as AFL titles and pre-Super Bowl NFL titles. 

If the argument against doing so is that the rules and style of play were vastly different during Otto Graham's time and Bill Russell's time than they are in Tom Brady's time and LeBron James' time then the correct response is not to discount or ignore Graham and Russell but rather to candidly acknowledge the difficulty of making intergenerational comparisons. Perhaps there is no such thing as "the" greatest player of all-time. Maybe Graham was the greatest of his time, and now Brady is the greatest of his time (which is not to discount the possibility that other players from either era deserve consideration). 

The greatest quarterback of all-time narrative favored John Unitas for quite some time (and there is no doubt a vocal minority of observers who would still rank Unitas as the best). Unitas set career records for passing yards (40,239) and touchdowns (290) that far exceeded the marks that he broke. He won two NFL titles in the pre-Super Bowl era, plus an NFL title in the Super Bowl era (but that season ended in a famous loss to the AFL champion New York Jets in Super Bowl III). Unitas threw a touchdown in Super Bowl V before leaving the game due to injury, and his Colts won that contest on a last second field goal after Unitas' backup Earl Morrall replaced Unitas. Unitas is considered the prototype drop back passer.

It is interesting that the player who broke Unitas' records, Fran Tarkenton, was not often mentioned as the greatest quarterback of all-time; I cannot recall ever seeing or hearing a commentator rank Tarkenton as the best. Yet, Tarkenton held the career passing yardage record (47,003) for longer than any other quarterback (19 years), and he also held the career passing touchdowns record (342) for longer than any other quarterback (20 years), but Tarkenton never won a Super Bowl.

Terry Bradshaw won four Super Bowls, but his individual numbers are not as gaudy as Unitas' or Tarkenton's, nor are they efficient when compared to the statistics compiled by the passers who came after him and who benefited from rules changes that opened up the passing game.

Dan Marino at one time held the career records for passing yardage and for touchdowns, but he only made it to one Super Bowl and he never won a championship. Early in his career he was touted as someone who could become the greatest quarterback ever, but as Marino set records while Montana won Super Bowls the notion that Marino might be the greatest faded from consideration, and Marino became the Tarkenton of his era (albeit with a much different playing style, as Tarkenton was a scrambler while Marino was a pure pocket passer).

Joe Montana matched Bradshaw by winning four Super Bowls, and by the end of his career he was often touted as the greatest quarterback of all-time, a notion that went largely unchallenged until the emergence of Brady.

At some point after Brady matched Montana and Bradshaw with four Super Bowl wins while also accumulating MVP awards and posting gaudy statistics, the narrative shifted from Montana to Brady. Brett Favre--who held the career passing touchdowns record for seven years--and Peyton Manning--who held the career passing touchdowns record for five years--received some consideration prior to Brady's ascension, but Favre only won one Super Bowl and Manning only won two Super Bowls so after Brady surpassed their individual records his superior ring count took both of them out of the conversation. 

Drew Brees and Tom Brady have been trading the career passing touchdowns record recently, but Brees won just one Super Bowl, and he did not win that Super Bowl until after Brady had already been ranked ahead of Favre and Manning, so Brees has never been part of the greatest quarterback of all-time narrative.

If you believe that quarterback is the most important position in football--if not in all team sports--and if you believe that a quarterback's greatness is best measured by championships, then your choices are Otto Graham or Tom Brady. If you place more value on individual numbers, then you have to decide if it matters more to dominate your own era by a wide margin--in which case, you would probably choose Unitas--or if it matters more to dominate in recent times, in which case you could choose any one of several quarterbacks depending on which statistics you deem to be the best measure of greatness.

The larger point is that, without clearly defining the standard of greatness, the narrative elevating Brady (or anyone else) is so devoid of context as to be rendered meaningless. Was it more difficult to play in earlier eras under different rules and conditions, or are today's athletes so superior to the athletes from decades past that the athletes from previous eras would not excel today? 

Most commentators and analysts do not embrace the challenge of researching such matters and using that research as a basis to form intelligent opinions; instead, we are fed simplistic narratives about "rings" and "Who is the GOAT?" that do a disservice to the history of the game and the accomplishments of the game's greatest players.

Regarding the Belichick and Brady narrative, it is not necessary or accurate to diminish what Belichick achieved in order to give Brady the praise that he deserves. Bill Belichick's Super Bowl XX game plan as the New York Giants' defensive coordinator was so brilliant that it is on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Belichick's offensive and defensive game plans as the Patriots' head coach are indisputably great, and those schemes played a crucial role in the franchise's unparalleled success.

It is fascinating to watch how the media creates and manipulates narratives. Brady is almost universally popular, with perhaps the only exception being the fans of teams who he has beaten in Super Bowls--but Belichick is regularly mocked for his press conference demeanor. Many media members would love to bring Belichick down a notch--or six notches, by finding any excuse to discount his Super Bowl titles. Of course, the same narrative game that they are now playing with Belichick and Brady could easily be applied to Belichick and Bill Parcells--and there would be more substance to the latter, as Belichick and Parcells are both coaches and have actually gone head to head against each other in that role.

Parcells won two Super Bowl titles as a head coach, with Belichick running the defense for both squads. Parcells has never won a playoff game--let alone a Super Bowl--without having Belichick on his staff. In fact, Parcells has a losing record overall without Belichick by his side. Parcells supposedly taught Belichick how to win, which is a difficult notion to accept when you look at the won-loss records of both coaches. 

After Belichick left the New York Giants, he took over a horrible Cleveland Browns team (3-13 in 1990) and led the Browns to the playoffs in 1994. That Browns team, which went 11-5, defeated Parcells' New England Patriots in the playoffs, which was the Browns' last playoff win until this season's squad beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. There is some history and context that can be referenced to defend Parcells, but a head to head comparison of coaches who competed with and against each other over an extended period of time makes more sense than trying to define the careers of a coach and a quarterback based on their one season apart after they forged a two decade partnership filled with unequaled success.

Of course, Bill Parcells is beloved as "The Big Tuna." The media is not going to construct a narrative that elevates Belichick over Parcells.

One of the many problems with comparing a football coach's impact with a quarterback's impact is that the coach directs how the entire team plays, while the quarterback's impact is strictly limited to offense, which is less than half of the game (if you factor in that many plays involve neither offense nor defense but rather special teams). 

As a brief side note, it is a true exercise in folly to compare Tom Brady to LeBron James. A star basketball player participates in most of the game (usually at least 38-40 out of 48 minutes) and he has an impact on both offense and defense as one of five teammates on the court, while a quarterback is one of 11 teammates on the field, and his impact is restricted to offense.

Brady's impact on a team is undeniable. He is a great and charismatic leader. His quarterback skill set is impeccable. 

All of that being said and acknowledged, the notion that there is some valid way to parse out Brady's impact on the Patriots from Belichick's impact on the Patriots is absurd. You may counter, "But what if Belichick never makes the playoffs again?" Belichick is 68 years old, and he already is one of the oldest coaches to win a Super Bowl. He is undoubtedly past his prime, and he is closer to the end of his coaching career than he is to the beginning. Do you judge Chuck Noll, Tom Landry, and Don Shula by what they did in the last 5-10 years of their coaching careers, or do you judge them by their overall body of work, with a focus on their primes? 

What if Belichick grooms a young quarterback and wins one more Super Bowl before retiring? That would add to Belichick's legacy, just like yesterday's Super Bowl win added to Brady's legacy, but that would not tell us whether Belichick or Brady had more to do with the Patriots' success.

The truth is that we will never know, but that honest narrative will not move the ratings needle or generate clicks for online articles, so brace yourself for all of the "Brady Owns Belichick" stories.

It is interesting to watch the Patrick Mahomes narrative evolve in the midst of these other narratives. Mahomes has already led the Chiefs to back to back Super Bowl appearances, and one Super Bowl title. It is logical to assume that he will have many more opportunities, but--as noted above--Dan Marino made one Super Bowl appearance early in his career and then never made it back, and Brett Favre made two Super Bowl appearances (with one win) in his 20 year career. It cannot be emphasized enough that the quarterback is a very important player, but he does not play on defense or special teams, and he is rendered helpless if his teammates are ineffective--just look at what happened to Mahomes in Super Bowl LV when the Buccaneers' defense overwhelmed Kansas City's offensive line. 

The truth is that the Mahomes story is incomplete. If he finishes his career with one Super Bowl win plus some gaudy individual numbers then he will not merit being ranked alongside the absolute greatest. On the other hand, yesterday's loss does not diminish what he has already accomplished, and to suggest otherwise is as incorrect as suggesting that Brady's win somehow diminishes what Belichick has already accomplished.

What can we determine using a reasonable, objective approach? 

1) There is a strong argument that Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of his time. He may be the greatest quarterback of all-time, but to make that assessment we must first decide how to validly compare statistics and team accomplishments from the 1940s-1990s with statistics and team accomplishments from 2000-present (Brady's era).

2) There is a strong argument that Bill Belichick is the greatest NFL coach of his time. He may be the greatest NFL coach of all-time, but to make that assessment we must first decide how to validly compare statistics and team accomplishments from prior eras to the statistics and team accomplishments from Belichick's era (1980s-present).

3) Under Bill Belichick's guidance, Tom Brady developed from being a sixth round draft pick into being arguably the greatest quarterback of his time, and possibly the greatest quarterback of all-time. We do not have a large enough sample size of data to determine what development path Brady would have followed without Belichick's influence. 

4) With Tom Brady as his starting quarterback, Bill Belichick has won six Super Bowls as a head coach. During that time, Belichick played a role in both player development and game plan creation. Prior to that time, in his first stint as a head coach, Belichick built the Cleveland Browns from a last place team into a playoff team; prior to coaching the Browns, Belichick's defensive game plans played a major, if not decisive, role as the New York Giants won two Super Bowls. We have a large enough sample size of data to determine that Belichick is an outstanding, versatile coach even without Brady. We do not have a large enough sample size of data to prove how many Super Bowls that Belichick's Patriots would have won without Brady.

The bottom line is that winning a championship involves many variables that cannot be controlled by either the coach or the quarterback. If the Buccaneers had not been able to shut down Patrick Mahomes, resulting in Kansas City winning a 34-31 shootout with Brady posting exactly the same numbers that he posted yesterday would that somehow diminish Brady's greatness? Would it increase Belichick's greatness by "proving" that Brady cannot win a Super Bowl without Belichick?

Framing the conversation in those terms, it should be obvious that many of the media-driven narratives are nonsense.

Chiefs and Browns Demonstrate That Football Really is a Game of Inches

"The inches we need are everywhere around us."-- Coach Tony D'Amato in "Any Given Sunday"

It is often said that football is a game of inches, and the truth inherent in that cliche was vividly illustrated during a few key plays as the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Cleveland Browns 22-17 to advance to the AFC Championship Game for the third straight season.

The Browns were trying to maintain the momentum from last week's dominating road win in Pittsburgh, the franchise's first road playoff win since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, but most analysts did not expect this matchup to be competitive. The Chiefs stormed to a 19-3 halftime lead, but the Browns were just inches away from trailing only 16-10 prior to intermission. 

Rashard Higgins led the Browns with 88 receiving yards on five catches (Jarvis Landry led the Browns with seven receptions, but he gained only 20 yards on those plays), and he had two catches for 48 yards on back to back plays near the end of the first half. After the second of those catches, Higgins dove for the right endzone pylon but he lost control of the ball, resulting in a touchback for the Chiefs. Kansas City's Daniel Sorensen delivered an illegal--but uncalled--helmet to helmet hit on Higgins that should have nullified the fumble and placed the Browns just inches away from tying the game with a touchdown and successful extra point. Instead, the Chiefs quickly drove for a field goal to extend their lead to 19-3. After the game, Cleveland Coach Kevin Stefanski praised Higgins' determination to score but also pointedly noted that he coaches his players to not extend the ball at the goal line precisely because of the high risk nature of such a play. CBS' Bill Cowher suggested that the NFL rule regarding an offensive player fumbling the ball into the endzone is overly punitive to the offensive team, and he suggested that the offense should receive the ball at the 20 yard line instead of the defense being granted a touchback. Cowher's colleague Boomer Esiason noted that it is a flaw in the NFL replay rules that Sorenson's dangerous and illegal helmet to helmet hit is not reviewable (replay review is only available for calls that are made, not missed calls).

The Browns proved their resiliency by fighting back in the second half and creating opportunities to win the game. The second half started disastrously as Baker Mayfield threw an interception deep in Cleveland territory, but the Browns held the Chiefs to an unsuccessful field goal attempt. The Browns then drove 77 yards in eight plays for a Landry touchdown reception. 

Former MVP and former Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes left the game at the 7:27 mark of the third quarter with a possible concussion. He passed for 255 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions while completing 21 of 30 attempts. The Chiefs' drive stalled after journeyman Chad Henne replaced Mahomes, and they settled for a field goal--their final points of the game.

The Browns responded with an 18 play, 75 yard drive that lasted 8:17, included two fourth down conversions, and culminated in a three yard touchdown run by ex-Chief Kareem Hunt. The Chiefs led 22-17 with 11:07 remaining in the fourth quarter, and they had to navigate the closing moments without Mahomes, who could not return to action due to the NFL's concussion protocols.

On Kansas City's next possession, Henne threw an interception in the endzone, and the Browns started their drive at their 20 yard line with 8:00 left. The Browns converted a fourth and one to retain possession but, facing fourth and nine at their 32 with 4:19 left, they punted the ball, and they never ran another offensive play. Perhaps they were counting on being able to stop the Chiefs' Henne-led offense, but the Browns had already burned two timeouts and the best case realistic scenario after punting would have been along the lines of needing to drive 70 or 80 yards for a touchdown with about two minutes left and no timeouts. It would be interesting to know the odds of accomplishing that feat compared to the odds of converting fourth down and nine yards to go; I am sure that the odds are against both, but I suspect that the statistics would show that going for it on fourth down is a valid choice in that scenario. 

Henne led the Chiefs to a first down, forcing the Browns to use their final timeout. The Browns sacked Henne for a six yard loss on second and eight. On third and 14, Henne rushed for 13 yards, placing the Chiefs just inches away from a game-clinching first down. Now, the Chiefs faced the punt or go for it decision on fourth and one in their own territory. After the game, Chiefs Coach Andy Reid said that there was no doubt--at least on his sideline--that the Chiefs would go for it. Henne's short pass to Tyreek Hill netted five yards, and enabled the Chiefs to run out the clock. Henne finished 6-8 for 66 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. Officially, he had two rushes for 12 yards, but the second carry was a game-ending kneeldown in victory formation. 

The heavily-favored Chiefs won by just five points, but what if Higgins had not fumbled out of the endzone or what if a targeting penalty had correctly been called against Kansas City on that play? What if the Browns had gone for it on fourth down late in the fourth quarter instead of punting the ball away? What if the Chiefs had not converted on fourth and one, giving the Browns the ball less than 50 yards away from being able to score the potentially winning touchdown? Of course, Chiefs fans may wonder what might have happened had Mahomes not been injured, but the game seemed to be heading toward a close finish either way, as the Browns proved during the second half that they could move the ball and score touchdowns. The teams combined to run 123 plays from scrimmage, and a few inches here or there on a handful of those plays could have changed the outcome. 

Losing close playoff games is nothing new to the Browns, whose fans have labeled many of those painful defeats with memorable names: Red Right 88, The Drive, The Fumble. The Browns' previous playoff loss, to Pittsburgh in 2003, came after Dennis Northcutt dropped a third down pass when a first down would have enabled the Browns to run out the clock on their division rivals. The Browns, after being pro football's dominant team in the 1940s (four AAFC titles in four seasons) and early 1950s (three titles and six straight championship game appearances to open the decade), have created an unfortunate organizational identity of being a team that consistently fails to find the inches that are everywhere around them. Browns fans can only hope that the 2020 season is the start of a new trend that will result in at least one Super Bowl win, as opposed to a continuation of decades of heartbreak.

The Chiefs are just the second NFL team to host three straight conference championship games. The first team to accomplish this was the Philadelphia Eagles, who hosted three consecutive NFC Championship Games from 2002-04 under the direction of Andy Reid. Reid's Eagles lost two of those NFC Championship Games, and they lost in the Super Bowl after winning the 2004 NFC Championship Game. Prior to arriving in Kansas City, Reid had a long history of losing in championship games, posting an 0-1 Super Bowl record and a 1-4 NFC Championship Game record, but he won his first AFC title and first Super Bowl last year, and he is now two victories away from becoming just the seventh coach to win back to back Super Bowls.