By Amy Tennery
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – The Kansas City Chiefs will chase history on Sunday with an unprecedented Super Bowl “three-peat” within their reach, as they look to build their dynasty against a young Philadelphia Eagles team.
New Orleans holds romance for the Chiefs fans after they won the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in the Big Easy 55 years ago, before a half century-long drought that the dynamic duo of coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes snapped in 2020.
They will hope the Crescent City shines bright on them in their fifth Super Bowl appearance in six years with the twice MVP Mahomes taking inspiration from another future Hall of Famer.
“To be able to win with a team that’s around you is something that’s special,” said Mahomes, who ran in two touchdowns and threw for another in the Chiefs’ thrilling 32-29 win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship.
“I think I learned that the most from Tom Brady man, he would do whatever it took to win the football game. And as a quarterback that’s what you have to be.”
The reigning champions wasted no time this season letting the league know they were in control, winning their first nine games en route to a 15-2 record, even as last season’s leading rusher Isiah Pacheco sat sidelined for 10 weeks through injury.
Running back Kareem Hunt took on more of the workload while rookie wideout Xavier Worthy stepped up with 638 receiving yards after off-season acquisition Marquise Brown missed the bulk of the year with a shoulder injury suffered in the preseason.
They became expert escape artists in the process, having now won an NFL record 17 consecutive one-score games, including a midseason overtime nailbiter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Some of those were just how the ball bounced,” said Reid. “I would also tell you the guys, they obviously don’t give up. They’re going to play four quarters for you.”
Few embody that mentality more than tight end Travis Kelce, who overcame a sluggish start to the season and ended it the team’s leading receiver by yards and said he did not need the validation of a fourth Super Bowl ring.
“I want this Super Bowl at this point even more so for the guys around me than myself, it’s just where I’m at in my career,” Kelce told reporters. “I feel like I’m a lot more selfless nowadays than I was early on in my career.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New Orleans, additional reporting by Nathan Frandino; Editing by Toby Davis)
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