Playing on the road in late January literally shocked the Chiefs out of their season-long funk. That’s according to Patrick Mahomes, who never had started a playoff game at somewhere other than Arrowhead Stadium until last month.
The Chiefs, the defending Super Bowl champions, kicked off the AFC playoffs as only the No. 3 seed. That means KC got one playoff game at home.
Mahomes indicated that being in the visitors locker room at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo and M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore gave the Chiefs new motivation.
“We just haven’t had that aspect, so it kind of lit fire under some guys, including myself,” said the Chiefs quarterback at his press conference earlier this week.
“At the end of the day, it’s playoff games, you want to win. This is what you play for. And I think that fire would have been — regardless of if we were an underdog or not — that fire would have been lit because this is the time of year that you work for and you put in those hard practices for.
“I think we have that mindset that if we’re going to practice the way we do, we’re going to work the way we work, we’re not going to let it slide by,” Mahomes said. “We’re going to make sure we maximize our opportunity every time we’re out there.“
Even with Super Bowl experience, Chiefs are underdogs again
The Chiefs upset the top-seeded Ravens, 17-10, last Sunday to claim the AFC spot in the Super Bowl. They’ll be leaving for Las Vegas this weekend to start prepping for the game against the 49ers, Feb. 11. The Chiefs will use Raiders headquarters for their daily practices before the game at Allegiant Stadium.
Mahomes is turning in solid numbers this post season. He is completing 68 percent of his passes. In three games, he’s thrown for 718 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s a 100.7 QB passer rating. His passer rating is eight points higher than what it was during the regular season. His completion percentage is a point higher and his interceptions, on average, are down in the post season. Competing at the highest levels in the playoffs is just muscle memory for the Chiefs superstar quarterbackl.
Meanwhile, Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton said the entire team has embraced the underdog role. This is the team that has played in six straight AFC title games, making the Super Bowl four times. Yet oddsmakers made the 49ers the favorite.
“I think a lot of guys in this locker room have spent their whole lives as underdogs,” Bolton told reporters this week. “Guys that weren’t highly recruited. Guys that didn’t come out of the draft as high picks. “Being underdogs, I think we embody that personality, man.”
More must-reads: