Chiefs, Mahomes And Kelce Continue To Climb Up Playoff Ladder

The Kansas City Chiefs are heading back to the Super Bowl. After an AFC Championship win in Baltimore, the Chiefs will look to win their third Super Bowl in this recent stretch, and fourth as a franchise, overall. Kansas City will look to take down the NFC-champion San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. Of course, these two teams met just four years ago in Super Bowl LIV. That clash in Miami was electric. Will the same environment materialize in a couple of weeks in Las Vegas?

While we begin to dive into more Super Bowl LVIII coverage and matchups soon, it is time to reflect on specific results from Sunday. As a team, the Chiefs continue to make new history and enjoy a rare stretch of playoff runs. And in the player category, the dynamic offensive duo of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce continue to amaze. We are simply witnessing greatness from each of them that is not very common in the playoffs.

For more on some team and player accomplishments, we will look into some key stats and numbers after Kansas City’s most recent win in the AFC Championship Game. Let’s kick it off.

Best Of The Best

The Kansas City Chiefs have been able to rattle off 14 playoff wins since Mahomes became starting QB. According to Harold Kuntz of Fox4 News Kansas City, that is the most amount of playoff wins in a six-year span in NFL history. The different ways in which the Chiefs have continued to win in the playoffs is truly special. All told, Kansas City just knows how to show up and make the key plays in crucial moments. That was on display on each side of the ball on Sunday.

With their win in Baltimore, KC has now reached the Super Bowl four times in the last five seasons. According to CBS Sports, the Chiefs are now the third team ever to reach a Super Bowl four times in a five-year span. The Buffalo Bills did so from 1990 to 1993. And with Tom Brady, the New England Patriots did so from 2014 to 2018. Kansas City fans know and understand how they cannot take this current playoff stretch for granted.

Mahomes Rising Among NFL Greats

As mentioned above, the Chiefs have 14 playoff wins since Patrick Mahomes became starting quarterback. Kansas City has either reached the Super Bowl or fell in the AFC Championship Game in all six seasons in which he has been the starter. Super Bowl LVIII will now be his fourth career Super Bowl appearance, having gone 2-1 previously. Meanwhile, when he has not reached the Super Bowl, he and Kansas City suffered overtime losses in the AFC Championship Game. One to the Patriots. And, one to the Cincinnati Bengals. That is the earliest he has been defeated in the playoffs in his career.

If you look at his 14 career playoff wins, Mahomes now sits tied at third place all-time among quarterbacks in playoff wins. He joins Terry Bradshaw, John Elway and Peyton Manning with those 14 postseason victories. A win in Super Bowl LVIII would place Mahomes alone in third place with 15 career playoff wins. If things go KC’s way in this upcoming Super Bowl, he would only trail Joe Montana (16 career playoff wins) by one playoff win entering next season.

Sticking to his postseason wins a bit further, Mahomes is now second in postseason win percentage among quarterbacks who played at least 10 career playoff games. His .824 playoff win percentage sits only behind Bart Starr (.900 career playoff win percentage) for QBs with at least 10 career playoff games.

Finally, the playoff touchdown passes list is fascinating to watch. Mahomes now has 39 career touchdown passes in the playoffs. He sits in sixth place all-time entering Super Bowl LVIII. If he has at least two touchdown passes in a couple of weeks, Mahomes would pass the aforementioned Peyton Manning (40 career playoff touchdown passes) for fifth place all-time.

Kelce Breaks Record In Dominant Showing

Sunday afternoon was a dominant showing for Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. If you missed it, Kelce surpassed the great Jerry Rice for a new playoff record in Baltimore. Kelce passed Rice for career playoff receptions on Sunday. In total, the tight end caught all 11 of his targets. He needed just seven receptions to pass Rice. He accomplished that in the first half. After yesterday, Kelce now has 156 career playoff receptions. Rice tallied 151 career playoff receptions.

While he did not pass Rice in any other categories, Kelce inched closer to the career playoff touchdown catches record. Rice had 22 career touchdown catches in the playoffs. With his lone score in the AFC title game, Kelce now has 19 career touchdown catches in the playoffs.

The career receiving yards record in the playoffs is where Rice has more breathing room. For his postseason career, Rice had 2,245 receiving yards. Kelce had 116 receiving yards on Sunday. He remains second place all-time for receiving yards in the playoffs. Currently, Kelce is now at 1,810 receiving yards in his playoff career. That is a 435-yard difference between Rice and him. If you look at 100-yard receiving games in the playoffs, Kelce has now tied Rice for the most playoff games with at least 100 receiving yards in NFL history (eight games).

I do not know if anyone will ever be considered a better performer than Rice in playoff history as a pass catcher. Yet, his numbers that appeared to be untouchable are in striking distance for Kelce. Who knows how much longer the Chiefs pass catcher plays in his career. But, there are certain possibilities that could allow him to still get another career receiving playoff record.