There is one game left in the 2019 NFL season — and the 2020 NFL playoffs — so now is the time to look back on the year and ask in a David Byrne voice, “well, how did we get here?” The Chiefs definitely didn’t end up in their first Super Bowl in 50 years by letting the days go by.
AFC Championship Game
Chiefs 35 Titans 24
We will start with the obvious one. The Chiefs had to beat the Titans to make it to the Super Bowl. The goal was easy: stop Derrick Henry and force Tennessee to win through the air. Achieving that goal was obviously a bit more difficult. Henry was an absolute beast for the first two weeks of the playoffs dominating the Patriots and Ravens. The Chiefs had a difficult job.
Kansas City did what it always does when it needs a big victory. They relied on Patrick Mahomes and their talented group of pass-catchers to create a nice lead — after falling behind by 10 points in the first half of course. Patrick Mahomes led the way — as usual — with three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. That’s not a bad day for the 2018 MVP.
AFC Divisional Round Game
Chiefs 51 Texans 31
For any other team in the NFL, falling behind 20 points in the first quarter is a death knell. For the Chiefs, getting in that hole just meant find an interesting way to dig out. They did just that dropping 51 points on the Texans in the divisional round. Kansas City’s offense was so explosive and it was the only thing exploding because the stadium ran out of fireworks for when the Chiefs scored.
Week 14
Chiefs 23 Patriots 17
The Chiefs scored 17 points in the second quarter and held on late to defeat the Patriots in Foxborough. This was kind of a big deal because this game gave Kansas City the tiebreaker over New England — which came in handy.
This game was important for the Chiefs to exorcise their demons from last season. They needed to go into the 2018-2019 NFL champions home and vanquish the evil empire that is the Patriots — well at least the evil empire to everyone outside of New England.
They did so winning in a fashion that is not typical for Kansas City. They held the Patriots to 17 points. The Chiefs only had one big-play score. They did everything they needed to do to let the league know that the road to the Super Bowl went through the Chiefs in one form or another.
Week 17
Dolphins 27 Patriots 24
This game doesn’t even involve the Chiefs but it has to make the list. The Patriots blew a winnable game and lost the bye week since Kansas City had the tiebreaker.
This allowed the Chiefs to avoid having to face off against a fresh Derrick Henry in the first round. It also helped the Chiefs avoid going to Foxborough for the divisional round, and probably heading to Baltimore after that — since there’s no way Baltimore loses to the Texans in Baltimore.
So yea, this game matters a lot to Kansas City making an appearance in Super Bowl LIV. It allowed the Chiefs to not have to leave the confines of Arrowhead Stadium.
Week 9
Chiefs 26 Vikings 23
All the credit in the world goes to Matt Moore for this win against the Vikings. Two weeks before this game, Patrick Mahomes went out with a dislocated kneecap. It looked bad. No one knew when Mahomes was coming back — although we did know it wasn’t bad enough to keep him out for the season. The Chiefs were coming off a 31-24 loss to the Packers. They couldn’t stand to lose another game or their season could have been in peril.
Matt Moore was 25 for 35 for 275 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He led the Chiefs offense down the field on six scoring drives. Harrison Butker was four for four on field-goal attempts. If the Chiefs lose this game they end up with the three seed and maybe even the four seed since the Texans sat their starters in Week 17 and held a tiebreaker over the Chiefs from their head to head matchup.
Week 7
Chiefs 30 Broncos 6
Kansas City was up 20-6 over the Broncos at halftime, but also lost Mahomes for, at that time, who knows how long due to his knee injury. They could have quit in the second half. They did not.
The Chiefs defense came out and dominated the Broncos in Mile-High on a Thursday night. Matt Moore showed that he could manage the Chiefs offense, and they came out with an easy victory. Again, the Chiefs at the time did not know how long Mahomes would be out for with his knee injury. This showed a lot of perseverance.
Week 10
Titans 35 Chiefs 32
The last game the Chiefs lost. This was a learning moment. They couldn’t just come into a game an expect to outscore their opponent. Outside of the divisional round, the Chiefs defense has not given up more than 24 points since.
