KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Deal with it, America.
The three-peat mission for the Kansas City Chiefs is still alive.
Sorry, Buffalo.
Too bad, Bills Mafia.
And for that growing crowd of detractors across the nation rooting for the Chiefs to lose primarily because, well, they win too much, the latest triumph for Patrick Mahomes and Co. in the AFC championship game was for you, too.
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Chiefs 32, Bills 29.
What about the haters?
Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones flashed a huge grin when the question was posed in the middle of a festive locker room after Kansas City clinched its berth in Super Bowl 59.
Then Jones began rapping, with a song blaring through the speakers as if it was on cue.
It was a Drake tune called, “God’s Plan.”
“Yeah, they wishin; and wishin’ and wishin’ and wishin’, ” the lyrics maintain.
Maybe that’s the best explanation for a team that again survived a close call at the finish and won its 17th consecutive game by one score or less to set up a rematch of Super Bowl 57 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
As Jones rapped all about love, Patrick Mahomes stood at his locker a few feet away feeling the same vibe as he vigorously bopped his head back and forth on beat.
No, this upcoming trip to New Orleans and the chance for the Chiefs to make history as the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls is hardly about the people wanting to see them fail.
But they get it.
“That comes with being successful,” Jones said. “You get less attractive. The more success you have, the more people want to see you fail. As I had spoken about last week, it’s about getting to that mountaintop. Every year, it’s a climb.”
And for the past three seasons, every year the Chiefs have been standing at the top.
Even so, there is fresh fodder for the detractors – and those on the other side — to wonder whether the Chiefs (17-2) benefitted from some special favor. Or maybe good fortune. Last week, after Kansas City defeated the Houston Texans, controversy brewed over two unnecessary roughness penalties for hits on Mahomes.
On Sunday, questions flowed from a stop of Bills quarterback Josh Allen for no gain on a crucial fourth-and-1 from the Chiefs’ 41-yard line early in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t settled until a replay review upheld the on-field decision by referee Clete Blakeman’s crew.
Given the mass of bodies, was it an accurate spot?
Jones put it to USA TODAY Sports this way: “The replay said they didn’t make it. Don’t argue with your mama.”
Bills coach Sean McDermott had a different perspective. From his vantage point on the sideline, McDermott thought his quarterback had moved the chains.
“I thought he had it,” McDermott said. “Just inside that (40-yard line) stripe was the first down. It looked like he got it.”
After the turnover on downs, the Chiefs marched 59 yards in five plays, with Mahomes capping the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run that, with a two-point conversion, gave Kansas City the lead again with a 29-22 margin.
Just don’t think the Chiefs didn’t make their own breaks – again.
To beat the Bills again in another classic playoff match – Kansas City is 4-0 in postseason against Buffalo, 0-4 during the regular season with Mahomes – the Chiefs needed their star quarterback’s legs as much as they did his arm.
There was a fourth-and-1 run for six yards in the second quarter – reminiscent of a fourth-down gamble in overtime in the Super Bowl 58 victory against the San Francisco 49ers – that kept alive a 70-yard touchdown drive. And Mahomes finished the next drive with a 1-yard TD sprint.
You might expect that Mahomes (18-for-26, 245 yards, 1 TD) would out-pass Allen on any given outing, but with his 43 yards on 11 carries and 2 TDs, he outran him, too.
Near the end, though, Mahomes was like everybody else at Arrowhead Stadium, watching to see whether Allen would rally the Bills to victory with some crunch-time heroics. The Chiefs needed some clutch defense, too. Buffalo set up for its final drive with 3:33 on the clock.
“I’m always nervous when the football is not my hands,” Mahomes said. “But I just have so much trust in that defense. They’ve done it all year.”
Before that final drive, the Bills had converted on four of their five fourth-down gambles in the second half, the only blemish being the close call on Allen’s sneak. Just inside the two-minute warning came the make-or-break fourth-and-five from Buffalo’s 47.
That’s when Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo dialed up a corner blitz for the first time in the game, sending Trent McDuffie off the edge. It threw Allen off rhythm, with George Karlaftis bearing down from the other edge. Allen scrambled and heaved a throw on the run to the middle of the field. Yet usually surehanded tight end Dalton Kincaid muffed the pass. And the Bills were essentially finished. Again.
Jones recalled his thoughts as he watched the potential clutch pass cut through the air.
“I hope he don’t catch the ball,” Jones said. “I’m tired. Get us off the field.”
The Chiefs could really exhale – at least for two more weeks – after they sealed the game when Mahomes found Samaje Perine for a third-down completion that moved the chains.
No, they weren’t lucky. No, the refs didn’t give them any gifts. The Chiefs won again because they are the most poised and resilient team in football, finding one way or another to survive.
For the people who are sick and tired of this storyline, buckle up. The champs can’t be dethroned for at least two more weeks.
And they could care less if much of America is rooting for their demise.
“The only thing that matters to me are the people in this building,” tight end Travis Kelce said. “All that other stuff is just outside noise.”
Noise that will likely become louder on the NFL’s biggest stage.
“If they ain’t hating you, you ain’t the top dog,” McDuffie said. “My brother was a Patriots fan when Tom Brady was there. I used to hate the Patriots. So, being in that position where everybody is hating, oh, it’s a great feeling.”
Especially when it comes with a chance for history.
“Yeah, they wishin; and wishin’ and wishin’ and wishin’. ”