SUPER BOWL 54
The Kansas City Chiefs will meet the San Francisco 49ers in two weeks in Miami for the Vince Lombardi Trophy
KANSAS CI TY, Mo. — With his best imitation of a tightrope walker, Patrick Mahomes high- wired t he Kansas City Chiefs into their first Super Bowl ina half-century.
Oh sure, Mahomes did his usual superb job passing, but it was his 27-yard tap dance down the left sideline late in the first half that gave the Chiefs their first lead. From there, they outran the runoriented Titans and star back Derrick Henry for a 35- 24 victory Sunday in the AFC championship.
At last, for the first time since 1970 and the third time overall, the Chiefs (14-4) are Super Bowl bound to Miami.
“I mean, it's amazing. It really is,” Mahomes said. "To be here, to be a part of Chiefs Kingdom and to be able to do it here at Arrowhead, these people deserve it. And, we're not done yet."
Adding to the joy of the achievement, coach Andy Reid and owner Clark Hunt accepted t he Lamar Hunt Trophy — named after his father — emblematic of the AFC title. It was handed over to them by Chiefs Hall of Famer Bobby Bell, with Mahomes and safety Tyrann Mathieu jumping for joy on the makeshift stage.
Next up: chasing the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
"Chiefs Kingdom, we are going to the Super Bowl,'' Hunt said.
“It's awesome,'' Reid said, asking the crowd to chant ”How about those Chiefs?''
The Chiefs lost in the very first Super Bowl, 35-10 to the Green Bay Packers. But they charged back t hree years later to beat Minnesota 23-7 behind Len Dawson, Otis Taylor and animated coach Hank Stram famously urging his team to “keep matriculating the ball down the field, boys!”
As they had done in their past three "elimination'' games, the sixth-seeded Titans (11-8) got started quickly. The difference at Arrowhead as opposed to Houston, New England and Baltimore was that the Chiefs had Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Damien Williams on offense, and a vastly upgraded defense from when they lost in last year's AFC title game. Henry was held to 7 yards rushing in the second half.
"They were doubling all these guys,'' Mahomes said of his spectacular TD run on which he barely stayed in bounds. "I just ran it and got some good blocking at the end and found a way to get in the end zone.''
A week after they overcame a 24-0 deficit against Houston, the Chiefs had to rally again.
Down 10-0 and 17-7, Kansas City didn't flinch, building a 35-17 lead while controlling the clock with a strong ground game. Naturally, Mahomes complemented that with sharp passing, spreading the ball on short and deep throws. The dagger came with a 60-yard completion to Watkins for the Chiefs' 28th straight point midway in the final period.
Ma homes thrust both arms in the air as the crowd sang "I Want To Dance With Somebody.''
After Tennessee jumped to a 10-0 lead, the Chiefs got rolling, scoring on three successive series. Hill took it in on a shovel pass, later beat top Titans cornerback Logan Ryan for a 20-yard reception, and Mahomes finished the half with his brilliant jaunt down the left sideline with half the Tennessee defense seemingly expecting him to step out of bounds.
That gave the Chiefs a 21-17 lead at halftime. It went to 28-17 on Williams' 3-yard run to cap a seven-minute drive. Then Watkins toasted Logan for the clinching long pass.
Henry was held to 69 yards on 19 carries after rushing for 588 yards in the past three games as an unstoppable force.