The Chiefs’ quest for another Super Bowl began immediately after KC won the last one
The Buccaneers went all-in on reshaping their 2020 team, starting with quarterback Tom Brady and adding the likes of tight end Rob Gronkowski and running back Leonard Fournette.
Their Super Bowl opponent played the hand it was dealt.
Why not? The Chiefs won last year’s Super Bowl and decided to keep their window of opportunity open for 2020. When the Chiefs take the field Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, as many as 17 players who started last year’s game could also start this one, including 10 on defense.
A touch-up instead of a makeover was the obvious call. With the game’s best young, and many would say overall, quarterback in Patrick Mahomes to build around, the Chiefs brought back as many championship pieces as they could, and before the COVID-19 pandemic hit were on pace to return 20 starters.
“The pulse that we have is we had a good core and nucleus with Pat and Chris (Jones) and Tyrann (Mathieu), and I think our mindset was just to fill in as much talent as we could,” general manager Brett Veach said.
It could be more difficult to keep the band together next year, but the Chiefs did everything in their power to maintain continuity for this year’s run. And they experienced some good fortune to further tilt this year’s circumstances in their favor.
That includes their coaching staff. Head coach Andy Reid, after winning his first Super Bowl at age 61, welcomed back coordinators Eric Bieniemy, Steve Spagnuolo and Dave Toub — with Bieniemy’s path to a head-coaching job stunningly blocked for another year.
The cast was in place for the sequel, or as the Chiefs promoted it, #RunItBack.
“When you have a Hall of Fame coach and you have the best player in the NFL that you’re going to have a chance to win with every game, it was just a matter of fill out the depth of that roster and making sure that when we run into some issues throughout the course of the season, we’d be prepared from a depth standpoint,” Veach said.
The Chiefs have indeed faced issues, namely on their offensive line. This season, they were expected to roll with the same starting five that they had in Super Bowl LIV.
Only two starters from last year’s Super Bowl team will start Sunday’s game, with one more, right guard Steve Wisniewski, coming off the bench.
The line experienced its first loss of the offseason when right guard Laurent-Duvernay Tardiff, a medical school graduate, became the first NFL player to opt out because of the pandemic, choosing instead to combat COVID in his native Canada.
The next loss occurred in Week 6, when right tackle Mitchell Schwartz aggravated a back injury. He hasn’t played since.
In the AFC Championship Game, left tackle Eric Fisher suffered an Achilles tear. He will miss the Super Bowl.
Still, the Chiefs on Sunday could start some serious firepower from last year’s Super Bowl lineup: Mahomes, receivers Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Mecole Hardman, superstar tight end Travis Kelce and linemen Austin Reiter and Wisniewski.
The other big change to the Chiefs’ offensive lineup is at running back. Damien Williams rushed for 104 yards and scored two touchdowns in last year’s Super Bowl, but he, too, opted out this season to care for his mother. Rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire or Darrel Williams is expected to start.
The Chiefs have still gotten good production from that position in the postseason, especially from Williams, who has rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown in two games.
The defense has been remarkably stable. Ten players are in line to make their second straight Super Bowl start: Jones, linemen Derrick Nnadi, Tanoh Kpassagnon and Frank Clark, linebackers Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson, and defensive backs Charvarius Ward, Bashaud Breeland, Dan Sorensen and Mathieu.
Rookie cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, meanwhile, has been a great addition and figures to start his first Super Bowl.
The big changes on defense occurred after the 2018 season. More than half of the starters from the January 2019 AFC Championship Game loss to the Patriots were not back as Chiefs the next season. That group included former All-Pros Eric Berry and Justin Houston.
The Chiefs’ biggest post-Super Bowl contract decision, after extending Mahomes, was signing Jones to a new deal. Jones could have played on the franchise tag this season, but that’s not what he wanted. His new deal, announced a week after Mahomes’ mega-contract, was the strongest indicator yet that the Chiefs were not taking shortcuts in their quest to repeat.
Jones was thrilled to remain a member of the Chiefs, but he wondered after the Mahomes deal, which could be worth up to $503 million, if there would be money left for him.
“I’m very fortunate to be here,” Jones said. “Veach and his team are remarkable for how they were able to manipulate the contract situation to keep us all together. Especially when Pat texted me saying he left money on the table.
“That still baffles me to this day. How in the hell did you leave money on the table when you got a half a billion-dollar contract? I still don’t get it, but some way they figured it out.”
The payoff isn’t complete, but a 14-2 regular season record, fifth straight division championship, third consecutive trip to the AFC title game and second Super Bowl appearance shows the wisdom in keeping the window open.
As for next year, the Chiefs will have decisions to make on pending free agents Watkins, Breeland, Sorensen, Reiter and Remmers. Mathieu is under contract through next season, but a restructured extension makes sense.
That and other other decisions will wait until the offseason. The Chiefs, evidenced by every move they’ve made since winning the Super Bowl, are playing for the here and now.