‘Mahomes is just an alien.’ What national media said about Chiefs going to Super Bowl
It should be no surprise that the Chiefs have been a hot topic among the national media since winning the AFC Championship.
The Chiefs are headed to the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years, and broadcasters and writers had plenty to say about Kansas City.
Here is a bit of what’s been said and written.
John Clayton wrote in the Washington Post his four takeaways from the two NFL championship games.
This is a portion of what he wrote: “Chiefs Coach Andy Reid and former Cardinals and Chargers coach Don Coryell might be the best in NFL history to have never won the Super Bowl, but Reid is on the verge of ending that distinction. Reid came close the previous time he made it to the Super Bowl, with the Philadelphia Eagles and Donovan McNabb in the 2004 season. McNabb was a good quarterback, but he’s not Patrick Mahomes, who is showing all the signs of a future Hall of Famer....
“He has a very good chance of getting his first Super Bowl victory Feb. 2 — a result of his coaching evolution and a truly unique talent at quarterback.”
Nick Wright had a message for Chiefs fans:
Yahoo Sports’ Terez A. Paylor wrote a column with the headline, “50 years of doubt, frustration vanished for the Chiefs as Patrick Mahomes seized his AFC crown.”
This is an excerpt about Mahomes’ touchdown run: “For one of Chiefs fans’ own to make a play like that — an ‘I’m the best guy on the field, dammit, and we’re not going to lose this playoff game’ play — on the stage he did, against a team that plays a smash-mouth style that has given K.C. fits in the recent past, it represented a physical manifestation for why things are different now.
“It’s why, finally, mercifully, the Chiefs’ playoff curse that resulted in a 50-year Super Bowl drought, is officially vanquished.”
Jenny Vrentas of Sports Illustrated wrote a story with the headline, “Patrick Mahomes will not be stopped.”
Here is an excerpt: “Since the Kansas City Chiefs drafted him No. 10 overall in the 2017 NFL draft, and since he became the starting quarterback in Kansas City two years ago this month, all he’s done is change expected outcomes. The Chiefs hadn’t won a home playoff game in a quarter-century until he got here. The Chiefs hadn’t advanced to the Super Bowl in a half a century, until he got here. Andy Reid had only reached one Super Bowl as a head coach, until he—the 24-year-old phenom—got here.”
Peter Schrager of “Good Morning Football” on the NFL Network talked about the Chiefs defense:
Peter King wrote about Mahomes in his “Football Morning In America” column for NBC Sports.
This is part of what that column: “In his press conference, Mahomes said it was a thrill to bring home the trophy named after the founder of this franchise, Lamar Hunt, and said last season’s overtime loss in the title game was adversity the team used to build to this point, and said how lucky he was to be around this team at this time. None of it sounded fake. Picking Mahomes 10th in the 2017 draft was perfect in so many ways.
“The run will live forever in Kansas City lore. It propelled the Chiefs to a Super Bowl date with the 49ers on Feb. 2 in Miami. Maybe even better than that, the diehards who make Arrowhead Stadium sound like an indoor Metallica crowd know that with Mahomes leading the way, there’s no way this will be Kansas City’s last Super Bowl in the Mahomes Era.”
Pat McAfee called Mahomes an alien on ESPN’s “Get Up:”
Danny Heifetz of The Ringer wrote a story headlined “At long last, the Chiefs are returning to the Super Bowl.”
This is part of his story: “Mahomes will be heading to the Super Bowl in his second season as a starter. Last year, he became the youngest MVP since Dan Marino, who made the Super Bowl in his second season with the Miami Dolphins. This year, Mahomes will be the fifth-youngest Super Bowl starter ever (Marino was the youngest). Mahomes will be playing Super Bowl LIV at the Dolphins’ stadium in Miami Gardens. Marino’s Dolphins infamously never made the Super Bowl again, but the Chiefs don’t need to look at Marino for a reminder that Super Bowl trips are not to be taken for granted. Their 50-year gap between appearances is the longest ever for any NFL team (not including teams that have never made the big game—sorry, Lions and Browns fans).”
Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports wrote a story with the headline, “Patrick Mahomes helps end 50-year Super Bowl drought for Chiefs and their fans.” Leading rusher, passer, best dresser. That’s triple threat swag. Might as well throw in most ubiquitous. You can’t turn on a TV these days without seeing Mahomes on a national or local commercial.”
