Who is your game hero
 

A lot of heroes in this one. Easy to say Mahomes, Butker and Moore but MVS is getting my respect. Everyone was out and he came up with a few big catches and a td.

DEFENSE GOT IT DONE!

Jones, Sky Moore, Mahomes, Butker.

These four won this game at the end.

Chris Jones may have had the single best non-QB performance in Chiefs postseason history.

Mahomes is too easy but it’s also kind of expected

I’m still going with butker. This was arguably the biggest game of his career and with mahomes/kelce hurt it’s hard to forget butkers been playing hurt too. Unlike mahomes/kelce he’s gotten shit for not being 100%

It takes a really mentally strong player to kick well. We saw with Maher how hard it can be to bounce back. so to bounce back after all his struggles is really special

Steve Spagnuolo

Poll?

The last couple of games have just had so many because they were both great team efforts and dealing with game changing injuries. Butker, Moore and ST have been pretty damn good for the most part and have been a huge difference in the games. Butker has made all 10 kicks this postseason in not so favorable conditions and missing just one of them could have made the games much different.

Defense has played their ass off, offense has fought for every hard earned yard and it seems like everyone has made a play. This has truly been a focused team in the playoffs.

CHIEFSPLANET

MVPat
Mr. Jones
Sky Moore
Buttkicker
Spags

MVS. Jones was awesome but we only had one serviceable WR for most of that and we don’t win without a couple of his plays IMO

I never disliked MVS but I thought we overpaid him for what he does.

Didn't matter last night. He balled when no one else at WR was left.

When the Patriots had their dynasty what always struck me was how unheard of players would step up at the blue and have big games.

This was one of the first Chiefs playoff games where the same thing happened. Dunlap got a bunch of pressures. The young CB's held their own, had pretty solid tackling and got some picks. MVS stepped up. Kemp got open. Sky Moore had a key punt return. It really was a team effort instead of just the Mahomes/Kelce/Jones/Hill(former) show.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Live look at Eli Apple: <a href="https://t.co/farZ8MwwGd">pic.twitter.com/farZ8MwwGd</a></p>&mdash; Lauren (@dogmomRN23) <a href="https://twitter.com/dogmomRN23/status/1619917587143589889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Y'know why Aaron Rodgers only has one SB?

Because in games like last night he'd have shunned MVS, lost, then basked in the accolades and excuses made for him by the national media. "I mean c'mon, MVS was his #1 receiver after the team traded away the guy who was always his go-to player in key moments like this! It's criminal what the Packers have done to Rodgers..."

Mahomes going out there and making a star out of MVS is just the most obvious demonstration imaginable of what makes our guy special.

Mahomes threw a first down ball in the 4th quarter to Marcus ****ing Kemp. Last night was crazy.

with everyone who had to play yesterday... Bert Veach, he made us so deep in players who can come in a do it...

Because he doesn't have guys like Skyy Moore

All the supposed Chiefs fan bedwetters who were saying the game was over when it was tied and ripping on Mahomes. They are the real heroes

The Mayor of Cincinati

Superheroes = Mahomes and Chris Jones

This game highlighted the fact that you need just enough stars at the right positions with a great team behind them.

We were able to trade Tyreek because we have Mahomes and Kelce on offense. I think we have to keep Jones at whatever price because the defense doesn't have any other superheroes. In fact, I think it is imperative that we draft another defensive superhero in the upcoming draft. I really hope we trade up for a DE.

Chris Jones easily

Chris and Patrick

Crazier still was Mahomes in the post-game:

"Yeah, it was nice because I was on the scout team with Marcus back in my rookie year..."

Y'know that story about the 2 kids, the one at the amusement park and the one in the room full of shit? Rodgers would've been riding the rides with a scowl on his face while Patrick is gleefully slinging shit at the wall and having the time of his life.

Dude is really talking up his scout team reps with Marcus Kemp in the post-game presser that sent him to his 3rd SB appearance in 4 years. That's just so damn cool.

Had Pat not had that horrific fumble, the game may not have been as close as it was...

That said, he made up for it which may be even harder to do once you **** up that bad.

Mahomes will always be my MVP for the rest of my life.

In a vacuum, yeah - Jones was the best player on the field from the opening snap.

But in my calculus for 'hero' I kinda consider the expectations of a player pretty heavily. And man, I just can't say enough about the game MVS had when absolutely everything fell to shit around him. And some of those plays were just damn clutch. Obviously the TD but that contorting long catch that I believe set up our first TD was so impressive and it happened right as the attrition was starting to set in.

That felt like a game we lose if he goes one more quarter; the patient had lost a lot of blood by that point. So MVS playing such a key role in building up that lead that allowed us to be in a position to make those critical plays to 'steal' it late just impresses the hell out of me.

I mean in NO world was there ever an expectation that he'd go out there and be the clear WR1 in a conference championship game and not only take on the responsibility but friggen thrive in it. Damn damn damn that was impressive. I'm so happy for that guy.

What’s hilarious about that is the Bengals claimed Lammons to try to hurt us but we countered that by activating Kemp from the PS for this game and look at what happened.

Thanks Bengals LMAO

Non Mahomes heroes:

Jones: He took this game personally and flat out dominated

Spags: That defense held an elite offense to 0 yards in the first quarter. For the game they allowed only 20 points while missing Gay and Sneed. No defense starting this many rookies should be playing this well against an offense like the Bengals have.

MVS: He was the only starting WR left and he made the big catches when needed.

Kelce: Tight back and all, he still played amazing despite the Bengals keying in on stopping him.

Pacheco: Running the ball was tough, but every time the ball was in his hands he gave max effort and many times that resulted in additional yards that shortened the game.

How hurt was Watson?

Because I wonder if that's not Watson out there running those routes if Lammons doesn't get claimed. At that point you still have to have a WR6 don't you? Given the questionmarks around Hardman?

Oh, and those WRs better get wheeled into the lockerroom, ideally in full body casts. How they gonna not go back out there, man? JJSS, Hardman and Toney all have some 'splaining to do, IMO.

We've talked about it but again last night....Toney's herky jerky style just won't work. He's just not gonna stay healthy with it.

I don’t know about Toney and jjss, but hardman was battling out there. You can tell he was really struggling.

For as much as people are going to bag on the turf in Phoenix, am I the only one that thought the track was pretty lousy last night?

Looked to me like Toney got hurt when he slipped. And I know I saw at least 2 big plays against McDuffie when McDuffie lost his footing. It just seemed like the grip was pretty poor last night.

That's fair.

Chris Jones

Jones , MVS, Butker

I do have to ask why you're running a jet sweep with him on 3rd and 1 (after throwing on 2nd and 1) when you know that he can't possibly be 100%.

I mean, why waste a bullet there? You know the guy's likely on a pitch count. That just seemed like an odd way to use a guy who you were really needing to nurse along by that point. Especially when JJSS and Toney had already gone down.

Toney was the most disappointing player last night. Kind of forgot how injury prone he was with all the plays he'd been making recently. Has legit superstar potential in this offense but just can't stay healthy.

Joe mother****ing Cullen.

He had everyone on this DL playing extremely well. Mike Danna was Burrows face a handful of times, Chris Jones owned, Frank Clark owned, Karlaftis had a sack as a QB hit and Dunlap had 2 QB hits.

He got the best out of these guys. Arguably the biggest move of the offseason

I suspect Hardman is done for the year.

The answer is Mahomes.

Thread title should be changed to all non-Mahomes players.

Mike Danna had five tackles.

Just unreal work by Cullen.

Danna was damn good last night.

I think he's probably played his way out of one of those lost cost early extensions, but I sure wouldn't mind offering it to him. He's a really really solid rotational DE. Not sure he can hold up to starters reps but he just seems to always be in/around the play when he's in there.

chris jones had a reggie white game

There are a LOT of kudos to go around, but I'm going to side with Butker for two reasons:

(a) he hasn't had the best year

(b) how many times have we rued a kicker for ****ing it up? Especially in the playoffs. Props to him for being clutch when it mattered. We needed every kick yesterday.

The best part of this is that, this conversation wouldn't be happening today if there weren't A LOT of young players who could legitimately be listed in this list.

A lot of big plays by multiple guys. Pacheco makes an extra effort for an important first down, a couple of nice tips and INTs by a young secondary after Sneed goes down...

Offense: MVS. Been saying all season how baffled I am by the MVS haters

Defense: Chris MFing Jones

Pat
MVS
Jones
The Shark
Butker
The OL
So many it’s hard to pick. This was a great team effort/win! One more to go!

Watson was sick.

It really was.

There 8-10 guys you could name and not be wrong. The rookie CBs and Danna deserve nods as well.

Chase and Higgins are gonna make a couple great plays every game but the rooks kept those guys from dictating the outcome and the staff did a nice job of setting them up for success.

One of the better team efforts you'll ever see on a night where there were plenty of reasons to pack it in.

Coach Toub? 8 rookies on ST and teaching Skyy Moore how to return punts.......

This was definitely a TEAM win. So many injuries, so many guys stepping up, all three phases...

Jones/Butker.

Should be solely Jones, but as much shit Butker has gotten this season he came through when it counted most and we're in the SB because of him.

It's hard to pick an individual effort as far as who won us this game.

I still think it's Chris Jones, followed closely by Patrick Mahomes.

Mahomes (on one god damn leg) still made miracle plays happen and put his body on the line to win this game. Heart of a champion.

But Chris Jones was in Burrow's face all game long. 2 Sacks (one of those Sacks at THE most critical moment in the game), the Intentional Grounding which practically counts as another Sack, and just constant pressure all game long. Cool Joe finally felt the pressure, and once he did, just like Tom Brady, he cracked and made mistakes. Without Chris Jones, we no doubt lose this game. Unbelievable performance.

Jaylen Watson wasn't THE game hero, but he was a pretty big one.

For as well as he played this year, he had a huge task in front of him this game. Man, did he play well.

Pesty's boy Josh Williams, too. Didn't get his ass handed to him on any one particular play.

What a ****ing incredible job those two did.

Jaylen Watson, Bryan Cook, Joshua Williams. All 3 rookies, all 3 made huge plays. Truly the Golden Era of Chiefs Football.

Honestly I was surprised how little of an impact a player like Chase had yesterday. He is a top 3 receiver in the league and outside of a couple big catches, he was not a game changer last night. That stood out to me the most.

He still has some rookie mistakes with penalties....but Williams did such a good job last night. And after a majority of the board was saying that he was going to be the downfall of the defense too.

Probably Chris Jones but it's tough to pick. Mahomes, MVS, Frank Clark, Jalen Watson, McDuffie ... just so many guys balled out to give us the win.

Offense-MVS
Defense-Jones

Low key-Kemp

Don't forget McDuffie going into the slot and while he took some early lumps, he got better as the game went along and he got more comfortable.

That's a whole lot of rookie with incredibly high stakes and they came through.

Kind of makes me question whether they'll lock up Sneed and roll with those 4 for the next 3-4 years. Or will they keep churning through DBs.

Chris Jones/Pat were the most valuable players
MVS was the unexpected key to the game

I think you need to bring back Sneed because I think we saw exactly what he brings that we don't otherwise get from those rookie.

He's just so varied and so physical. And I still think he's a little under the radar so he may not cost as much as his value to the squad.

I hope they do and I'll think they'll make him a good offer. Having the four of them would be great.

I was sick to my stomach when he blew coverage on a mediocre TE at the end though.

If we had lost the game there...oof. Damn rookies.

You can just never have too many quality DBs.

They get hurt. Not always catastrophically but they're always dinged up. 3 of 'em will be dirt cheap for the next 3 seasons so you can pay for one. And if you really think Cook can take over for Thornhill, that's 4 rookie pay scale starters for the next 3 seasons.

You can afford to keep Sneed. Any of those guys you choose to retain can allow you to push money off for another season, giving you 4 years of cap flexibility with your DBs.

Special teams killed us all year....and basically made 2 huge plays that really helped win this game..

Skyy Moore was a complete disaster returning punts and yet him returning a punt is a huge reason we won.

From this thread, there are a lot of game balls to give out. What a ****ing team effort

What about the crowd? They seemed loud as hell on TV. I think there are some penalties that were due to the crowd. What happened to the Bengals filling up half the stadium? Picking up all the last minute tickets?

Yep, I'm going with MVS. Jones and Mahomes did it all year. MVS REALLy stepped up when the lights were brightest. What a game.

I've seen enough of Cook now to believe he can be a starter in this league.

I'm not sure who I'd pick as a bunch of people did their fair share, but what I CAN tell you is thank god Niemann, Hitchens & Sorensen aren't on this team anymore.

He seems to be a fast learner, he got beat and the second time he made the play.

I still don't think he can replace Thornhill but I think we can draft someone that can.

It's just not his game. Yeah, he had a nice tip on that ball late, but dude - you have GOT to get turned on that 4th down ball to Chase. That was a really inexcusable play. And it's been pretty common for him this year; he's just not very good in space. I also think he was the guy that got there early on the DPI that overturned the int, right? And he didn't have to - he just mis-timed it. Now I think that's the kind of thing he can improve on, but he just doesn't seem natural in coverage.

I still think he's either a guy who can replace Reid long-term or simply be a really good S3 for years. But I don't see him as a FS in the way we use Thornhill.

I agree.

We had a “Gay or Sneed” thread awhile back. To me, it’s obviously Sneed.

I really like Willie Gay, but man, it feels like there is always something wrong with him. He’s always dealing with a lingering injury and he’s had off the field issues.

I love the player at his current price, but I’d be hesitant to make him a priority to re-sign at any high dollar amount.

A lot of guys made a big difference. Props also to Coach Reid having the entire team ready to compete for 60 minutes.

Yeah, I'm not at all sold that they're going to let Thornhill walk. Cook is just fine where he's at...for now.

Gay isn't gonna get some stupid contract...the biggest issue with Sneed is he might get 20 mill a year.

Brett Veach

That deep ball to Chase where two DBs were right there but no one even looked had me fuming

The bright side is that they ended well, and the scheme from Spags looked really damn good

A lot of praise to go around for gutting out that victory. All the rookie DBs. They blew some coverages and got flat out abused by Chase, Higgins, and Boyd when he was actually in there on a few plays. But they stuck with it, contained them as much as they could, and played great when the game was on the line.

Skyy Moore for a huge punt return when all year he's been the last guy anyone wanted to see back there.

Butker for a perfect kicking night when it was colder than the Arctic ****ing Circle out there. That ball must've been harder than my dick was after Kelce ran up to the post-game interview and yelled "Burrowhead my ass. This is Mahomes house." Even the hold on that game winning field goal looked less than perfect. He barely got that down. But he still drilled that shit perfectly.

Pacheco running like there's a colony of bullet ants on his taint. The guy is a beast.

Mahomes being Mahomes even without Juju, Hardman, Toney, Watson, and Kelce having a bad back from carrying this offense all year. Even with a hurt ankle the dude can't be stopped. He's the best in the business and anyone denying it at this point is lying to themselves.

But...this was the Chris Jones game. All the talk leading up to it about 0 playoff sacks and the false narrative that he doesn't show up for big playoff games. He absolutely wrecked the Bengals and Joe Burrow last night. The whole defensive line was great but he was the main catalyst. They had NO time to throw on most downs. They couldn't run the ball much. Burrow is gonna be having nightmares of Jones and his giant dick and balls burying him into the frozen tundra of GEHA Field. Jones cemented his legacy with this game.

Honestly, I want to shout out to Skyy Moore. He looked confident in receiving the punts kind of ho-hum. Coming from the abyss and then a benching you have to admire the effort. Kudos to the staff for continuing to support him, if he would even admit it I bet his stomach was doing souplexes