The Chiefs' mental edge on their competition is mounting

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Thought about this a few times since LVIII and figured I'd get the words out on here...

I said it after SB LIV - winning that one would make it easier for us to win more in the future. It took such a load of pressure off Mahomes and Andy. Free forever from any "they can't win the big one" narratives. But even then, I'm not sure I expected to already see two more SB wins in just four seasons.

Now after bagging three total... I think with each one, the next one gets even more likely to occur than the prior. Call it inevitability or self-fulfilling prophecy if you want. The way these championships are motivating the key figures to keep pushing - Reid can actually see a path to six Super Bowl wins now. Mahomes can see the path to seven. The entire roster can taste the opportunity to three-peat and be arguably the greatest team ever.

You're starting to see some of the opposing fan bases almost submit to their expectations of failure, too. If/when franchises like Buffalo or San Francisco enter another playoff game against Kansas City... the expectation is going to be a heartbreaking loss. Even if they don't say it out loud - they've seen it and felt it enough times already.

And none of this guarantees Kansas City anything of course. Winning SBs will always be hard, and New England obviously went a decade without winning one between dynasties. But they didn't have the greatest quarterback ever through six seasons who any time he takes the field to win a game late, that game clinching score feels totally inevitable.

Gonna be fascinating to watch in the years ahead. Are the Chiefs that much more confident and loose because they keep winning these big games? Is the competition that much more anxious and in a "play not to lose" mindset because beating Kansas City in playoff games feels more miraculous nowadays than achievable?

Or am I just an ignorant homer?

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Possibly but New England went ages till they got that 4th

[CapsLockKey]

Originally Posted by Pasta Little Brioni

Possibly but New England went ages till they got that 4th

True, but they still had 5 AFC championship apperances, 2 SB appearances and won the division all but the Cassel year in that stretch so it's not like the window ever closed.

[DRM08]

Chiefs have played 4 extremely close games against the Bengals in the 2021 and 2022 seasons when Burrow was available. All 4 games were decided by a field goal, and the Bengals won 3 of the 4 matchups. I would expect future games with Cincy to be a toss-up.

Buffalo has won quite a few regular season games against the Chiefs, and their 2 most recent Playoff losses against KC have come down to the wire. I don't think the Chiefs have a big mental edge on either Cincy or Buffalo.

[ThyKingdomCome15]

We'll get the WR's figured out. That's all it was last. Also we've been very blessed with health overall. SB55 was really the only season lost due to insurmountable injuries .

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Originally Posted by DRM08

Chiefs have played 4 extremely close games against the Bengals in the 2021 and 2022 seasons when Burrow was available. All 4 games were decided by a field goal, and the Bengals won 3 of the 4 matchups. I would expect future games with Cincy to be a toss-up.

Buffalo has won quite a few regular season games against the Chiefs, and their 2 most recent Playoff losses against KC have come down to the wire. I don't think the Chiefs have a big mental edge on either Cincy or Buffalo.

That Bengals team had Burrow, Chase, and Higgins on rookie deals. Had built a great defense through free agency because of it.

Burrow is gonna have to show he's healthy and his normal self again before I give too much credit to them.

Houston is the team set up to replicate what Cincinnati did a couple years ago with their roster build. They're a more likely threat this year IMHO.

[carcosa]

Originally Posted by DRM08

Buffalo has won quite a few regular season games against the Chiefs, and their 2 most recent Playoff losses against KC have come down to the wire. I don't think the Chiefs have a big mental edge on either Cincy or Buffalo.

Regular season wins don't matter one bit. The Bills know that when the season is on the line, the Chiefs will beat them, no matter how well they play. The Chiefs have an undeniable mental edge over them.

[displacedinMN]

No, you are not an ignorant homer.

I hate to compare Mahomes to Elway. But, IMO, the same forces of fear are at work.

Think about the number of times any team was up on Elway in the 4th, then lose.
Nerves take over. Adrenaline fills the blood. Dopamine is high.

WE ARE GOING TO BEAT ELWAY AND DENVER!!!!

Then BOOM!!! Bad decisions abound. And Elway crushes you.

Lets substitute Elway for Mahomes.

Think about the number of times any team was up 10 on Mahomes at anytime, then lose.
Nerves take over. Adrenaline fills the blood. Dopamine is high.

WE ARE GOING TO BEAT MAHOMES AND KC!!!

Then BOOM!!! Bad decisions abound. And Mahomes magic crushes you.

Down 10? No problem. Mahomes got this.

You can see it in his eyes and the fear on souls of opposing teams. Offenses fold. Defenses fail miserably. Men turn to boys. The feeling of death takes over. You lose.


It is the Mahomes effect in full force. And it will continue to get greater and greater

[RaidersOftheCellar]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

No, you are not an ignorant homer.

I hate to compare Mahomes to Elway. But, IMO, the same forces of fear are at work.

Think about the number of times any team was up on Elway in the 4th, then lose.
Nerves take over. Adrenaline fills the blood. Dopamine is high.

WE ARE GOING TO BEAT ELWAY AND DENVER!!!!

Then BOOM!!! Bad decisions abound. And Elway crushes you.

Lets substitute Elway for Mahomes.

Think about the number of times any team was up 10 on Mahomes at anytime, then lose.
Nerves take over. Adrenaline fills the blood. Dopamine is high.

WE ARE GOING TO BEAT MAHOMES AND KC!!!

Then BOOM!!! Bad decisions abound. And Mahomes magic crushes you.

Down 10? No problem. Mahomes got this.

You can see it in his eyes and the fear on souls of opposing teams. Offenses fold. Defenses fail miserably. Men turn to boys. The feeling of death takes over. You lose.


It is the Mahomes effect in full force. And it will continue to get greater and greater

KC fans give Elway too much credit. Most of his wins were against shitty KC teams. The Chiefs held their own when they were decent.

[ThyKingdomCome15]

Originally Posted by RaidersOftheCellar

KC fans give Elway too much credit. Most of his wins were against shitty KC teams. The Chiefs held their own when they were decent.

That sounds like typical divisional matchups really. Those are always tough games.

[Hammock Parties]

The biggest thing for me is playoff experience for young guys.

That is so hard to come by and we just keep stacking that now.

The Ravens had almost zero experience playing in an AFC Championship against a team of this caliber and it showed.

Everyone says the playoffs are a different speed and the entire roster knows that speed now. Very likely our next playoff opponent won't have a roster that's been steeped in the playoffs.

[RINGLEADER]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

The biggest thing for me is playoff experience for young guys.

That is so hard to come by and we just keep stacking that now.

The Ravens had almost zero experience playing in an AFC Championship against a team of this caliber and it showed.

Everyone says the playoffs are a different speed and the entire roster knows that speed now. Very likely our next playoff opponent won't have a roster that's been steeped in the playoffs.

Agree with the original post and agree with this.

You could pull together a list of HoF players at every position who don’t have the Super Bowl experience and success of guys like Watson, McDuffie, Karlaftis, Connor, Rice, Chenel, Williams, Creed, Smith, etc., etc. It’s really incredible how many of our starters have won the Super Bowl every year they’ve been in the league. To your point, this has to instill a minimum acceptable level of performance that is light years ahead of every other roster in the league.

It’s also why I think, off subject, that we should spend what we need to keep this together group together. It’s just such a unique situation and opportunity.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

I think the Joe Burrow lead Bengals may be the only team left that feels they have a chance. We need to go squash them.

Love the OP, all true.

[Dunerdr]

You could almost feel San Fran changing how they played because they knew what was coming. After the MVS touchdown they played a little panicked.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Originally Posted by Dunerdr

You could almost feel San Fran changing how they played because they knew what was coming. After the MVS touchdown they played a little panicked.

I thought Kittle's entire Mic'd Up segment was really telling. He was totally different than during the first SB. Sounded like a guy just waiting for the knife to go through his chest already.