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?

[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.

[RunKC]

Louis Riddick had a great interview about this on Verderame's show. Keep in mind Riddick worked for Andy in Philly and was right next to Veach all of the time. He was constantly with Veach coming up through the ranks.

The way he put it was continuity. Andy is a HOF, Spags is an elite HOF, Toub is one of the best ST's coaches and Veach is a damn good GM. They've all been working in this system since the 2000's. They all have their system down and ready to roll. They work in tandem to execute the same things they have for 20 years.

If that wasn't enough, Nagy is back, Bieniemy is probably coming back and they've added really strong coaches like Dave Merritt, Brendan Daly and Dave Merritt.

The Chiefs struggled badly on defense in prior years and offense this years guess what? They figured it out. That's coaching. There's not a better staff in the league than ours.

And that's all before you add the best QB to the team.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

The exact same thing happened with the Bulls and the only thing that stopped it was Jordan retiring and their GM being an idiot.

And the thing that slowed down a lot of dynasties...fatigue....doesn't appear to be happening here.

There are books written about the 49ers where by 1990 they were just ****ing spent from playing so many playoff games, and Terry Bradshaw said the Chiefs looked "tired" midway through this season.

And then they go and find the fountain of youth.

Whether that has something to do with modern training staffs, Reid's load management or roster turnover...who knows.

This isn't Montana having serious back and elbow problems halting their run. It isn't the main coaching cog of the offense (Josh McDaniels) leaving for a HC job. It also isn't Tom Brady struggling without Randy Moss. It's Mahomes winning SB's every year after losing his Moss

The Chiefs are getting everybody back for the foreseeable future. They've got a real chance to pull of a threepeat and more to become the 90's Bulls.

[RealSNR]

Buffalo always has a "Yeah let's ****ing get'em!" chip on their shoulder when they play us in the regular season, and I won't be shocked if that completely disappears this next season. Sure, they'll still play us tough in the playoffs, but at some point I think their regular season victories against us start to feel like slaps in the face rather than feel-good wins.

I might even go so far to say that I think we could blow them out in the regular season game this year.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

Buffalo always has a "Yeah let's ****ing get'em!" chip on their shoulder when they play us in the regular season, and I won't be shocked if that completely disappears this next season. Sure, they'll still play us tough in the playoffs, but at some point I think their regular season victories against us start to feel like slaps in the face rather than feel-good wins.

I might even go so far to say that I think we could blow them out in the regular season game this year.

If they were smart they'd play chess and run vanilla schemes.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Originally Posted by RealSNR

Buffalo always has a "Yeah let's ****ing get'em!" chip on their shoulder when they play us in the regular season, and I won't be shocked if that completely disappears this next season. Sure, they'll still play us tough in the playoffs, but at some point I think their regular season victories against us start to feel like slaps in the face rather than feel-good wins.

I might even go so far to say that I think we could blow them out in the regular season game this year.

They're one of the most fascinating teams to follow this offseason. They basically have to run it back with most of the same roster due to cap constraints. They kept the entire coaching staff together.

This year is do or die for McDermott and maybe Beane as well. There's a wide range of possible outcomes with that team but I don't see their path to the SB being easier this year - in fact it will probably be harder than its been since Allen became good.

[Rainbarrel]

Chris Jones is right up there in the team match up pictures with Patrick and Kelce. Chiefs defense is now a name, not just along for the ride. Welcome FAs of all glory seeking sides of the ball

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by RunKC

Louis Riddick had a great interview about this on Verderame's show. Keep in mind Riddick worked for Andy in Philly and was right next to Veach all of the time. He was constantly with Veach coming up through the ranks.

The way he put it was continuity. Andy is a HOF, Spags is an elite HOF, Toub is one of the best ST's coaches and Veach is a damn good GM. They've all been working in this system since the 2000's. They all have their system down and ready to roll. They work in tandem to execute the same things they have for 20 years.

If that wasn't enough, Nagy is back, Bieniemy is probably coming back and they've added really strong coaches like Dave Merritt, Brendan Daly and Dave Merritt.

The Chiefs struggled badly on defense in prior years and offense this years guess what? They figured it out. That's coaching. There's not a better staff in the league than ours.

And that's all before you add the best QB to the team.

Yeah we're in this really odd spot where our coaching staff is really ****ing strong, but the coordinators aren't leaving for head coaching jobs.

Losing the WR coach hurt us lsat year but...we didn't have any exits like that this year. We get to keep Spags, Nagy, Cullen...all the dudes who made our best players better.

It's really unfair when you think about it.

The 49ers were out there losing Dennis Green, Mike White, Sam Wyche, Bruce Coslet, Ray Rhodes, and Mike Holmgren. And Seifert was never as good as Walsh.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Linking the Louis Riddick/Verderame pod Run referenced because it’s a damn good Chiefs glazing session: https://www.patreon.com/MattVerderame/posts

Definitely inspires confidence in everything I laid out in OP.

[ThyKingdomCome15]

This mental edge only applies in the Playoffs though. In the regular season we are the other team's Super Bowl.

[Gary Cooper]

Originally Posted by RunKC

Louis Riddick had a great interview about this on Verderame's show. Keep in mind Riddick worked for Andy in Philly and was right next to Veach all of the time. He was constantly with Veach coming up through the ranks.

The way he put it was continuity. Andy is a HOF, Spags is an elite HOF, Toub is one of the best ST's coaches and Veach is a damn good GM. They've all been working in this system since the 2000's. They all have their system down and ready to roll. They work in tandem to execute the same things they have for 20 years.

If that wasn't enough, Nagy is back, Bieniemy is probably coming back and they've added really strong coaches like Dave Merritt, Brendan Daly and Dave Merritt.

The Chiefs struggled badly on defense in prior years and offense this years guess what? They figured it out. That's coaching. There's not a better staff in the league than ours.

And that's all before you add the best QB to the team.

Who is our equivalent of Scott Pioli in New England?

[smithandrew051]

Every time the Chiefs catch a break in a close game (or when they’re behind), you can almost hear the other team say “here we go again”.

Teams play tight against us late in games because they’re scared to lose. They lack confidence that they can win, so they choke.

[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.

[Monticore]

AJ brown saying that he knew they were going to lose after only getting a FG on one of their possessions with the lead says it all.