How many times have the Chiefs missed the Super Bowl since Patrick Mahomes was drafted?
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The Kansas City Chiefs are headed back to their third straight Super Bowl, a feat that’s only been accomplished by three other NFL franchises: the 1971-73 Miami Dolphins, 1990-93 Buffalo Bills and the 2016-18 New England Patriots.
The Chiefs are also the first team to go to five Super Bowls in a six-season span and would become the first NFL team to win three straight championships with a win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Feb. 9.
Since Patrick Mahomes was drafted with the 10th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Chiefs have only missed playing in the big game three times. It’s been a far cry from the futility of Chiefs fans in the decades prior, going without a playoff win from 1994 to 2014.
Let’s take a look at the times they missed the Super Bowl since Mahomes was a member of the Chiefs.
2017: AFC Wild Card
Who did they play? Tennessee Titans
Alex Smith was the starting quarterback for the Chiefs during the 2017 season, leading the Chiefs to the second of nine consecutive AFC West Division titles. At 10-6, the team hosted the Tennessee Titans in the first round of the playoffs.
The Chiefs got off to a great start, leading 21-3 at halftime. But any hope Chiefs fans had of seeing a home playoff win for the first time in over 20 years would soon disappear. The Titans eventually took the lead, winning 22-21 on Jan. 6, 2018.
The Chiefs couldn’t overcome losses to tight end Travis Kelce, who left the game at the end of the second quarter with a concussion, and defensive lineman Chris Jones, who left the game on the first drive of the third quarter with a knee injury.
Kansas City also faced more bad luck throughout the game. Linebacker Derrick Johnson sacked Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota and knocked the ball free, but forward progress was ruled by referee Jeff Triplette, negating the fumble. Triplette also blew the whistle early on a Titans’ two-point conversion after taking the lead in the fourth quarter, in which Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen broke into the backfield and caught Mariota, forcing a fumble that would’ve been returned by linebacker Frank Zombo and made the score 23-22 in favor of Kansas City.
The unluckiest play of the game came in the third quarter, when Mariota threw a touchdown pass to himself. The pass he threw was batted by Chiefs cornerback Darrell Revis and Mariota caught it, diving for the endzone.
The next year would see Mahomes take the reins after Kansas City traded Alex Smith to Washington, but they’d still see playoff heartbreak.
2018: AFC Championship
Who did they play? New England Patriots
The first year with Mahomes under center saw the Chiefs win their third-straight AFC West Division championship and claim the No. 1 seed at 12-4. After defeating the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Divisional Round and breaking a streak of seven consecutive playoff losses at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, they now hosted quarterback Tom Brady and the New England Patriots with a Super Bowl berth on the line on Jan. 20, 2019.
Two eras clashed and delivered an instant classic, as the Mahomes and Brady-led offenses traded leads throughout the second half. The Chiefs had a 28-24 lead with 1 minute left in the game when cornerback Chavarius Ward intercepted a pass that bounced off tight end Rob Gronkowski’s hands, but defensive end Dee Ford was offsides, giving New England a second chance.
The Patriots would score and make it a 31-28 game with 39 seconds left. A prelude to 13 seconds, Mahomes would get the offense into field goal range and kicker Harrison Butker tied the game with 8 seconds left, sending the game to overtime.
The Chiefs wouldn’t see the ball again. New England won the coin toss, elected to receive and scored a touchdown on the only possession of the extra quarter, ending the game 37-31.
Kansas City’s drought would end in the 2019 season, when they won their first AFC Championship and Super Bowl. They’d also go back to the Super Bowl in the 2020 season, but would once again lose to a Tom Brady-led team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with a second-half meltdown.
2021: AFC Championship
Who did they play? Cincinnati Bengals
Coming off an AFC Divisional Round game against the Buffalo Bills which saw them tie the game with the final 13 seconds of regulation and eventually win in overtime, the Chiefs were the favorites against the incoming Cincinnati Bengals, who had upset the No 1. seed Titans the week prior.
Kansas City hosted another AFC Championship Game on Jan. 30, 2022, and had a 21-3 lead in the second quarter before a quick toss from Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow to running back Samaje Perine cut the lead to 11 with a minute left in the first half.
The Chiefs got the ball in the red zone in the final minute before halftime, but failed to score a single point before time ran out. The game flipped, the Bengals took a 24-21 lead and the Chiefs were held scoreless for nearly the entire second half, before Butker’s field goal tied the game to send it to overtime.
The coin toss landed in favor of the Chiefs and since these were the old overtime rules, a touchdown could have won the game. Instead, Mahomes threw an interception, and Bengals kicker Evan McPherson would send one through the uprights and send the Bengals to the Super Bowl, defeating Kansas City 27-24.
This is the last time the Chiefs lost in the playoffs.