Quarterback Patrick Mahomes (pictured above) has been the lynchpin of Kansas City’s potent offense for two seasons. Mahomes led his team to comeback wins three times this past postseason (Courtesy of creative commons).
In the National Football League a high-powered offense is what most teams desire. That high-powered, quick-score offense is exactly what propelled the Kansas City Chiefs to a win in Super Bowl LIV.
Down 20-10 with 6:17 remaining in the fourth quarter, Kansas City scored 21 points in just over five minutes to win the Super Bowl 31-20. Their quick-score offense has been something that had benefited them all season.
Having to come up with points from way behind was nothing new for Kansas City this postseason. Prior to the Super Bowl, they came back from a 24-0 first-half deficit against the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional round before erasing a 10-point deficit to the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game.
Kansas City’s elite offense could not be a better representation of what NFL viewers like to see. Fast, exciting big plays garner higher levels of viewership across the league, meaning increased success for the NFL brand. Contributing to their success is the way Kansas City’s playstyle drastically differs from that of their last two opponents.
Both San Francisco and Tennessee represented a throwback, old-school approach for winning football games. They both relied on a strong running game, great defense and little-to-no mistakes at the quarterback position.
That formula can still certainly work in today’s NFL, even with the rules the way they are, however, there are a few problems with that formula and Kansas City exposed those flaws. There are many things that need to go right to win games in the NFL in this ground-and-pound fashion.
San Francisco had the first part of the formula working for most of Super Bowl LIV. Running backs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman averaged 4.8 and 5.6 yards-per-carry respectively.
However, as the game got into the fourth quarter, San Francisco got away from the running game; the game ended with San Francisco attempting 31 passes as opposed to 22 rushing attempts. In the NFC Championship game, San Francisco attempted eight passes the entire game.
The NFC Championship game is a bit of an outlier in terms of balanced play calling, but the running game has been San Francisco's bread and butter all season long. San Francisco had the next part of the formula—great defense—for most of the game.
With just over six minutes to play, Kansas City only had 10 points. That wasn’t enough, however, because you need great defense for all 60 minutes and the Kansas City offense can score a touchdown on any given play.
Despite their challenges, the formula was working for San Francisco and they were minutes away from the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl title. The issue is that the most important part of the formula, minimal mistakes by the quarterback, was not accomplished.
Jimmy Garoppolo threw two interceptions and missed an open Emmanuel Sanders on a crucial play with just over 1:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, down four points and needing a touchdown to win the game.
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes wasn’t without mistakes either, as he also threw two interceptions. The difference, however, was the big plays he provided the Kansas City offense with, such as his rushing touchdown and late-game connections deep down the field.
Kansas City, as they showed throughout the playoffs, was never out of a game with their offense and they again proved no lead is safe against them. This offense led them to their first Super Bowl victory in 50 years.
Kansas City head coach Andy Reid, in his 21st season, finally lifted the Lombardi trophy for the first time. To celebrate the victory, Reid said, “I’m going to go get the biggest cheeseburger you’ve ever seen … might be a double.”
With Kansas City’s high-powered offense still young and intact, it's not out of the question to think that Andy Reid might be lifting more Lombardi trophies in the very near future, along with getting many more giant cheeseburgers to celebrate.