Patrick Mahomes forces NFL rivals to accept scary truth and Travis Kelce gets it
For all the talk about it being different in Las Vegas, there’s something refreshingly consistent about the Super Bowl week.
It starts with Opening Night at *insert stadium* on Monday. It features countless interviews, meticulously organised and coordinated at *insert team hotel* throughout the week. It features fans from around America and the world flocking to *insert city* just to be a part of the festivities.
The stadium, the team hotel and the cities might change. The routine does not. And it is now clear that there’s a new addition to the familiar routine that is here to stay.
Patrick Mahomes.
The long buildup to gameday in Las Vegas means there’s a lot of time to talk football. Usually, it’s brief chats. When the entire football community descends on one place, there are a lot of places to be and people to see.
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The instant ice-breaker and the thing everyone wants to know - who have you got? Whether it's a former player on Radio Row, an old colleague, a random fan or the security guard letting you into the stadium, that’s the question asked more than any.
And in the first Super Bowl week in Las Vegas, there was one word used probably more than any. Inevitable.
That’s how it’s started to feel when it comes to Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s been that way all season, particularly in the playoffs. They just hang in there, give No.15 a shot, and it is inevitable he will deliver.
Mahomes threw the game-winning touchdown to Mecole Hardman in overtime (Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)The betting handicap opened at around -4.5 for most sportsbooks in favor of the 49ers. By kickoffs, it was generally just -1.5. Why? Because big games need big players, and Mahomes in the Super Bowl is impossible to overlook.
Their offense was lifeless in the first half of Super Bowl LVII. But when the San Francisco 49ers couldn’t put the game away, and when they allowed Mahomes to have the ball in overtime needing a touchdown to win the game, everyone knew the inevitable was coming.
Asked what Mahomes said in the huddle before that game-winning drive, rookie receiver Rashee Rice said: “He was like, ‘come on, we're going to go score,’ and that was it.
"I mean, we kind of all felt when he said that, and for them to kick a field goal and us to be able to have the ball in our hands, we just kind of knew we were in control.”
The Chiefs knew it. And, at this stage, all rival NFL teams must know it. The frightening truth is that there’s very little to suggest the end is near. Head coach Andy Reid has confirmed he is staying on, Mahomes’ contract is locked in. Travis Kelce’s age and some pending free agents represent perhaps the only concerns, but just moments after the game, Mahomes pointed out what must frighten everyone else.
Mahomes declared "we're not done yet" immediately after lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy (Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)“We're not done,” he declared. “We’ve got a young team, we're gonna keep this thing going.”
There’s not much standing in the way of the Chiefs at this point. After all, this was supposed to be the year they were knocked off their perch. Their receiving corps was the weakest Mahomes has had in his NFL career. Their cap situation is worsened by Mahomes’ monster contract.
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They had the intense media scrutiny, heightened by the surprise arrival of Taylor Swift into the picture. They had the target on their backs. Despite all that, the Chiefs found a way to win. It was inevitable, but Travis Kelce completely gets it. He summed up perhaps better than anyone just why this win is such a landmark for this team.
“The target on our back, man,” he passionately said after the game. “We knew we were going to get everybody’s best shot.
Travis Kelce's comments summed up why the Chiefs' win meant so much and why it should worry everyone else in the NFL (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)“To have the doubters, everything we went through. It meant everything to even get to this point. To find a way through adversity yet again, for four quarters, five quarters, man I couldn’t be more proud of the guys and it’s such an honour to be on this team.”
Kelce knew it was inevitable and completely understood what this team had - even if not all his teammates were sure. He reportedly reduced some to tears with a passionate address the day before the game in which he hammered home they should never, ever be underdogs.
He explained: “Coach just asked us to speak our minds and I just wanted to let them know how much passion I have for this team, how I viewed things, and we had the formula. The formula for success, the formula to fight until the end. Sure enough, it was proven today.”
After what happened in Las Vegas, it’s unlikely the Chiefs will ever feel like or be considered underdogs again. Now, it’s up to the rest of the NFL to face the daunting prospect of trying to stop the inevitable.
If anyone can achieve the holy grail of a three-peat, it’s this Chiefs team. It’s Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes having the final say at Super Bowl week as MVP has become an inevitable part of the annual routine (Marc Sanchez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Walking through Mandalay Bay on Monday morning, there was a calm, quiet, peacefulness in complete contrast to the pent-up energy and excitement as thousands of fans streamed through en route to Allegiant Stadium 24 hours before.
As the Super Bowl roadshow rolled out of Las Vegas, the last word was, inevitably, left to Mahomes. The three-peat was again on his mind.
"It [would be] legendary,” he declared. ”No one's ever done it.”
This time next year, in New Orleans, the Super Bowl will bring the same show to a different city. It’d take a brave man to bet against Mahomes again having the final word.
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