KC Chiefs 2023-24 Book Preview

Path to a Dynasty

Credits

EDITORS

Jeff Rosen, Chris Ochsner, Scott Chasen, Cliff Phillips, Andale Gross, Greg Farmer

WRITERS

Eric Adler, Vahe Gregorian, Blair Kerkhoff, Bill Lukitsch, Sam McDowell, Jesse Newell

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Emily Curiel, Tammy Ljungblad, Chris Ochsner, Nick Tre. Smith, Nick Wagner

4 Foreword

7 Regular Season

103 Playoffs

139 Super Bowl LVIII

San Francisco 49ers

Copyright © 2024 by The Kansas City Star

All Rights Reserved • ISBN: 978-1-63846-101-2

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner or the publisher.

Published by Pediment Publishing, a division of The Pediment Group, Inc. www.pediment.com • Printed in Canada.

This book is an unofficial account based on news stories from The Kansas City Star. It is not endorsed by National Football League or the Kansas City Chiefs.

A portion of all proceeds from this book will be donated to the United Way of Greater Kansas City to support our community in its efforts to heal by providing support to the victims and their families, helping violence prevention and recovery organizations, and aiding our first responders.

FRONT COVER: Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes hoists the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the

25-22 in Super Bowl LVIII. NICK WAGNER THE KANSAS CITY STAR

In memory

This book is dedicated to the memory of Lisa Lopez-Galvan and in honor of all those whose lives were forever changed by the senseless shooting that followed the Chiefs victory parade and rally in downtown Kansas City on Feb. 14, 2024.

PROVIDED BY THE FAMILY OF LISA LOPEZ-GALVAN

Two ‘big-boy’ moments gave Chiefs their best TD drive of season

BY SAM MCDOWELL

MINNEAPOLIS — Patrick Mahomes stood in the shotgun formation, 11 yards in front of his own end zone, 18 yards behind a first-down marker and a world away from the guy he trusts most to bail him out of these situations.

That guy, Travis Kelce, would eventually steal the bold, block-letter headlines in the Chiefs’ 27-20 win Sunday against the Vikings — same as he has for a few weeks now — but what if the best drive of this young Chiefs season came with him standing about six inches from his head coach on the sideline?

It had to be somebody else. That’s kind of what I’m getting at here. The Chiefs’ offense had sputtered along to a mere two field goals over its previous three drives, permitting the Vikings to tie the game before halftime.

Mahomes had spent the previous seven days basically insulting himself, which still didn’t do enough to avert any of our eyes from the wide receiver room. And Kelce had occupied the past 15 minutes with trainers heavily taping his ankle.

If the Chiefs had put together an 11-play, 75-yard drive to open the second half with

a go-ahead touchdown, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish on the road, it would probably be noteworthy.

But to do it like this?

Practically by the time Creed Humphrey’s snap reached Mahomes in that shotgun formation, he had a couple of pass rushers barreling toward him. The Vikings brought the house — seven rushers — and Mahomes reared back and launched the throw from 12 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

His previous deep pass had fallen about 10 yards short — that might be generous — and that’s been a bit of a trend lately.

This one got there. Or close enough, anyway. The receiver on the other end of it — well, he’s got a pretty good story to tell about how that unfolded. See, the Chiefs had spent the week working on the all-out blitzes that Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores likes to bring on third downs.

So before the ball was even snapped, “I knew the ball was coming to me, one way or another,” Justin Watson said.

Watson did not yet know, however, the type of play that would be required to complete the catch. He out-jumped Minnesota defender Camryn Bynum, who mistimed his own leap, for a 33-yard completion.

About that jump: Earlier this week, the Chiefs’ wide receivers argued over who might have the best vertical leap on the team, and, “my name wasn’t mentioned,” Watson said.

But at least once during every offseason, Watson makes a point to train with Hall of Famer Randy Moss in Tampa Bay. Moss, you surely remember, had some success in this very city up north.

“Seeing those (No.) 84 jerseys, man, I just had to go up there and emulate Randy Moss,” Watson said.

A big-boy play.

A big-time moment.

But not the last of either on the drive.

The Chiefs were actually still 50 yards from the end zone after the third-down conversion, and they accrued the next 42 of them with Mahomes mixing throws to three receivers — Rashee Rice,

OPPOSITE: Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Justin Watson (84) celebrates his catch against Minnesota Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. (7) in the third quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Oct 8, 2023. BRAD REMPEL / USA TODAY SPORTS

‘It’s like a dream’: Chiefs’ victory mesmerizes fresh German fan base

BY VAHE GREGORIAN

FRANKFURT, Germany — An hour or so before kickoff on Sunday at Deutsche Bank Park, Chiefs superstar tight end Travis Kelce took his last warm-up catch and trotted toward the end zone stands.

He took off his gloves and handed them to two fans.

“I knew coming into it I wanted to make sure we gave the fans a great experience,” Kelce said after the Chiefs fended off the Dolphins 21-14 in just the second NFL regular-season game ever held in Germany. “That was part of it, making sure everybody got some souvenirs on the way.”

That was particularly tangible for one of the gloves’ recipients, 17-year-old Niklas Doeschl from Nuremberg. He was attending his first NFL game and described himself as in shock from Kelce’s gesture.

“I can’t believe it,” he said. “It’s like a dream.”

In fact, there was something beautifully surreal about this entire scene.

It had the vibe of an Olympics event, considering the hundreds of media covering it and the range of cultures and languages in the stadium.

Somehow, all 50,023 were in stirring harmony singing “Country Roads” and “Sweet Caroline.”

It bore the magic of Chiefs fans from the U.S. experiencing a foreign environment juxtaposed with German fans watching a game that remains foreign even as it is rapidly becoming more familiar.

And it all coalesced through the Chiefs, and for a good late while the Dolphins, giving the fans that very experience to which Kelce referred — punctuated at game’s end by Patrick Mahomes running around the field engaging and high-fiving fans to the tune, happily enough, of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.”

Imagine the ripples of that moment and this day weeks, months and years from now on those experiencing their first game … and witnessing the increasingly interstellar force that has emerged as the compelling face of the NFL and Kansas City.

I don’t know what it was like when The Beatles or Pelé came to Kansas City in the 1960s, and maybe I’m exaggerating the thought. But knowing how Mahomes is revered here even entering

the game and as the crowd roared for him Sunday, I found myself wondering if his cross-cultural appeal has some similar overtones.

“Chiefs Kingdom showed up,” Mahomes said.

But the reality is that whatever boundary that once entailed is now increasingly geometrically as the two-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP and this team gain further international prominence.

When a reporter asked about the prospect of one day playing in Spain, Mahomes seemed ready to launch the global tour.

“I’m up for anything,” he said. “I’m always excited to get across the world and play football and show American football … to the rest of the world.”

As for what they showed Sunday, well, it wasn’t unlike a lot of Chiefs games this season as they’ve ambled toward a 7-2 record that matches the best record in the AFC but with ample room for worry because of some gear-grinding offense.

In a sense, they shared the full contemporary Chiefs experience:

Create some fear and loathing with a handful

OPPOSITE: Fans watch during an NFL International Series game between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs in the third quarter at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany. NATHAN RAY SEEBECK / USA TODAY SPORTS

NATHAN RAY SEEBECK / USA TODAY SPORTS

of curious calls or brutal mistakes, including in this case a Chris Jones penalty and Mecole Hardman again fielding a punt inside the 5-yardline, and yet almost always salvage a victory … and increasingly thanks to defense.

Case in point Sunday:

The offense was utterly haphazard Sunday after taking a 14-0 first-half lead that soon mushroomed to 21-0 thanks to a jaw-dropping defensive touchdown after Trent McDuffie plowed the ball out of Tyreek Hill’s hands and Mike Edwards recovered and lateraled to Bryan Cook.

The unit managed 46 net yards in the second half and failed to convert a third-and-1 (!) that could have put away the game.

Meanwhile, the defense provided its latest testimony that its first half of the season has been legitimate.

Albeit with a little help from Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa dropping a late fourthand-10 snap from the Chiefs 31-yard line and inexplicably pouncing on it to end the play, the defense muzzled Miami to nearly 20 points below its NFL-best 33.9-point average entering

the game.

It’s been a long time since the Chiefs had a defense so staunch at this point of the season (15.9 points a game). Between that and the reasonable hunch that the offense ultimately will flourish, Kelce said, “I really think this is probably the most complete team we’ve ever had.”

Also underscoring the day for the Chiefs and their fans: While a number of players greeted and embraced Hill before and after the game, no doubt it was sweet to have him eat about a year-and-a-half of trash-talk since the Chiefs

RIGHT: Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) forces a fumble by Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) in the second quarter.

traded him to Miami.

And the Hill vs. Chiefs element was a fine subplot to the most substantial international game played this late in a season: two teams that were 6-2 coming in and that could well meet again in the playoffs.

Even so, the day was mostly about a happening years in the making in terms of Chiefs planning and investment and decades in the sowing.

In some ways it culminated the vision of Lamar Hunt as far back as 1958, chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said Saturday night, to bring football to audiences that hadn’t been exposed to it.

Reflecting that view, the Chiefs and the Rams were the first NFL teams ever to play in Germany in a 1990 preseason game in Berlin that was the underpinning of a broader NFL initiative to grow the game internationally.

To some degree, that notion remains in its embryonic stages. But you could feel the gathering energy around Frankfurt this week, particularly at the Chiefs socalled “ChampionShip,” the hub of fan activity and entertainment where Hunt perceived more German voices than those of Americans on Saturday night.

And you could certainly measure it inside the stadium on Sunday. Linebacker Willie Gay was struck by the “all-in type fans” who were in tune to the game and the special feeling of “eyes on us” all over the world.

Whatever the ratio of U.S.-based fans to native Germans, the effect was the same.

“It felt like we picked up Arrowhead and dropped it over here in Frankfurt,” receiver Justin Watson said.

Albeit with some 27,000 or so fewer people in the stadium and more interlopers than usual, to

say nothing of all the fresh Chiefs fans.

Still, it felt to the players like not only a highly pro-Chiefs crowd but also one that understood the game better than might be supposed from a game program featuring a page on “Die Grundlagen” — aka, “The Basics.”

That primer included dimensions of “the pitch,” how the teams move the ball (“The attacking team … moves the ball in a series of plays called downs”) and explanations of scoring.

“You could tell that they watch football,

American football …” Mahomes said. “They really understand it.”

And that they got remembrances of all sorts out of this while giving as good as they got.

That helps explain why Kelce made a repeated point of saying how much he wants to come back to see a soccer game here “when you guys are cheering for your own” … and so he can “be a part of the chants you’ve got going.”

Just like he was part of the stuff that dreams are made of on Sunday.

ABOVE: A Kansas City Chiefs fan in costume reacts against the Miami Dolphins in the second half. KIRBY LEE / USA TODAY SPORTS

Chiefs make coldest night in Arrowhead history feel like hell for Miami

BY SAM MCDOWELL

The Chiefs blew out the Miami Dolphins late Saturday, so evidently the better team in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs that the score should’ve been more lopsided than the 26-7 final.

So evidently the better team, really, that it’s easy to forget where it stood late in the second quarter: Only a six-point game, the Dolphins holding the ball past midfield, the chance to conclude the first half with a score and open the second half with the football.

It’s hard to argue for a swing play in a game eventually decided by 19 points, but this is one.

With the culmination of the past 18 months as the backdrop.

The play? The Dolphins kept their offense on the field for fourth-and-2, and before he called for the ball, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa looked left and already saw a problem. His first read, Tyreek Hill, was lined up in the slot opposite Trent McDuffie and Chamarri Conner. They had

Hill doubled — both showing press coverage.

Had to be a mistake, right? So Tagovailoa looked toward his linemen, and then returned his eyes to Hill once more before the snap.

Still there. Both of them.

But if you thought he might be confused before the snap, well, that’s just the beginning. The post-snap look? Something the Chiefs haven’t done all season.

They rushed two. Not blitzed two extra. They had two guys rush the passer. Total. The Chiefs dropped nine defenders in coverage, and seeing that he had no one to throw the ball toward, Tagovailoa took off.

But when you try to scramble against a team dropping nine, it’s a bit difficult to find a running lane. So he settled for a last-ditch effort to Hill anyway. McDuffie knocked it down.

One play.

A big play.

But a perfect description

of the rest of them.

In the coldest game in the history of GEHA Field at Arrowhead, it must’ve felt more like hell for Tua Tagovailoa.

And, absent one moment of glory, the same for Tyreek Hill.

What did the Chiefs throw at them?

“A heck of a lot,” McDuffie said.

The Chiefs emptied their playbook, and while that would probably be noteworthy for any team, here’s the thing about a Steve Spagnuolo defensive playbook: It’s exhaustive.

Exhausting.

It was 18 months ago that safety Justin Reid arrived, thumbed through it for the first time, and after one glance recalled thinking, “This is going to take a long time to get down.”

He’s not wrong about that. But what we’re seeing now? It’s what happens when a collection of players on one side of the football gets it all

OPPOSITE: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes takes a breath before the Chiefs and Dolphins meet in a Wild Card playoff game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in subzero temperatures. NICK WAGNER THE KANSAS CITY STAR

Mahomes’ words in huddle before game-winning drive prove prophetic

BY SAM MCDOWELL

LAS VEGAS

— Patrick Mahomes sat near the corner of the Chiefs’ locker room, using the back of his cubbyhole as the support of a recliner. He had condensed the victory lap, of sorts, that he took a year earlier, in favor of a quiet moment with a drink in his hand.

In front of him, a loud party — blaring music, cigars and champagne — engulfed the place. And that was before Travis Kelce eventually barged through the double doors, and, still in full pads, grabbed a bottle, popped the cork and sprayed the drink through the air.

There, pandemonium.

All the while a relaxed quarterback didn’t budge.

How fitting, right?

The Chiefs are partying like Super Bowl champions once more but probably not once last, after a 25-22 overtime win against the San Francisco 49ers here in Las Vegas. They are the first team in two decades to complete the backto-back, and, man, we would have considered it so bleak just hours earlier if not for the man sitting near the corner of the room.

This Chiefs season, as a notable change of pace, spotlighted the defense, not as a companion but as a necessity — prompting Mahomes to actually once utter the words, “We can punt.” It brought the bright lights of Kelce and his new relationship. But it ends just the same as it did a year earlier.

With Mahomes.

He produced the game-tying drive in regulation and followed with the game-winning drive in overtime to cap a season in which those were unusually difficult to come by. He is the man left standing not because he overwhelmed the moment, but rather because it didn’t overwhelm him.

The overtime featured the Chiefs and 49ers as the guinea pigs for the NFL’s new set of rules. After the 49ers scored to open the extra session, though just a field goal, they returned to ball to Mahomes for the next try like a game of backyard hoops.

Check.

He returned a 13-play, 75-yard reply.

Mate.

We’ll get into the specifics of the drive itself,

but just as notable were the words that preceded it.

“Let’s go win this thing,” Mahomes said, as Kelce would recall. Another teammate said those words actually came on the sideline as they awaited the kickoff, but, yeah, you get the idea.

The tone? Calm. Matter-of-fact.

There are a jillion characteristics to underline about Mahomes — though we might be on the brink of running out of ways to describe the accomplishments — but there are few more valuable than this one.

He just doesn’t ever flinch. He forgets that 100 million people are watching at home — and I mean that literally, because that’s what he has trained himself to do based on an interview I had with him last year.

It is laughable, in retrospect, that we actually had conversations wondering if the Chiefs might be better off with the game in the hands of their defense. The solution is Mahomes, always.

Per season.

Per game.

Per play.

OPPOSITE: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) slings a pass to a receiver during Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers. NICK WAGNER / THE KANSAS CITY STAR

You saw the Super Bowl-winning pass; here’s the rest of the story

BY JESSE NEWELL

LAS

VEGAS — Mecole Hardman scrolled through his phone in the locker room, unable to keep up with all the messages shooting to the top of his screen.

“They’re going crazy right now,” he said with a smile, before asking a reporter if he had a cigar cutter handy.

This was minutes after the Kansas City Chiefs’ 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII, with the Chiefs receiver only starting to process his role in one of the most significant plays in team history.

A three-yard catch in overtime at Allegiant Stadium. A walkoff touchdown to give his team a championship.

And the Chiefs going back to an old friend in the playbook at the most crucial of times.

“‘Corn Dog’ again!” Hardman said with a laugh. Well, that’s mostly right.

A twist on ‘Corn Dog’ Sunday’s game-winning touchdown backstory is actually more nuanced — and perhaps even more fascinating — than last year’s now-famous “Corn Dog Shuttle” that the Chiefs used in their 38-35 Super Bowl LVII victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Hardman’s catch this time, it turns out, actually was a revamped version of a previous play. And a tougher read for quarterback Patrick Mahomes than it looked on television.

With an added detail that — for a second straight year — running back Jerick McKinnon had a chance to score a late Super Bowl touchdown … with the Chiefs later clinching their championship when he didn’t.

All this is why Chiefs pass game coordinator Joe Bleymaier was grinning in the corner of the locker room while watching his Chiefs players celebrate with a champagne-filled dance party a few feet away.

He admitted after the touchdown even he was screaming down the hallway as he ran out of the coach’s box to the elevator in celebration: “That was Corn Dog! That was Corn Dog!”

The actual truth, he said:

The design wasn’t really “Corn Dog.” But it was “Shuttle,” as the Chiefs coaches use aircraft to label their jet motions.

A player going back to where he first started? That would be a shuttle.

And that’s what Hardman did just before the snap, before breaking free in the flat for the touchdown catch from Mahomes.

This play actually had a different name, though, with its own history: “Tom and Jerry.”

And something else? Bleymaier says Hardman wasn’t supposed to catch Sunday’s final touchdown pass at all.

Or, rather, he wasn’t supposed to catch it when he did.

“It was supposed to be the shovel to Jet (McKinnon),” Bleymaier said.

‘Tom and Jerry’ history

“Tom and Jerry” is a call the Chiefs have succeeded with plenty in the past — with a shovel pass to the inside.

One of the earliest examples was in 2021, when Clyde Edwards-Helaire scored on an almost-identical version in a one-back set against the Philadelphia Eagles. Mahomes faked a handoff to Edwards-Helaire, rolled to the right, then underhand-scooped it back to Edwards-Helaire, with the Chiefs pulling their left guard around to block.

(Mahomes said Sunday the “Tom and Jerry” moniker referred to nicknames for EdwardsHelaire and Travis Kelce, the two main characters on that play against the Eagles.)

Over time, the Chiefs tinkered to make the play even more dangerous. They recently added the “Shuttle” motion to it, giving Mahomes a read to throw it to the flat before having the underhand toss available.

Here’s the tricky part: The Chiefs offensive linemen are essentially run-blocking for the shovel pass on the play. That means if Mahomes is going to throw it to Hardman on the outside, he has to do it quickly to avoid an illegal-man-downfield penalty.

And that’s where the Chiefs almost went wrong on their championship-clinching play Sunday.

What made Mahomes hesitate

Bleymaier says Hardman could’ve started in a

OPPOSITE: Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman Jr. (12) scores the winning touchdown in overtime. TAMMY LJUNGBLAD / THE KANSAS CITY STAR

OPPOSITE:

announcing that

coordinator

The

RIGHT: Thousands of people gather on the North Lawn of the National WWI Museum and Memorial during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII victory rally on Feb. 14, 2024, in Kansas City.

NICK WAGNER / THE KANSAS CITY STAR

Wearing an “In Spags We Trust” T-shirt, Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid fires up the crowd by

Chiefs defensive

Steve Spagnuolo signed a contract extension.

team was on stage during the rally, Feb. 14, 2024, at Union Station in Kansas City. TAMMY LJUNGBLAD / THE KANSAS CITY STAR

A sign made from chairs spells out “KC Strong” on Feb. 15, 2024, near where shots rang out at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rally on Feb. 14 at Union Station in Kansas City. TAMMY LJUNGBLAD / THE KANSAS CITY STAR