Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City Chiefs have become NFL villains like Tom Brady and New England Patriots, says Jeff Reinebold | NFL News

Perennial dominance in the NFL has historically produced villainous characters.

Andy Reid’s Chiefs moved two wins away from becoming the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls with a 23-14 win over the Houston Texans on Saturday to reach their seventh straight AFC Championship Game, with Josh Allen’s The Buffalo Bills.

Patrick Mahomes is seeking his fourth career Super Bowl crown after leading the Chiefs past the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas last February to establish a dynasty.

Once the league’s most explosive and trick-or-treating offense, the Chiefs have transformed into a gritty winning machine that relies on Steve Spagnuolo’s tenacious, shape-shifting defense, also winning 11 one-point games this season.

“We watch the Chiefs and I think there’s a bit of Chiefs fatigue in general in the public,” Sky Sports NFL punter Neil Reynolds said on Inside the Huddle.

“They’ve become the Patriots. Only Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have gone to more consecutive AFC Championship games. They’re repeating and resetting like the Patriots.”

“Now everybody thinks they’re getting calls every week. I think Patrick Mahomes got some calls in his favor that he probably shouldn’t have.”

Take a look at your social media platform of choice this season and you may come across favorable decisions by the officials, defense of Mahomes, and even accusations of Chiefs voodoo.All purely opinion, of course.

Just ask Texans kicker Kaimi Fairbairn, who had a field goal and an extra point on Saturday after seeing another late field goal blocked.

However, the Chiefs were the beneficiaries of controversial roughing penalties against Will Anderson Jr. and Henry To Too in their divisional-round win over the Texans, both of which extended drives ended in decisive points.

“I can see the frustration on the outside with the occasional call, but I think people should enjoy and recognize, which I did with Brady, the greatness, the historic greatness,” Reynolds added.

“I like other teams to get to the Super Bowl, but this is a really good run that the Chiefs are on, a historic run, the best seven-year stretch in history, but they get calls regularly.

“When they ended the Patriots dynasty, they were good guys.”

The Chiefs entered the playoffs ranked 11th in scoring margin during the regular season, where they shut out a final field goal against the Denver Broncos, survived a late fumble against the Las Vegas Raiders and beat Baltimore Ravens tight end Isaiah Havanakan an overextended finger.

Coupled with their survival of pavement injuries, consistent pass protection issues and Mahomes’ stuttering effectiveness in bolstering his offense, they were anything but unconvincing at times and still finished 15-2. clinching the No. 1 seed and earning a first-round bye.

“I’m listening to the radio after the game and every other caller says it’s fixed, Mahomes gets this and that,” Jeff Reinbold added.

“What’s starting to come out is that people hate the Chiefs. For decades, they’ve been the team in the middle of America, nobody really thought that much.

“They were that little market that nobody thought much of. Now they’re the evil empire, and you have to drive them out.”

Travis Kelce came to life over the weekend after arriving at his favorite time of the year, leading the Chiefs with 117 receiving yards and a touchdown, surpassing Jerry Rice for most 100-yard postseason games in NFL history.

He averaged 16.7 yards per catch, compared to just 8.5 yards per catch during the regular season, which also saw him record a career-low, but still team-high, 823 yards.

“If you froze me in a cryo-chamber for 10 years, unplugged it and plugged it back in, and I watched Patrick Mahomes play Travis Kelce, I’d know it was January,” Reynolds said.

“It’s funny, Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce, how does that happen?

“It’s the Chiefs. 212 yards of offense, the fewest yards in a playoff win since 1991. There should be concerns, but here they are again in the Championship game because of Mahomes, Kelce, the usual suspects.”

“He made a pass from the middle of the field and I’ve seen cruise ships go faster.”

All four losing teams from the weekend’s divisional contests finished their respective games outscored on offense compared to their opponents, with the Chiefs managing just 50 yards on the ground while seeing Mahomes throw for 177.

“Kansas City outgained Houston in first downs, third down efficiency, total play, total offense, yards per play, passing; this is Mahomes we’re talking about. rush … and they won the football game,” Reinbold said.

It marked the 300th career win for Chiefs coach Reid, who is now just four playoff wins away from tying Belichick’s all-time record with 31.

Will a third straight Super Bowl win the Patriots icon the right to be considered the greatest coach of all time?

“I don’t know how he can’t be up there as the greatest, being with some of the best in that particular class,” Reinbold said.

“If he can somehow pull this team to another Super Bowl victory and make it a three-peat, which no one has ever done, including Belichick, how can you not put him on the same pedestal.

“I think about Belichick’s prickly nature, Andy wants to spread the good around and wants everyone to feel like they’re the reason they win, the Patriots culture has never been that way.

“He’s not. Their defense is what wins them football games, not their offense, and that doesn’t bother him.”

What’s next?

Sunday January 26th is the NFL Conference Championship live Sky Sports NFL – with the Philadelphia Eagles first hosting the Washington Chiefs in the NFC title game at 8 p.m., then the Chiefs hosting the Bills at 11:30 p.m.

Super Bowl LIX will take place on Sunday, February 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. live on Sky Sports NFL.