The Kansas City Chiefs are world champions. Let’s throw that premise out the window. We should talk about the future. Legacy and wishcasting. Things that sports twitter does all to well. After his MVP performance, that some would argue shouldn’t have been as it was one of the worst games of his career, Patrick Mahomes is a Super Bowl champion. It seems the sky is the limit for the young Kansas City passer. That may not be the case though.
Look to Aaron Rodgers. The now 36-year-old won Super Bowl 45 almost ten years ago now. The talk after that Super Bowl was how many more he would win. He hasn’t made it back to the big game since. Unless you are Tom Brady and the New England Patriots the big game simply isn’t a given. Look even further back to the all-time greats. Brett Favre, John Elway, and Peyton Manning. All considered top ten all-time NFL QBs only won two rings a piece throughout their careers.
Getting to the big game is so hard. It requires so much luck. So many things to go right. The Chiefs had good fortune galore going on this Super Bowl run. The Dolphins gave them the two seed in week 17. The Titans unseated one of the best offenses the league has ever seen in the Ravens in the divisional round. That is not to say the Chiefs were not good. They were extremely talented and had the best player in the league on their team. All that being said, things went the Chiefs way and there are no guarantees that luck breaks their way in the future.
Patrick Mahomes may be one of the greatest QBs we have ever seen but it doesn’t mean he’ll win more championships. Do the Chiefs make it back to this game in the next five years? Probably but that is far from a lock. They will at some point have to pay Patrick Mahomes an ungodly amount of money (that he deserves) but that will ultimately keep them from keeping together an extremely dangerous nucleus. The thing that makes the Patriots so special is the fact that Tom Brady doesn’t operate off money, he has taken a discount most of his entire career. Not everyone has a supermodel wife to rely on though. Eventually, the coffers put every team in a coffin.
The Niners, however, have an even tougher pill to swallow. This game has placed narratives on them now that may haunt them for years to come. Kyle Shanahan will have the label of a choker thrown on him. That is his legacy right now. One, much like Andy Reid, he won’t be able to shake off until he wins the big game. Be it true or not.
Jimmy Garoppolo will be questioned. Is he a franchise QB? The term game manager will be thrown around. For playing what was arguably outside of one bad pick and one overthrow the best game of his young career. The Super Bowl does this to people. It establishes narratives. To the people that think the Niners will be back next year, I ask when has that happened for recent Super Bowl losers? The Seahawks have not been back, the Panthers have not been back, the Rams have not been back, and the Falcons have not been back. It is incredibly hard to make it to this game, that alone is an incredible accomplishment. It is even harder to make it back.
Defense doesn’t seem to translate. That is a huge reason the Niners were in the game. Stellar defenses don’t stay the same from year to year though. Take the Broncos, the Seahawks, the Eagles, and to some extent the Falcons, all terrific defenses that after Super Bowl runs crumbled from elite to very good. Very good defenses don’t carry teams to Super Bowls anymore though.
So, as we look ahead to the off season, if your team wasn’t in the big game rejoice. You have just as good a shot as any team to make it back as of right now. Fans will always dream optimistic in the off season, and the off season is upon us. If you are a Niners fan, despair. In despair have faith. The mountain top was nearly reached. For the Chiefs rejoice, rejoice, and know these don’t come around too often. It is hard to reach the mountain top.