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5 moves that helped the Chiefs get to Super Bowl LVIII

Check out these five cruciall moves that helped the #Chiefs get to Super Bowl LVIII.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to play in their third Super Bowl in four years on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas, Nevada.

While the defending champions are certainly no strangers to the big game, their path to the Super Bowl was exceedingly difficult in 2023. Kansas City struggled throughout the regular seasons, looking like a shell of their former selves against opponents like the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders in Week 8 and Week 16 respectively.

Despite the adversity, the Chiefs tightened up when it mattered most in the playoffs. Victories over the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens on the road dispelled any doubt that Kansas City could hack it in the Super Bowl and earned the Chiefs a chance to defend their Super Bowl LVII title.

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A few key moves in the offseason helped Kansas City field a roster worthy of championship contention.

Check out which transactions made the difference for the Chiefs:

Ranking the 49ers’ six most important players in Super Bowl

The 6 most important #49ers in Sunday’s Super Bowl:

The 49ers’ star power is apparent. They enter Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Chiefs boasting perhaps the best roster in the NFL.

While the top-to-bottom talent for San Francisco is strong, there are a handful of players who jump out as particularly essential for them against a red-hot Kansas City squad. These are the 49ers’ six most important players for securing a win and a sixth Lombardi Trophy:

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Top 10 Chiefs who never won a Super Bowl

Some of the best players in Chiefs history never won a Super Bowl. Here are the top 10 who went ringless in their careers.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to compete in their third Super Bowl in four years, and the fourth of the Patrick Mahomes era.

While the team has been no stranger to securing rings in recent seasons, some of the best players in the franchise’s history weren’t lucky enough to win gaudy hardware for their efforts in Western Missouri.

Some of the top players in NFL history ended their time in the league without a Super Bowl victory. Household names like Dan Marino, Brian Urlacher, Joe Thomas, and Champ Bailey were unable to secure their teams a championship despite putting together Hall of Fame-worthy careers.

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Given Kansas City’s 50-plus-year Super Bowl drought between 1969 and 2020, many of the team’s top talents went without a ring by the time they hung up their cleats.

Check out our list of the best players in Chiefs history who never won a Super Bowl:

Chiefs share advice to younger selves ahead of Super Bowl LVIII

#Chiefs players were asked about advice they’d give to their 10-year-old selves ahead of Super Bowl LVIII.

The Kansas City Chiefs will play the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, February 11, and as their week of preparation for the big game draws to a close, players were asked to get introspective in a clip that made the rounds online.

The Chiefs’ social media team asked some of the team’s biggest stars about advice they’d give to their 10-year-old selves, and the players’ responses were predictably hilarious.

Check out some of their best quips below:

Clearly, Kansas City’s roster isn’t taking itself too seriously ahead of their matchup against San Francisco. The lighthearted replies to this sneaky-deep question made for a heartwarming video on Twitter, and showcased the Chiefs’ affable personalities before one of the most important games of their lives.

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Expect Kansas City’s players to lean on experience in their effort to bring the Chiefs another Super Bowl championship in Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes embraces villain role ahead of Super Bowl LVIII vs. 49ers

#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is embracing his role as the villain ahead of Kansas City’s Super Bowl LVIII matchup against the #49ers.

A torch has been passed from the New England Patriots to the Kansas City Chiefs, who have emerged as the NFL’s newest dynasty.

For years, fans around the league despised the Patriots, and specifically quarterback Tom Brady, for their constant success.

Brady led the Patriots to six Super Bowl victories in nine appearances, acting as a roadblock to Hall-of-Fame caliber signal callers like Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Philip Rivers.

Reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes has achieved a similar degree of dominance, taking down his contemporaries (Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Deshaun Watson, Andrew Luck, Lamar Jackson, Trevor Lawrence, and Tua Tagovailoa) on his path to four Super Bowl berths through his first six years as the Kansas City’s starting quarterback.

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ESPN’s Jeff Darlington recently sat down with Mahomes and discussed how the 28-year-old quarterback feels about being disliked by other teams and fanbases.

“I can definitely sense it,” Mahomes explained. “I never felt like that because I’ve never been like that in my entire life. But it’s become a little bit funny. I don’t want to say you enjoy it. I know the Patriots had that for a while. I’m hoping we do it in a different way with a little more fun and personality with it.

“But as long as you keep winning, teams start to not like you, and I want to keep winning. So, if that means some of the other teams and other fan bases aren’t going to like me, I’ll try to still have a smile on my face and not be a bad example, but I can be that villain for them if they need me to be.”

The Chiefs quarterback seems happy to inherit this villain role in the NFL if it means Kansas City can continue to compete for Super Bowls every year.

Mahomes has led Kansas City to the AFC title game in each of his six seasons as the starting quarterback. With a victory on Sunday against the 49ers, the Chiefs would be the first team since the 2003-04 Patriots to win back-to-back Super Bowls, further establishing Kansas City as a dynasty and cementing Mahomes’ role as the NFL’s preeminent star.

Full Chiefs 53-man roster for Super Bowl LVIII vs. 49ers

Check out the full #Chiefs 53-man roster for Kansas City’s Super Bowl LVIII matchup against the San Francisco #49ers.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday after a roller-coaster season that saw the defending champions go from pretenders to contenders.

After their brutal Week 16 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium on Christmas, Kansas City managed to win both of its final two contests to secure the third seed in the AFC playoffs.

Their ticket to the Super Bowl was punched after three games that saw the Chiefs defeat the Miami Dolphins at home and both the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens on the road.

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Through all of the ups and downs of the 2023 season, Kansas City’s 53-man roster has largely looked the same as it did in Week 1, with a few key exceptions.

Check out every player on the Chiefs’ 53-man roster ahead of Super Bowl LVIII to see who might see action in Kansas City’s effort to secure its second-consecutive championship, listed by jersey number:

Chiefs Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce reflected on Eric Bieniemy’s visit before the AFC Championship Game

Chiefs Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce reflected on Eric Bieniemy’s visit before the AFC Championship Game

The rumor mill gained extra fuel on Wednesday during the Kansas City Chiefs’ latest round of Super Bowl media scrums. The focus is on Sunday’s game, but a reveal about their former offensive coordinator had everyone talking.

Former Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who was in attendance in Baltimore for the AFC Championship game, spoke with players in an unofficial support role. During his conversation with reporters on Wednesday, Patrick Mahomes shared his thoughts on Bieniemy in the locker room before the AFC Championship game.

“It’s always great to have EB (Bieniemy) in the building, just being there and the energy he brings, and the mentality he brings because he has that intensity, but he loves it,” Mahomes explained. “He loves being there. He loves being a part of the team and being a part of that culture. And so just having him back in the building was really cool.

“Listening to him talk with his energy. I mean, it just got everybody guys going. I think the guys had a little bit of chill bumps today. Like, Hey, we got EB’s back here, and obviously, he didn’t get that head coaching opportunity. But I’m excited for him to continue to coach football and continue to make his impact on the game.”

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Mahomes wasn’t the only current Chiefs star with plenty to say about Bieniemy as Travis Kelce opened up about his former offensive coordinator during his media scrum on Wednesday.

“Man, EB was a special coach here for a long, long time, man, and he’s like my uncle or a father figure in the football world for me,” Kelce said. “Everybody knows how fired up he can get, and I definitely share that same passion for coming to work every single day to play this game.

[He is] one of my favorite coaches of all time, so I think the biggest thing that we could take away from who he was as a player and as a coach is just his passion and his desire to be ready for every single scenario out there on the field. His football awareness and his understanding of the game was second to none when it comes to football, and you know I’m hoping for the best for him coming up in his near coaching career, but I think who he is as a person is always going to go with me in life.”

Bieniemy’s legacy remains strong in the Chiefs facility as the players continue to sing his praise. A reunion is always possible, but the focus is on Sunday in Super Bowl LVIII.

Previewing Kansas City’s Super Bowl LVIII vs. 49ers on Chiefs Wire Podcast

On the latest episode of @TheChiefsWire podcast: @EdEastonJr and John Dillon & Kyle Madson look ahead to Baltimore #KCvsSF

We’re back with an all-new episode of the Chiefs Wire podcast! This week, we’re previewing the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl LVIII matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.

The Chiefs want to become the first team since the New England Patriots to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles. We check in with this week’s press conferences featuring comments from head coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and tight end Travis Kelce as they look forward to the big game while enjoying the special media showcases in Las Vegas.

Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. shared his thoughts on Kansas City’s unique road back to the Super Bowl, including taking on the villain role because of the years of success and notoriety.

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Chiefs Wire managing editor John Dillon discusses Kansas City’s goals ahead of the Super Bowl rematch with San Francisco, focusing on the team’s game plan to repeat as champions. Niners Wire managing editor Kyle Madson chimes in with his thoughts on San Francisco’s chances to overthrow the Chiefs’ reign as champions.

Listeners can look forward to being well-informed about the Chiefs’ mindset as the team seeks back-to-back Super Bowl victories and three wins in the last five years.

Check out the link below to get your fill of Chiefs talk ahead of Sunday’s kickoff:

Wrinkles 49ers can throw at Chiefs to win Super Bowl

Here are a few fun wrinkles the #49ers can throw at the Chiefs in the Super Bowl:

This iteration of the 49ers has been around long enough that there aren’t many secrets about how they want to execute a game plan. They have a ton of star power and enough depth that they can win a lot of games by just lining up and doing what they want to do on both sides of the ball.

The Super Bowl offers a unique opportunity to throw a couple of curveballs that haven’t been put on tape often or at all. Even a couple possessions with a team on its heels trying to adjust on the fly could be the difference between a win and a loss.

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San Francisco on Sunday will lean on most of what its done to reach the NFL’s biggest stage, but here are a handful of wrinkles they could throw in to get an edge vs. Kansas City:

Matt Rhule claims he wanted Panthers to draft Brock Purdy

Former Panthers coach Matt Rhule claims he wanted the Panthers to draft Brock Purdy but was vetoed.

Sure, Matt.

This probably won’t be the first time a coach talks about how he wanted his team to select Brock Purdy in the 2022 draft, and it will only happen more as Purdy has more success in the NFL.

Unfortunately for Rhule it’s unlikely that even Purdy could’ve saved his iteration of the Carolina Panthers. Rhule, now the head coach at the University of Nebraska, went 11-27 in two-plus years as the head coach in Carolina. The club signed Teddy Bridgewater for the 2020 season, and then traded for Sam Darnold to navigate the 2021 campaign before adding Baker Mayfield ahead of the 2022 season.

None of those QBs played particularly well under Rhule, and Mayfield just got done taking the Buccaneers to the playoffs. The likelihood that Purdy would’ve bailed out a disastrous Panthers team seems low given what we saw those other QBs do during the Rhule era.

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If Rhule was telling the truth, though, it says a lot about what the Panthers thought of him as an offensive coach that they wouldn’t let him snag a QB he liked with a late-round pick.

Coincidentally it was a 37-15 Week 5 loss to the 49ers that ended the coach’s tenure with the Panthers. That was the same game Purdy made his NFL debut, taking a knee to end the game and perhaps Rhule’s NFL career.

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