Since taking over at starting quarterback in 2018, Patrick Mahomes has helped lead the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game every year.
Including Sunday’s upcoming matchup with Buffalo, six of those conference championship games have been played in Kansas City.
It’s a historic run of success. And even as the Chiefs have also won three of the last five Super Bowls — playing in four of them — Mahomes told reporters in his Thursday press conference that he doesn’t take making the NFL’s final four for granted.
“I have extreme appreciation just for the process of getting here,” Mahomes said. “I talk about that with some of the younger guys. I mean, some of these guys, all they’ve known is Super Bowls. I mean, obviously, that’s a good problem to have but I like to — I make sure that they know and appreciate this moment and having this opportunity because it doesn’t happen every year. It seems like it’s happened every year here, but you don’t get this opportunity to play in these games and you never know when it’s going to be your last one.
“You have to go out there and maximize it and you do have appreciation because even though — even if when you win the Super Bowl, you start back at the bottom, you start back level with everybody and you have to go about your process and put in that work. It definitely is a battle every single year. Every season’s different and you just appreciate being in this game and you just try to find a way to maximize it and try to get to that next one.”
Even with the appreciation for getting to the conference championship, the outcome of the game produces high highs or low lows.
“[J]ust as much as it’s awesome winning, it sucks losing,” Mahomes said. “I mean, you just try to go out there and put your best foot forward. You try to do whatever you can to give everything you have on the football field and then you live with the results. At the same time, you just — you prepare through the week, you sacrifice things, you sacrifice time away from family to go out there and just be the best player and best teammate that you can be and then hope that that turns out into a win.”
Mahomes and the Chiefs will try to make a third consecutive Super Bowl on Sunday evening.
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