Chiefs Chronicles: NFL Playoffs- AFC Divisional Round & AFC Championship Preview
Buffalo Hype Made Me Forget Who KC's QB Is, The Chiefs Truly Believe In "Next Man Up" AKA Thuney's Absence Doesn't Mean The Offense Is Doomed, Weight Loss During The Playoffs Is Hard, & More Stuff!
Who Is The Chiefs Quarterback Again?
I have shown probably 50 people, many of whom were not football fans (I talk about The Franchise so much, some of them have become Chiefs fans), Patrick Mahomes’ epic scramble for a TD and the lead (which they never relinquished) in the 2019 Season AFC Championship Game (which took place in 2020- always confusing). It was a play that summed up not only his incredible football skills/IQ but also his insane will to win every game- the bigger the stage, the more important the situation, the better he likes it. He wants all of the responsibility for the biggest games on his shoulders and, especially in the post-season, is a football savant playing the most important position in all of professional sports. In the NFL Playoffs, he becomes a Madden user-created player set to god mode+.
Somehow, I forgot all about that. I know, you think I’m a terrible fan. Who could doubt “Showtime” Mahomes (that nickname didn’t really catch on) in the playoffs? The answer is me. Let me try to explain where my head was at.
In the week leading up to the Chiefs’ visit to Orchard Park, nearly every talking head (I know- who listens to those dummies?) was saying the same thing: Patrick Mahomes has never played a road playoff game. He’s also never played in Buffalo with a stadium full of crazed Bills Mafia members screaming for blood. The Bills are the hottest team in football at the moment. The Chiefs looked a little better last week versus Miami, but they’re still not the Chiefs of old. None of Patrick’s receivers can catch a pass. Kelce is either washed up or distracted by his new squeeze. Taylor Swift (you’re welcome for that link, Swifties) is an alien Queen who wants to start a hybridization program with Travis and take over the world.
(Ok, no one said that last one, but you can bet someone was thinking it.)
Anyway, all that talk had gotten into my head and it made me forget who the Chiefs have at quarterback. To be fair, since I first started rooting for the Chiefs full-time in 1990, there have been a lot of not-winners (I don’t want to call them losers) who have started at quarterback for KC in the playoffs. Here is a list, with each of their respective playoff starts & win/loss records (some of them shared starts in multiple seasons, so I’ll just list each guy from the year of their first start of any kind, beginning with 1990- I apologize if that’s a confusing way to do it, but it’s too late to change it now):
(1990) Steve DeBerg- 1-2
(1991) Mark Vlasic- N/A
(1992) Dave Krieg- 0-1
(1993) Joe Montana- 2-2
(1994) Steve Bono- 0-1
(1996) Rich Gannon- N/A (there should be some wins here, but Marty chose to start Grbac over an on-fire Gannon in a playoff game, which they lost)
(1997) Elvis Grbac- 0-1
(2000) Warren Moon- N/A
(2001) Trent Green- 0-2 (not his fault- the Chiefs defenses of this era could never match the Trent Green-led Offenses)
(2006) Damon Huard- N/A
(2007) Brodie Croyle- N/A
(2008) Tyler Thigpen- N/A (I loved the crazy Pistol-based offense they created for Thigpen. Fun to watch. If the defense had been even mediocre, Thigpen would have gotten more starts. Just ask Tony Gonzalez what KC should have done.
(2009) Matt Cassel- 0-1
(2011) Tyler Palko- N/A
(2011) Kyle Orton- N/A
(2012) Brady Quinn- N/A
(2013) Alex Smith- 1-4 (Give Alex Smith to Andy Reid from his rookie year on and his career goes much, much better. Underrated.)
(2013) Chase Daniel- N/A
(2016) Nick Foles- N/A
(2017) Patrick Mahomes- 13-3 (it’s time to show them who you are, Patrick)
(2019) Matt Moore- N/A
(2020) Chad Henne- 2-0 (I know he didn’t start any playoff games, but he was instrumental in two playoff wins last year to help KC to another Super Bowl win, so he gets a 2-0)
(2023) Blaine Gabbert- N/A
So you see what I had to work with. Until Patrick Mahomes showed up, the Chiefs QBs had a combined record of 4-14 in the playoffs- and that was in the seasons they actually made the playoffs! There were 14 years scattered throughout that span where they weren’t even in the hunt. That was an emotionally scarring time for most Chiefs fans. As much healing as Patrick Mahomes has done for long-time fans, we’re still going to be nervous in the playoffs from time to time. Even nervous enough to sometimes forget just who we have at QB. This guy⬇️:
No Joe? The Chiefs Belief In “Next Man Up”
The Chiefs are pretty banged up going into the AFC Championship game. Looking at the 17 players (3 players Questionable & 5 players Out) on the Chiefs’ Injury Report for this week was a little disheartening, especially compared to the 6 (3 players Questionable & 1 Doubtful) on the Ravens side of the ledger.
We’ve seen it in action all year, but this game is another chance to show just how well the Chiefs’ “next man up” philosophy works. Honestly, it feels like the Chiefs are pretty deep at a lot of positions compared to other squads. That’s a credit to Brett Veach, the scouts, etc., etc. You find a guy like Isiah Pacheco, Jaylen Watson, or Nick Allegretti in the 7th round, and that frees up an earlier draft spot for a position of (S)need.😉
No Joe Thuney this week? No problem. The aforementioned Nick Allegretti has played in 14 playoff games over his five seasons (including starts during the 2021 postseason) and can jump into the lineup without the offense losing too much. Replacing an All-Pro is no easy task (and make no mistake, the Chiefs will miss Thuney in the lineup), but Trey Smith did have some good things to say about Allegretti:
“Yeah, Nick (Allegretti) is awesome, man. Talk about a hard worker, a guy who really loves the game and brings passion to the game week in and week out. [He is] a guy that I’ve been able to sort of lean on from time to time early in my career, especially just for advice and different things to help my game get better. So definitely a guy that can bring it play after play after play.” - Trey Smith on Nick Allegretti
Chamarri Connor filled in nicely for the concussed Mike Edwards last week. A rotation of various D-Linemen have filled in for the injured Derrick Nnadi (including the recently returned Mike Pennel) and seem to be doing fine. CEH has looked tough and explosive when he spells Isiah Pacheco. Every time an important player goes down, even for a quarter, the Chiefs just plug in the “next man” and there doesn’t seem to be too much drop-off in performance. So, like the Chiefs, I am not going to worry about Thuney being out. Every little thing’s gonna be alright.
Weight Loss & The Playoffs: A Bad Combination
Like Homer Simpson, I have no “off button” when it comes to food. My friends are constantly amazed not only by how much I can eat but also by how much I weigh- apparently, I “carry my weight well.” Translation: “You’re heavier than you look.” Or, more likely, they’re calling me this.
As a result, I’ve been using the Noom app to help me lose weight (it works!). The last time I used it, a few years ago, I lost about 45 lbs. Then I took a trip to KC for a game and (in the wonderful land of all things BBQ) ate like I normally would. The upward slide stopped 47 lbs. later. So I’m back on Noom and down about 17 lbs. so far. Only 36 lbs. to go!
With the Chiefs in the playoffs, staying within my calorie range gets more difficult. I overeat when I’m stressed and the playoffs stress me out. I overeat when I’m with friends (maybe I’m showing off to them- it’s one of my few real “talents”) and I sometimes watch games with friends (while eating Wendy’s Baconators or pizza or something else delicious). I overeat when I’m watching TV and the games are shown on TV. You see the dilemma.
There really was no direction for this section other than to brag and whine at the same time. “I’ve lost weight but it’s so hard. Waaaaah!”
We Have Dog On Our Side
My mom loves Patrick Mahomes. Also, she has a standard poodle named Jasper (whom she also loves- I’m not jealous at all). She had some fun getting Jasper ready for the game tomorrow:
Are dogs considered lucky or not? I guess it doesn’t matter since luck isn’t a real thing (as I explained in detail a while back in Chiefs Chronicles).
On that note, it’s time to wrap this Chiefs Chronicles up. If you have enjoyed it or want to argue with me please hit the ‘Like’ button or leave a comment. Have fun tomorrow (not too much fun) and, as always, GO CHIEFS!!!!!
Let's go chiefs!