The Kansas City Chiefs were just one step away from the Super Bowl last season, but lost in overtime against the New England Patriots.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes says the team have learned a few lessons from that loss as they take on the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship game this Sunday.
The Chiefs have made it to this stage after scoring 41-unanswered points to spark a spectacular comeback to beat the Houston Texans 51-31 at Arrowhead Stadium.
In 2018, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs took the game with the Patriots to overtime, but Rex Burkhead’s touchdown sent the Patriots through to the Super Bowl to break Kansas City’s hearts.
Chiefs have learned lessons from AFC Championship loss
The Chiefs gave up 176 yards and four touchdowns against New England in last year’s AFC Championship game. The NFL’s leading rusher, Derrick Henry, rolls into town on Sunday and Kansas City will need to find a way to stop the running back.
Mahomes believes the team have learned from that loss against the Patriots and will take that into the Championship game against the Titans on Sunday.
"Last year they caught us a little off guard with the coverages they played at the beginning of the game," Mahomes said on losing to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game last season.
"We made adjustments and were able to score points later in the game, but you want to make sure that you're just preparing for everything.
“You know that (the Titans have) a good defense. They do a lot of different things, play a lot of man, play a lot of zone and so you know they're going to throw different coverages out there against you."
Nobody in the NFL can guard Kansas City’s receivers
Andy Reid’s offense were the NFL’s highest-scoring team in 2018, but the Patriots managed to shut them down by covering Mahomes’ receivers with man-to-man coverage.
The Chiefs made a huge statement against the Texans last weekend, especially after the AFC’s No 1 seed, the Baltimore Ravens, crashed out after losing to the Titans.
Kansas City scored the most points in a Playoff game in franchise history last week. Receiver Tyreek Hill, who missed four weeks of the regular season with an injury, believes no team in the league can cover the Chiefs.
"I feel like nobody in the NFL can guard any of us," wide receiver Tyreek Hill said. "That's no disrespect to (anybody). That's just the confidence I've got in myself and just the wideouts I've got around me, including the tight ends and the running backs.
“No DB unit, no secondary unit, no line-backers or any defense can guard any of us. Man-to-man, it's just easy for us to beat. If you just allow us to run through zones, it's even easier."
The winner of this Chiefs and Titans match will face the winner of the NFC Championship game, between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers, in the Super Bowl on February 2.