Some things don’t change. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have once again made a strong playoff run to make another trip to the Super Bowl. But there has been one big difference between this campaign and others.

For the first time in a while, the Chiefs were not seen as favorites to make the big game. On the one hand, it made sense as Kansas City struggled for consistency during the regular season and its offense didn’t look as powerful as in previous years.

On the other hand, we’re still talking about the reigning champions, who still have a future Hall of Famer in Mahomes under center. The quarterback and his teammates made sure to prove their doubters wrong this postseason, embracing the “underdog” status they’ve been given this time.

“We just haven’t had that aspect, so it kind of lit fire under some guys, including myself,” Mahomes said, via Pro Football Talk. “At the end of the day, it’s playoff games, you want to win. This is what you play for, and I think that fire would have been — regardless of if we were an underdog or not, that fire would have been lit because this is the time of year that you work for and you put in those hard practices for.”

Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on prior to the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on January 21, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York.

Mahomes, Chiefs overcome road games to get back to the Super Bowl

Even in a challenging year in which Mahomes didn’t seem to count on too many reliable targets, the Chiefs retained the AFC West title en route to a sixth straight AFC Championship Game appearance.

For the first time since promoting Mahomes to QB1, the Chiefs had to hit the road in the posteasom. But leaving Arrowhead didn’t seem to be a problem for Kansas City, who went on to pull off upsets in Buffalo and Baltimore to punch a ticket to Las Vegas. Now, they’re about to play in their fourth Super Bowl in five years.

“I think we have that mindset that if we’re going to practice the way we do, we’re going to work the way we work, we’re not going to let it slide by, we’re going to make sure we maximize our opportunity every time we’re out there,” Mahomes added.

At 28, Mahomes is already drawing comparisons with Tom Brady. The former Patriots and Buccaneers star set the bar extremely high, but the Chiefs star seems to be on pace to questioning Brady’s place as the greatest of all time.