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Sunday’s playoff clash between the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs did not disappoint, nor did the two of KC’s biggest offensive weapons.
Offensively, the Chiefs were as sharp in Buffalo this past weekend as we’ve ever seen all season, narrowly defeating the Bills to advance into the AFC Championship Game for a sixth straight season.
That puts KC within two of the all-time record for consecutive appearances in the conference championship behind the New England Patriots, who made it eight straight times between 2011 and 2018.
Over that span, the Pats had arguably the best one-two punch offensively in NFL history, in the form of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.
Kansas City’s offensive one-two punch is stepping it up in a big way this postseason yet again.
Making History
All season long, many wondered what’s wrong with the Chiefs offense?
It’s taken until the postseason for Matt Nagy’s group to answer those questions.
Patrick Mahomes won his first road playoff game on Sunday looking like his MVP self.
The Chiefs quarterback went 17/23 for two touchdowns with a passer rating of 131.6.
His two TD passes went to none other than Travis Kelce.
Sunday was the first time Kelce and Mahomes connected for a score since Week 11 of the regular season.
While we were all surprised to see those two failing to connect numerous times in 2023, it should be no surprise to see them heating up at this time of year.
Mahomes has connected on a TD pass to Kelce 16 times in the postseason, surpassing Brady and Gronkowski (15) for the most ever between two players in the playoffs.
In KC’s two playoff games this season, Kelce’s made a combined 12 catches for 146 yards.
That is 58 more than he managed in his final three games played during the regular season (88).
Best of the Best
During their time together in New England and, Brady and Gronk captured four Super Bowls, the last one against Mahomes and Kelce in the 2020 season.
However, it wasn’t until season five of their partnership that the G.O.A.T. and Gronk finally lifted the Lombardi Trophy.
Kelce and Mahomes won the Super Bowl in their second season together, not counting Mahomes’ 2017 campaign when he backed up Alex Smith.
Brady and Gronk got to 15 playoff TD connections in 22 games.
Mahomes and Kelce have done it in 20 games.
It should be noted that Gronk missed the Pats’ postseason runs in 2013 and 2016 through injury.
Therefor who’s to say how many more those two may have gotten together.
That shouldn’t take away from what Kelce and Mahomes have achieved, though, with the two of them making it to at least the conference championship game in every season together.
With a win over the Baltimore Ravens next weekend, Kelce and Mahomes will have made it to four Super Bowls in six seasons.
Brady and Gronk got to four Super Bowls in their eighth season as a pair.
Should the Chiefs repeat as Super Bowl champions, Mahomes and Kelce will equal the number of Super Bowls that Brady and Gronk won together.
However, the Pats/Bucs duo never won it on consecutive occasions.
If Mahomes and Kelce win back-to-back titles, that should put them in the category of the greatest quarterback/receiving duo in NFL history.