The Mission For The Kansas City Chiefs: 'F----ing Finish It' In Super Bowl
BALTIMORE -- Travis Kelce, fresh off one of his best games of the season which he coincidently saved for the AFC Championship Game, was walking off M&T Bank Stadium's field Sunday evening holding hands with his popstar girlfriend Taylor Swift.
That's when someone in the very large entourage this couple travels in told Kelce his brother Jason was on the other side of the field, maybe 30 yards away.
So the Kansas City Chiefs tight end turned to Swift and told her to wait right where she stood. Because he apparently had something more important to do.
He had to go see Jason.
Jason Kelce Delivers Message To Brother Travis
And what happened next is all about turning the 2023-24 Chiefs season into a final success, adding to personal legacies, and continuing to build a dynasty.
Travis found Jason standing by himself. The Philadelphia Eagles center, wearing some red and yellow printed Hawaiian shirt over a Chiefs t-shirt in the 40-degree temperature, was frankly hard to miss.
And soon the two Kelce brothers were embracing and enjoying the day's 17-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens. The meet took only a couple of minutes -- Travis, after all, had the recording artist and his teammates to get back to.
Eventually, as the quick chat was finishing up, the brothers embraced. That's when Jason, enormous Popeye arms wrapped around his bother's back, delivered the message of the day to Travis.
"F---ing finish it," Jason said in his brother's ear. "F---ing finish it!"
Chiefs Headed To The Super Bowl Again
The Kansas City Chiefs are going to Super Bowl 58. It will be their fourth trip to the NFL's ultimate game in five seasons. It will be their second consecutive trip.
And the point of going, indeed, the point of everything every season is to win.
To finish.
That point is more important than anything now. It's more important than getting praise and being in the limelight, which Kelce proved by not speaking with reporters afterward.
It's more important than reminiscing about about a season filled with adversity that began almost immediately with a opening night loss to the Detroit Lions.
It's more important than, well, everything. Because everything about the '23 Chiefs will feel empty if they don't win their final game.
If they don't finish.
In the victorious Chiefs locker room, one filled with victory cigar smoke and players celebrating in their AFC champions shirts and caps, quarterback Patrick Mahomes added a dose of reality to what must have felt like a fantasy upset of the Ravens.
"I told them, job's not done," Mahomes said. "Our job is to prepare ourselves to play a good football team in the Super Bowl and try to get that ring."
BALTIMORE, MD - JANUARY 28: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks to throw the football during the first half of the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on January 28, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)
Chiefs Hear Sober Message After Huge Win
Mahomes is more than capable of delivering that sober message amid the party because this is his sixth NFL season as a starter. And his sixth AFC championship game.
And he knows the difference between having the conference title game be the last taste of a success in a season and having it be a stepping stone to a championship feast.
The Chiefs won the Super Bowl in February of 2020 and February of 2023 but lost to Tampa Bay in February of 2021. And there's a big difference in those.
That's all obvious and on the near horizon. The fact the Chiefs are going toward that destination is that in this game, Kelce caught 11 passes for 116 yards, the club avoided turnovers while the Ravens had three, and Mahomes made a big play at the end.
It came on third-and-9 with 2:19 to play. The Ravens came with a zero blitz, and Mahomes answered with a 32-yard completion to Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JANUARY 28: Marquez Valdes-Scantling #11 of the Kansas City Chiefs makes a catch against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship Game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 28, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Chiefs Big Play At End 'Sealed The Deal'
"Coach (Andy) Reid had the confidence to give us a chance to throw the ball in that situation," Mahomes said. "They brought some pressure. They were very concerned with what Travis was doing. I looked, I think it was Rashee (Rice) first. The safety cut him. They gave MVS a free lane. I just put it and let him make a play ... He did that. He made a great catch.
"And it sealed the deal."
So the Chiefs are headed back to the Super Bowl. They failed to go win back-to-back titles the last time they tried.
"One thing, it's tough to go back to back to back seasons. It's a tough thing," coach Reid said. "You played a lot of football games. You've got to work through that. You got to work through that mentally. That's not an easy thing.
I'm so happy for the guys and how they handled that. When it came time to put the hammer down, they put the hammer down, which was important. The best part is we're not done. We've got another game."