Arrowhead Pride
What is Arrowhead Pride Premier? Arrowhead Pride Premier is our tri-weekly newsletter, one that provides analysis and exclusive insights directly from Arrowhead Stadium, delivered straight to your inbox. Below is a preview of the latest edition.
BY PETE SWEENEY
It is almost unfathomable to be typing out the following words, but here we are: for the seventh consecutive season, the Kansas City Chiefs are heading to the AFC Championship game.
The Chiefs handled the Houston Texans on Saturday, earning a 23-14 victory in an effort highlighted by unyielding defensive pressure on quarterback CJ Stroud, an outstanding showing by a future Hall of Fame tight end – and another jaw-dropping play added to the career highlight reel of Patrick Mahomes.
Now, the Chiefs sit back and wait.
Tonight, at 5:30 p.m. Arrowhead Time, the Baltimore Ravens travel to take on the Buffalo Bills for the right to go up against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship next weekend at Arrowhead Stadium.
We’ll have a whole week to preview the game – which we will in this newsletter and on the main site – but it’s worth noting that it’s a nice little advantage for the Chiefs that they finished their game a full 24 hours before the Ravens and Bills take the field for what promises to be an absolute dogfight.
Let’s get to what transpired on Saturday, beginning with that Mahomes play everybody is talking about.
Patrick Mahomes went Michael Jordan on his miraculous touchdown pass.
Don’t get me wrong: social media can be silly, but, on occasion, you can draw genuine meaning from what’s posted. On Friday night, an AP reader, Joe Ross, noticed that Mahomes posted a highlight reel on his official Instagram account with the song “Right Here, Right Now” as the backdrop.
“Right Here, Right Now” is the same song featured in the 10-part documentary, “The Last Dance,” and it is played as the feature dives into Jordan and the Chicago Bulls pulling off their three-peat.
Mahomes channeled his inner Jordan on his lone touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce, delivering it while being tackled with his body at a near-45-degree angle.
“That touchdown was unbelievable,” said head coach Andy Reid after the game. “That was incredible. For him to be able to get himself, just his body, in position to make that throw, I thought was great.”
It’s not only the fact that Mahomes made such a play, which we have seen him do a million times before. It came at such an important time of the game as the Texans were gaining momentum from their 15-play, 82-yard touchdown drive to open the third quarter.
“Trav had to get over that linebacker, so I had to buy a little bit of time,” he said. “So I stepped up in the pocket, was able to get enough on it to get in the end zone, and that was a big play in the game, and we need...
