Chiefs will be favorites moving forward regardless of Sunday

Patrick Mahomes will never enjoy another season like this.

No, Mahomes might very well throw for 50 touchdown again or eclipse the 5,000-yard plateau, but not in this fashion. The 23-year-old will never be able to come from nowhere to become the MVP, or shock the world with a left-handed throw.

In many respects, the same can be said about his team. The Kansas City Chiefs have been perennial disappointments and/or afterthoughts since 1969. They have choked away playoff wins home and away, made the wrong moves in the draft and traded for enough backup San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks to last a lifetime.

Now with Mahomes and a video-game offense, that all changes moving forward. In Vegas, the Chiefs have already been installed as favorites to win the Super Bowl in Feb. 2020, backing up the entire premise here. Regardless of whether Kansas City wins the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium against the New England Patriots this Sunday, everything has already changed for this franchise.

With the prodigious talent of Mahomes and the innovative mind of head coach Andy Reid, the Chiefs will be a trendy pick for years to come. Kansas City has long been the team long on solid talent but short on the game-changing variety. Now, the Chiefs have the ultimate trump card in Mahomes to go with talents such as Damien Williams, Sammy Watkins, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill around him.

Of course, none of that means losing this weekend would sting any less. Kansas City has never hosted an AFC title game before, and beating the Patriots would mean everything. New England has been the preeminent power in the league for almost two decades. Beating Tom Brady and Bill Belichick would send a thunderous message … and only enhance expectations as we approach next season.

Over the next 10-15 years, the Chiefs and their fans will get used to this feeling. They’ll become numb to advancing in the playoffs and making runs at the Super Bowl. After decades of being irrelevant or a punchline, they’ll all gladly sign for that reality.

This year, though, this year is different. Nobody could have reasonably expected to uncover a generational quarterback leading a generational offense, even with Mahomes’ abilities being evident in the season finale last year.

In essence, this is Camelot. It’s the honeymoon before the honey-dos. Kansas City is in love with Mahomes, and he’s yet to break the city’s heart. Should the Chiefs win on Sunday, the love affair will continue to the Super Bowl.

No matter what happens from here, nothing will match the sheer joy of this season.

Now then, two more wins, and Kansas City can write a love story for the ages.