How the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl LVIII run stacks up against the toughest NFL playoff runs ever
The Kansas City Chiefs capped off one of the most improbable postseason runs in NFL history when they defeated the San Fransisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.The number of obstacles the Chiefs had to overcome is pretty astonishing. Let's start with the simple fact that they were able to repeat. The Chiefs became only the […]
The Kansas City Chiefs capped off one of the most improbable postseason runs in NFL history when they defeated the San Fransisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.
The number of obstacles the Chiefs had to overcome is pretty astonishing. Let's start with the simple fact that they were able to repeat. The Chiefs became only the eighth franchise in league history to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles and the first in 20 years. They achieved this despite their lowest league ranking on offense since 2016 and an NFL-high 44 dropped passes.
The Chiefs' opponent quality was superb
The quality of Kansas City's competition throughout the postseason is a big part of why this playoff run is among the best the NFL has ever seen.
It started with a home wild-card win over the Miami Dolphins, who boasted the No. 1 overall offense in the NFL. The Chiefs held Miami to just seven points and 264 total yards in what was the fourth-coldest game in NFL history.
K.C. then traveled to Buffalo to take on the No. 2 seed Bills. Winners of their previous six games, the Bills were one of the hottest teams in the league and had a ruckus home-field advantage. The Chiefs' defense held quarterback Josh Allen to 186 passing yards and held the Bills to just 4.7 yards per play.
If Buffalo wasn't the hottest team during the playoffs, the Baltimore Ravens were. They mowed down almost all of their opponents during the regular season and dominated the Houston Texans in the divisional round 34-10. Ravens' quarterback Lamar Jackson was the would-be MVP and Baltimore had the No. 1 ranked defense by DVOA.
The Chiefs held the No. 1 seed Ravens to just 10 points on the day and forced the Ravens' offense into three turnovers. K.C. then turned its attention to the NFC's No. 1 seed 49ers, who were widely regarded to have the most complete roster in the NFL. The Chiefs overcame a 10-point deficit to beat S.F. in overtime 25-22.
K.C.'s defense held NFL Offensive Player of the Year running back Christian McCaffrey to just 3.6 yards per carry and no 49er wide receiver reached 50 yards. For a quick recap, the Chiefs beat the top two AFC seeds on the road, the top NFC seed in the Super Bowl, and four of the top five 2023 MVP finalists.
How does the Chiefs' path stack up?
If you're still not sold that the Chiefs just completed the most difficult postseason run of all time, here's a pretty convincing statistic. Per Aaron Schatz of FTN Fantasy, K.C. had the hardest path to a Super Bowl victory ever by opposing DVOA since 1981.
The Chiefs edged out some memorable underdogs on that list. The 2007 New York Giants won all of their postseason games on the road, capping it off with what many believe to be the biggest Super Bowl upset in history when they defeated the 19-0 New England Patriots.
The 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers also won all of their postseason games on the road and were the first No. 6 seed to ever win the Super Bowl. The impressive run of the 2012 Ravens featured playoff wins over Hall of Fame quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. At the end of the day, everyone will have their own opinion about who had it the toughest, but the Chiefs certainly have just as good of a case has anyone.
