Chiefs veteran has the perfect understanding of the true advantage AFC Championship Game experience gives Kansas City
When the Kansas City Chiefs hit the gridiron for their game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, they'll be suiting up for their seventh consecutive AFC Championship Game appearance. During the Patrick Mahomes era, this team has known nothing less than an AFC title game loss. It's a remarkable feat and one that no one in […]
When the Kansas City Chiefs hit the gridiron for their game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, they'll be suiting up for their seventh consecutive AFC Championship Game appearance.
During the Patrick Mahomes era, this team has known nothing less than an AFC title game loss. It's a remarkable feat and one that no one in the organization is taking for granted. Several players throughout the roster have been present for more than one of those games, and the general consensus is that having been there before certainly matters.
Asked about the experience throughout his locker room, Chiefs HC Andy Reid couldn't quite put his finger on the advantage that it provides his team.
"It normally doesn't hurt, for sure," Andy told reporters. "I don't know how you weigh out the advantage of it, I feel like we play these guys (the Bills) all the time (in the playoffs), so they know us, we know them. But I'm glad we have all those guys, and you'll need all of them."
Chiefs S Justin Reid was better able to put a finger on why that AFC Championship Game experience is so valuable for the team.
"Yeah, experience definitely does help, because we know the magnitude of the moment, and I think that what gives us an edge is being able to handle pressure right," Justin explained. "Because these are the most high pressure, high intensity situations that most people feel in their lives. Just the gravity of the situation in the game. And we've been very, very fortunate to be to a couple of these and just being able to handle that when something goes wrong, not to fall apart, not to let one mistake turn into two mistakes, two mistakes turn into five mistakes. But just be ready for that."
It all comes down to pressure in these big games. Just as every big play is magnified, every mistake is magnified because the stakes are win-or-go-home. They know how to handle the pressure as a team because they've been there before and they've been on all sides of the coin. They've been down, they've been up, they've won, and they've lost those big games.
Don't take that to mean that the Chiefs feel they can simply rely on their experience to be ready for this matchup with Buffalo. They know that they're going to have to be perfect throughout the practice week in order to execute the game plan come Sunday. They also know that having the right thought process from the get-go and relying on that experience in key moments will help them to achieve their goals.
"That doesn't come with any type of complacency or thinking that it would just be comfortable or given to us," Justin concluded. "We know that we will have to scratch, bite, and claw for every inch to be able to go out and do what we need to do to win this game, and just having the right mentality to do that."
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