Earning their Arrowheads: Super Bowl Champions edition
The Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl Champions and these players most certainly earned their Arrowheads by beating the 49ers and winning the Lombardi.
Back when I wrote on Arrowhead Addict regularly, I cooked up a column called “Earning Their Arrowheads.” The idea came to me because of a silly motivational tool then Chiefs head coach Todd Haley implemented during training camp. Haley had all the players wear blank red helmets during practice. Once a player demonstrated that he was good enough to make the team, he would “earn his Arrowhead.”
CHECK OUT THE COOLEST SUPER BOWL LIV CHAMPIONS GEAR HERE
So in the wake of the Chiefs’ first Super Bowl Championship in 50 years, I thought I’d dust off this old column and recognize the Chiefs players that, in my obviously correct opinion, earned their Arrowheads during the Super Bowl.
Mahomes had a bad game, perhaps the worst game of his career, through three quarters. He threw two interceptions and seemed rattled. It appeared that the moment might be too big for him and the 49ers defense too good to beat. But then Mahomes did what great players do and led his team to three fourth quarter touchdowns and a Super Bowl championship. Great players aren’t always great, but they are great when it matters. In the end, Mahomes accounted for three touchdowns, running for one and throwing for two.
Though he didn’t record any sacks, Jones came up big when it mattered. He batted three passes, with two coming in crunch time when the 49ers needed to score.
Breeland was everywhere. He had seven tackles, two for a loss and a huge interception that led to three points.
Fuller turned in four tackles and two pass breakups including an incredible interception to effectively end the game. Both Fuller and Breeland made key plays and helped improve a defense that surely would have lost this game a year ago.
Some folks on Twitter were arguing that Williams should have won SB MVP. While I believe that the trophy belongs to Mahomes, Williams was terrific. He carried the ball 17 times for 104 yards and caught 4 balls for 29 yards and scored 2 crucial touchdowns—one to give the Chiefs the lead and another to ice the game.
The 49ers did everything they could to keep the Chiefs from ripping off a big play but Hill still found a way to break loose for a 4- yard reception on a 3rd-and-15. The play got the Chiefs’ offense moving and sparked the comeback. Hill finished with 9 grabs for 105 yards.
Watkins took a lot of crap this season for being overpaid and underperforming. Well, the Chiefs don’t win the Super Bowl without Watkins, so I’d say he is worth every penny. Heading into the Super Bowl, Watkins was the Chiefs’ leading receiver in the playoffs. On Sunday, he caught five of his six targets for 98 yards. Watkins was steady when K.C.’s offense was struggling.
Kelce didn’t put up monster numbers but he caught all six of his targets and scored a TD that cut the 49ers lead to three. He also drew a massive PI penalty to set up that TD. He fought for his right to party.
Clark started the year slow but finished strong. His attitude and swagger helped transform the KC defense. Clark had the only sack of the game for the Chiefs—on 4th down in the 4th quarter with under two minutes to play. He did not jump offsides.
Reid did it. He cemented his place in the Hall of Fame by leading this Chiefs team on an incredible playoff run. Nobody deserved this win more than him. It may just be the first of many Lombardis won by the combination of Mahomes and Reid.
What do you think Addicts? Did I miss anyone? Fire off in the comments. Who did you think “Earned Their Arrowheads?”
Next. A Dream Come True: The Chiefs are Champs. dark