Kansas City Chiefs: The Greatest Sports Villains Ever?

Villains Across Time

Sports thrive when there is a proper villain. For baseball, it was the Yankees, the Houston Astros, and now the Dodgers. For basketball, it was the Bad Boy Pistons, the Boston Celtics with Bird, Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers, LeBron’s “Heatles,” and the Warriors. College basketball has had a literal Blue Devil as the villain of the sport for as long as I can remember with Duke. And, of course, in football, there have been two major villains in the sport over the last 30 years.

The ’90s Dallas Cowboys and the Tom Brady Patriots. But what if there were a team even more villainous than all of these teams combined? A team so dominant that it feels like they are in a league of their own. A team that can’t seem to be beaten when it matters most and, worst of all, is in its prime.

After an all-time AFC Championship game, the Kansas City Chiefs are once again back in the Super Bowl, ready to take on the Philadelphia Eagles. Unlike the last time they played, there is much more on the line this time around. The coveted “3-Peat” is officially one game away for the Chiefs as Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, and Chiefs Kingdom head down to the bayou in New Orleans, Louisiana, for Super Bowl LIX.

Now, technically, the Green Bay Packers have done the three-peat before. Back in the ’60s, the Packers won the first two Super Bowls in ’67 and ’68, but they also won the NFL Championship in ’66. So while technically it isn’t three Super Bowls, they are three championships back-to-back-to-back.

I digress. Though the Packers are great all-time, they are looked back on fondly—an important part of NFL history and immortalized with the Lombardi Trophy. What is it about these Kansas City Chiefs that makes them such villains?

Hat-Trick for Patrick & The Kansas City Chiefs?

There is no denying that Patrick Mahomes is on the fast track to becoming the GOAT. Since joining the team back in 2018, Patrick Mahomes has led the Kansas City Chiefs to seven consecutive AFC Championship games. He is now 5-2 in those games and is heading to his fifth Super Bowl, where he is currently 3-1. An all-time talent as a thrower of the football, but also an underappreciated runner when needed.

Patrick Mahomes has tormented the league since becoming the starter. His dominance in the regular season is only overshadowed by just how dominant he is in the postseason. In the 20 playoff games he’s played in—which, again, is already insane—he has a passer rating of 105.8, 5,557 yards passing, 43 passing touchdowns to just 8 (yes, 8) interceptions.

The dude is simply a monster, and that’s without accounting for his rushing stats. But after going over all of his stats and how dominant a player he is, what makes him a villain exactly? Is it his attitude? Is he overrated? Is he a bad dude off the field? The answer to that question is simple—he is a victim of his own success. Kinda.

There is no denying that Patrick Mahomes is already a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He has the accolades; he has the stats. If he retired tomorrow—which I’m sure Eagles fans are praying for—he would have a gold jacket in no time. What makes Patrick Mahomes a villain is that success. Casual fans don’t want to see the same team win every year.

I understand how it can feel stale, especially when, in the last six years, we’ve had two Super Bowl rematches. Chiefs vs. 49ers and Chiefs vs. Eagles have both happened twice, and sadly for the Eagles and 49ers, the Kansas City Chiefs are undefeated against these two teams. It feels like a rerun, or like a lot of sequels—never as good as the first one.

Now, that’s not to say these games weren’t good. In fact, they were great. And in those three, soon to be four, games, Patrick Mahomes has been about as great as an all-timer can be. With all that said, there are two more aspects of Patrick Mahomes that make him a villain. One is his family; the other is his ability to use rules against a defense. Let’s go over the family first.

Problems At Ma-Homes?

When you think of Patrick Mahomes, a few things come to mind. First, he is the bane of most teams’ existence. Shortly after comes his bizarre family issues. What I’m referring to is his “influencer” younger brother, Jackson Mahomes, his father, Patrick Mahomes Sr., and his wife, Brittany Mahomes.

I’ll be the first to say I have no issue with Brittany Mahomes. In fact, I love that they’ve been together since college and have a beautiful, growing family. That being said, it is fair to say her behavior during Kansas City Chiefs games can be seen as obnoxious. Pouring champagne over fans in a freezing-cold playoff game in 2022 wasn’t the best way to get people on her side, either. These are mild offenses, especially in the early parts of the Kansas City Chiefs’ success, so I give her a pass for the most part. Jackson and Patrick Sr., however, are different.

A Flagging Concern

Much like how many fans believe that the Patriots, Warriors, Heat, and any dynasty get a little bias from the refs, the Kansas City Chiefs seem to get the most in the most needed spots. Now, I am not one to blame the refs for a loss, except for the refs in the “Failed Mary” game between Green Bay and Seattle, but it can seem as if the Chiefs get the benefit of the doubt. These playoffs, it feels as if, in the games the Chiefs have played, the calls have leaned their way.

From the unnecessary roughness calls to roughing the passer calls, Patrick Mahomes has a way to draw flags that give his offense more opportunities to score, and more often than not, they do just that. Texans fans are still sour about the divisional round, but not nearly as sour as Bills fans are after last weekend’s AFC Championship game.

The Bills vs. Chiefs game was an absolute thrill ride. The game was back and forth, with both teams playing incredibly clean. But in a game of inches, there are two moments that many feel the Kansas City Chiefs got away with.

First was a huge third-down catch from rookie Xavier Worthy that led to a Chiefs score. The other was a favorable spot on a fourth-down stop that led to the Bills losing the ball, giving the Kansas City Chiefs the chance to put away the game. Xavier went up against two Bills defenders and made a remarkable catch while fighting off a potential interception. In the chaos of all that, it appeared that the ball hit the ground. After a challenge, the refs stood with the call on the field that it was a catch. Plays later, the Chiefs scored a touchdown.

The other controversial moment was a favorable spot on a fourth-down stop that led to the Bills losing the ball, giving the Chiefs the chance to put away the game. On fourth and very, very short, Bills’ QB Josh Allen attempted a QB sneak, and while it looked like he managed to get across the line, one ref even called that he got the first. That was until another ref overruled him, calling the Bills short. The refs went on to review it, but like the last controversial call, it was too close to overturn. The Kansas City Chiefs got the ball back, and there’s your ball game.