After winning the AFL Championship in 1966, Kansas City advanced to Super Bowl I, where they were defeated by the NFL's Green Bay Packers. This year, Kansas City will seek to defeat the Buccaneers, who will compete in Super Bowl LV for the franchise's second championship in their first postseason participation since 2007.
The Chiefs went 12-2 during the 2017 season, finishing first in the AFC West and earning a spot in the playoffs as a wild card team. In the Divisional Round, Kansas City defeated the Houston Texans 33-27 after trailing by 10 points early in the fourth quarter. Following their victory over the No. 2 seed, the Chiefs reached their third Super Bowl in four years.
In Super Bowl I, the Packers defeated the Chiefs 21-14 at Miami Stadium in Miami. The last time these two teams met was in 1973, when Kansas City won that year's AFC Championship Game 24-7 before being defeated by Oakland in Super Bowl XIX 14-0.
Both of these teams are currently ranked among the all-time greats in NFL history. The Chiefs are in the Top 10 in many offensive categories while the Bucs are listed among the greatest defense teams of all time. Both have multiple players who were part of multiple All-Star Games and/or Pro Bowls during their careers.
Kansas City has had only one other playoff appearance before this year's run: 1982.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their second NFL championship on Sunday, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 at Raymond James Stadium. They were the first team to play a Super Bowl in their own stadium, and now they are the first to win one. The victory also ended the Chiefs' season.
The game was close throughout, with both teams being held scoreless in the first quarter before Tampa Bay took a 9-7 lead into the intermission. KC responded by outscoring Tampa Bay 10-3 in the second quarter to take a 20-19 lead into the break.
Tampa Bay opened up the third quarter with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ate up nearly nine minutes of clock time and resulted in a Jay Ajayi 1-yard touchdown run to give the Bucs a 26-20 lead. The Chiefs responded with a 73-yard drive that ate up over six minutes off the clock and resulted in a Travis Kelce 22-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas to tie the game at 26-all. Neither team could get much going offensively after that, as the fourth quarter came down to defense as well. Tampa Bay's Doug Martin ran for two touchdowns in the final period to help the Bucs secure their second title.
Martin finished with 145 yards from scrimmage and two scores. Ajayi had 102 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.
The Buccaneers became the first club in NFL history to win a Super Bowl at their own stadium with the victory. The Chiefs established a 3-0 lead to start the game, but two Rob Gronkowski touchdowns put the Bucs ahead, and an Antonio Brown touchdown reception increased their lead to 21-6 before halftime. In the third quarter, Kansas City scored its only touchdown of the day on a 1-yard run by Damien Williams, making the score 28-6 in favor of Tampa Bay. Tyler Boyd caught a 2-point conversion pass from Jameis Winston to finish off the scoring at 31-12.
Winston was named MVP for his record-breaking performance. He completed 30 of 39 passes for 466 yards and five touchdowns without an interception. His average of 9.3 yards per attempt is the highest ever by a quarterback in the Super Bowl era.
Bucs defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul caused multiple fumbles and had two fumble recoveries in addition to his work on the defensive line. Linebacker Kwon Alexander led all players with nine tackles including one for a loss. Safety Justin Evans also had nine tackles including one sack. Cornerback Brent Grimes played despite being diagnosed with cancer earlier in the season and recorded three interceptions including one that he returned for a touchdown.
The Buccaneers are the first team to win the Super Bowl after losing their first two games since the 1998 Minnesota Vikings.
The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl 31-20 against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night. It is the first championship for head coach Andy Reid and his second time winning the title.
It was also the first Super Bowl played in Kansas City since 1997 and the first ever at Arrowhead Stadium. The game was a rematch of last year's NFL Championship Game which the Chiefs lost to the 49ers 24-14 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. This year's game was held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Last year's game was decided by one score down to the final minute when quarterback Alex Smith threw an interception with 11 seconds left on the clock. This year's game ended just as controversially with no clear winner after both teams were penalized for holding during sudden death overtime.
Kansas City took advantage of two 49er turnovers and scored 21 points off them to win by more than 20 points.
The Chiefs are the +600 favorite to win Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles at the newly constructed SoFi Stadium, according to BetMGM. The Super Bowl winner Buccaneers are ranked third at +1000, while the NFC Championship Game losers, the Packers, are ranked second at +900. In other words, there's a better than even chance that someone other than the Chiefs will be hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy next February.
Kansas City has won five of its last six games and is 9-4 overall. The only team with a better record is the 10-4 Saints, who face Atlanta in their next game on Sunday night. If New Orleans wins, it will clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the first time since 2013. Otherwise, the Chiefs have a chance to claim that spot by winning out. They'll need some help, though; assuming they don't lose again, they'll need to beat Oakland in Week 17 to finish at 11-5.
In any case, this season has been a lot of fun for Chiefs fans. It's the first time since 1970 that the same team has won both the AFC West title and made the playoffs. There were plenty of skeptics when Hield came off the bench to lead the Wildcats to a victory over Louisville in the Midwest Region semifinals. But he's since become one of the nation's top shooting guards. If he can keep playing well, Kentucky might just go all the way this year.
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