The Kansas City Chiefs are playing in the Super Bowl this Sunday. You may not know that by reading all of the headlines surrounding the game. Whether it be Taylor Swift winning at the Grammys or Patrick Mahomes Sr being arrested for a third time, there are plenty of distractions that could end up ultimately having an effect on the game.
Distractions are nothing new to the Super Bowl, but for this particular game, it feels like the Chiefs are dealing with more than their fair share going into the Championship game. Here are just a few.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Postgame
There are literally articles being written right now about what will happen in the postgame if the Chiefs win. There is this belief that if the Chiefs win, Kelce will get on a knee and propose, essentially beginning the US version of the Royal Wedding.
Don’t believe me? SI, yes Sports Illustrated, wrote an article debating the odds that Kelce will propose following the game. In case you were wondering, the current odds are sitting at (-3500). Yes, this is still a very unlikely scenario, but the fact that it is something that can be bet on says that it is a huge storyline, and certainly a potential distraction.
Patrick Mahomes Sr. Arrest
On Saturday, just over a week before the Super Bowl, Patrick Mahomes Sr. was arrested on a DWI charge. This is his third DWI in the last five years which means up to 10 years in prison. He was released on a $10,000 bail, but will still have to appear in court on a later date.
It doesn’t matter how focused you are as a professional when your father gets arrested, it’s going to be a distraction. When it happens the third time, and he could potentially be facing up to ten years in prison, it is going to be a serious distraction.
It also doesn’t help that Mahomes Jr.’s brother Jackson Mahomes just recently had his charges dropped against him last month following a sexual assault case.
Trying to Go Back-to-Back
Winning back-to-back Super Bowls is nothing new to the NFL. In fact, it has been done multiple times, including Super Bowl I and II when the Green Bay Packers did it. But it hasn’t been done since the New England Patriots won back-to-back Super Bowls in 2005 and 2006.
In that same time span, there have been three teams who have failed to win two years in a row, including the Chiefs in 2020 and 2021. Maybe 0-3 over the past 18 years isn’t quite a huge storyline, but if the Chiefs find themselves trailing in at any point in the Super Bowl, don’t be shocked if that statistic gets brought up.
Kadarius Toney’s Return for Chiefs?
Kadarius Toney may be the most controversial player in the NFL. On one hand, he clearly has the potential and skillset to be an effective player, or at least gives a different kind of look, which is his threat to run the fly sweep or catch behind the line of scrimmage passes and make a few guys miss.
At the same time, he literally cost the Chiefs two wins this year. And it isn’t really easy to decide which one was worse. The first happened against the Eagles when he dropped a perfect 45-yard pass in the endzone late in the fourth quarter. The second was when he lined up offsides and ended up catching a lateral from Kelce that resulted in a touchdown that would have put the Chiefs ahead up late.
If Toney somehow cost the Chiefs again…oof. However, if Toney is healthy and the Chiefs struggle to move the ball on offense, critics will say Toney should have been in the game. Either way, if the Chiefs don’t win, Toney will be a storyline.
Conclusion
The Kansas City Chiefs are professionals, and they certainly won’t let the moment get too big for them. Just about every major contributor to the team, from Andy Reid to Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, knows how to win a Super Bowl. However, the 49ers are an elite team, and any kind of distraction off the field may be enough to be the difference in this game.
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