After another narrow Kansas City Chiefs victory in Week 14 — sealed by a “doinked” field goal that went off the uprights and in — many called out KC on social media for winning closes games due to “luck,” including big-name sports pundits like Skip Bayless.
“If I were the Chiefs, I’d be concerned I’m using up every one of my 9 lives – all my luck – during the regular season,” Bayless stated on X after Kansas City beat the Los Angeles Chargers to clinch the AFC West. He wasn’t alone as opposing fans and social media accounts blamed “black magic” and sheer good fortune for the Chiefs’ recent dominance in one-score games.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ wife, Brittany Mahomes, even addressed the idea of luck having something to do with KC’s 12-1 record on Instagram the following afternoon.
“If you’re not laughing at this point, you’re no fun😂👏🏼,” Brittany Mahomes told followers, sharing her gameday photos from the Chiefs’ Sunday Night Football win over the Chargers. The post has nearly 60,000 likes in six hours.
Patrick Mahomes did not comment on the idea of luck or good fortune helping them win games on his wife’s post, but did reply with four “😍😍😍😍” emojis.
On his personal Instagram story, however, the Chiefs QB reposted a clip from his charity golf appearance on Capital One’s “The Match” that a fan tagged him in. Within it, a younger Patrick Mahomes jokes: “I told you I’m going to make it good T.V., it’s just what I do. It’s just what I do. You’ve never seen me win a blowout. I just keep it real close till the end.”
To be clear, Mahomes said this quote at the golf event, not in the present day. Having said that, him reposting it after Week 14 was likely no coincidence.
The fan also captioned the original Instagram story: “Another yr another divisional LFG.”
Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid Calls Narrow 2024 Victories ‘Unique,’ Credits ‘Senior Leadership’ Within Locker Room
A reporter asked Chiefs head coach Andy Reid about all of the last-second wins in 2024, and the future NFL Hall of Famer had an interesting response.
“Yeah, it’s unique,” Reid acknowledged candidly. “It’s a unique year.”
“[Well], they’re all unique,” the Chiefs HC continued, explaining: “This one’s unique from the standpoint that we’ve had a lot of close games. And we’ve been able to battle through some things to get these victories. I’m sure we’ll continue to do that.”
“One of the things I came out of training camp with was that kind of senior leadership [inside the locker room],” Reid added. He also noted that the Chiefs’ roster is made up of “mentally tough” players.
“I think some of that [has] carried over to the newer additions,” he concluded. “They see how we do things, and they try to work themselves into it. We don’t have as many reps with [those younger players], but they kind of take on that personality. They work through it the best they can.”
What Reid appears to be referring to is something many teams seek out for years and years, only to fall short of sustaining it — and that’s winning culture. There’s a “buy-in” and a “standard” in KC, and it starts with the coaching staff and the veteran leaders like Mahomes, Chris Jones and Travis Kelce.
Chiefs Kingdom & Certain NFL Analysts Rally Around KC After ‘Lucky’ Tag
As you can imagine, many around Chiefs Kingdom took offense to claims that KC wins based on “luck.”
“The Chiefs have won 15 straight one score games. If you’re calling this luck, you’re just a hater,” Arrowhead Pride’s Mark Gunnels responded. “I could see if it was three or four in a row, but 15? Nah, they’re just clutch 🤷🏾♂️.”
Former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel — who played for the Chiefs from 2013 through 2015 — agreed, stating on FOX Sports One’s “The Facility”: “First of all, the Chiefs are not lucky… they’re callused. I’m sick and tired of the luck vs. the refs vs. [etc.]. They’re just a good team. They find ways to win the football game week in and week out, year in and year out, for nine straight seasons.”
Similarly, FOX Sports One’s Colin Cowherd told listeners that when a team keeps winning over and over again in these do-or-die situations, “it’s not luck, it’s a business model.”
And Kay Adams of FanDuel Sports Network’s “Up & Adams” said that the Chiefs “do deserve credit in finding ways to get it done.” She also added that “when the chips are down, it is Mahomes, Kelce [and] the whole team coming up clutch.”
