Heading into this 2024 NFL season, all eyes were on the Kansas City Chiefs.
Winners of consecutive Super Bowls. Stars bigger than the game itself on the list. More importantly, NFL history is on the line as the potential first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
The pressure was immense for this Kansas City team, but at the end of the regular season, the Chiefs emerged as the AFC’s No. 1 seed, jointly holding the best record in the NFL at 15-2.
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Kansas City Chiefs center Creed Humphrey celebrates after a score against the New Orleans Saints at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. (Denny Medley-Imagn Images)
But throughout the season, a large number of fans mocked the accumulation of victories, downplayed the team’s success due to the closeness of the victories, and the old conspiracy theory “the refs were from their side” has been widely used.
So, as the Chiefs prepare for their divisional game this week against the Houston Texans, PK Press Club Digital wondered what the players themselves thought of their regular season amid this massive pressure and scrutiny , even if the results speak for themselves in the end.
What is overlooked in this team?
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“I would say the resiliency of this team,” three-time Pro Bowl center Creed Humphrey told PK Press Club Digital, while also discussing his role, alongside teammates Chris Jones and Xaviery Worthy, in the ad campaign. Crash the Super Bowl” by Doritos. “Fighting close games, high score games, two-minute drives to win games. Defensive stops to win games. All those situations where we showed up and played our best ball. That comes from the work that you accomplished in the offseason, in training camp, all of those things.
“That resilience that you develop over those camp days and all that. It shows week after week for us, and it’s something that we practice a lot – those critical situations. I’m glad that we were able to intensify our efforts.”
Jones, the Chiefs’ defensive captain and devastating defensive tackle, completely agreed with Humphrey, especially because of the injury bug that forced so many to step up during the season.
“A lot of players were out, a lot of important players were out throughout the season,” Jones said, discussing the offense with Rashee Rice, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and Isiah Pacheco all suffering serious injuries.
“We’ve been able to adapt and continue to develop that, and that’s not an easy task. When your best wide receiver goes down, your starting running back goes down. A lot of factors can play into that. We have We were able to continue to build and we faced a lot of adversity this season.”
Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones leaves the field after the game against the New Orleans Saints at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. (Denny Medley-Imagn Images)
One of those players is Worthy, the Chiefs’ first-round pick who set a new NFL Scouting Combine record in the 40-yard dash. Worthy’s speed has been a weapon for head coach Andy Reid in his offense, and while it took some time to get acclimated to the NFL, his chemistry with star quarterback Patrick Mahomes has improved. is improved during the week preceding these last playoffs.
Battling adversity in the NFL, especially when a key player goes down, means the next man up has to step up. It has been Worthy, who is ready to continue building on a successful regular season.
“I’m just trying to be myself,” Worthy said of his first trip to the playoffs. “Continue to build and grow as a player in this league. I feel like that’s the most important thing, that’s where guys have problems. [when] they look at the end goal in relation to their own journey. I just want to take it week by week and do what I do.”
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Worthy is a great example of what Jones emphasized about this group of leaders: strong character.
Character is built by winning 15 straight games by one score like the Chiefs have done, dating back to last season. When opponents viewed Kansas City games in a negative light, the team was the exact opposite.
The blocked field goal against the Denver Broncos to stay undefeated was no fluke. Nick Bolton crashed on fourth down against the Atlanta Falcons to earn a win, it wasn’t because he knew what play was going to happen.
Of course, luck came to the Chiefs this season. Isaiah Likely’s toe out of bounds in Week 1 on a game-tying touchdown on the final play of the game? Yes, it was a bit of luck that tipped the scales in the Chiefs’ favor, but sometimes that’s exactly what happens in this crazy game.
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy gains ground against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. (Barry Reeger-Imagn Images)
The pressure, the naysayers, and anything else that could cast a negative light on the Chiefs will only intensify as they continue to make history.
But these Chiefs players will continue to look beyond what has become a villainous role at the New England Patriots.
“I think it gives us a competitive advantage, knowing that everyone is against us. Knowing that no one wants us to win,” Jones said. “….For me personally, I feel like it gives us an advantage over everyone else because it makes us feel like we’re against the world.”
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While Super Bowl commercials are always a highlight of the “Big Game,” Jones, Humphrey and Worthy can all agree that they don’t want to see them before they air. That means they were playing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
But these Chiefs got to see fan-created ads that are part of Doritos’ iconic Crash the Super Bowl campaign, a competition that challenges fans to make better ads than advertisers because millions of people believe that ‘they can.
These Chiefs got a sneak peek at the semi-finalists, including the three ads chosen as finalists for this million-dollar competition.
Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones is shown before a game against the New Orleans Saints at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. (Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images)
“There were several commercials that I really enjoyed.…I think they all had their own uniqueness,” Jones said. “It was a fun environment in which we were able to select them as a team, laugh about them, criticize each of them. But also feel strongly involved in the process.”
Humphrey added, “Every person in the room likes different elements of each commercial. So that’s what’s cool. The fans did a great job this year making these commercials.”
