Arrowheadlines: Chiefs vs 49ers ranked as the 20th best Super Bowl of all-time

Chiefs headlines for Friday, February 4

The latest

Ranking all 55 Super Bowls from best to worst: Which games were all-time classics? | USA Today

20. LIV (54, 2019) Kansas City Chiefs 31, 49ers 20: K.C. ended its 50-year championship drought in style. MVP Patrick Mahomes rescued the Chiefs from their third consecutive double-digit deficit of that postseason, starting the fourth-quarterback comeback with his third-and-15 completion to WR Tyreek Hill on a spectacular throw. RB Damien Williams’ pair of TDs late in the final period provided the coup de grâce.

‘You can’t even write stories like this’: How Sam Hubbard helped lead the Bengals’ resurgence on defense | Cincinnati.com

Sam Hubbard, Joe Burrow key in win over Chiefs

While others might have scoffed at Burrow and Hubbard’s conversations about what they envisioned the Bengals could be two years ago, their belief never wavered. That’s because Hubbard and Burrow, teammates at Ohio State for three seasons, only know one way: How to win.

“The thing about Joe and myself, is that we’re winners,” Hubbard said. “We’ve won our whole lives. I’ve been pretty miserable along with my teammates for the last few years losing so many games. I told Joe, ‘We need you. You’re the guy to turn this around, I know it.’ He embraced that. What are the odds that a kid from Athens, Ohio is a national champion, Heisman Trophy winner, prime to be the number one overall pick and we happen to have it. You can’t even write stories like this. It’s amazing.”

Here’s what will become of Kansas City Chiefs’ AFC championship T-shirts and caps | Kansas City Star

All that commemorative gear had arrived in Kansas City, but it never will be sold in Kansas, Missouri or anyone else in the United States following the Chiefs’ 27-24 overtime loss to the Bengals on Sunday.

Instead, those items will be going to an organization called Good360. That group said it works with world corporations “to source essential goods and distribute them through our network of diverse nonprofits, supporting people in need.”

One of those corporations is the NFL, which wants to keep the apparel out of sight, said Shari Rudolph, Chief Development Officer/Chief Marketing Officer for Good 360, “This will be our eighth year working with the NFL in this capacity,” Rudolph said in a phone interview.

“So we will get the unusable merchandise from both the AFC and NFC Championship games, as well as from the Super Bowl.

“And we work with our network of nonprofits, the Good360 network of nonprofits, to place those items where they can have the most impact.

And of course, they go outside of the United States because of the nature of the donation.” The NFL doesn’t want to see any fans wearing a hoodie saying the Kansas City Chiefs are playing in Super Bowl LVI.

The 2022 NFL Quarterback Commitment Index | The Ringer

Relationship Goals

Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes

Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen

Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Burrow

Los Angeles Chargers and Justin Herbert

Los Angeles Rams and Matthew Stafford

It doesn’t take a queen to deem Mahomes flawless. He is the incomparable of the season. But Buffalo’s Josh Allen is not far behind. There were questions about Allen’s, uh, processing ability when he was drafted in 2018, but nobody ever had concerns about his physical build. And oh, how he puts that build to use.

Mahomes and Allen just combined for one of the greatest playoff games in decades. And in the process, they likely gave every team looking for a new passer rather unrealistic expectations.

All-time Super Bowl QB rankings: Where do Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow slot in? | NFL.com

In (or should be in) the Hall of Fame

If this looks high for Mahomes, consider that he’s been the best overall player in the NFL over the last four seasons in aggregate. He’s already an all-time great. Most of the guys ahead of him could never claim that level of dominance, so I’m only knocking him so much because of his lack of longevity. The other Chief on this list had a high peak, too: Dawson was the best passer in a pass-happy league, leading the AFL in passer rating for five straight years (1964-68).

Tyrann Mathieu voted as a Pro Bowl captain

Around the NFL

Jacksonville Jaguars hire Doug Pederson as head coach | ESPN.com

Pederson spent the 2021 season out of football, but he was the first head-coaching candidate the Jaguars interviewed. That was on Dec. 30, and the Jaguars brought him back for a second interview Tuesday.

Pederson went 42-37-1 and made three playoff appearances in five seasons in Philadelphia (2016-20). The Eagles drafted quarterback Carson Wentz second overall and went 7-9 in Pederson’s first season, but they went 13-3 in 2017, survived the loss of Wentz late in the season when backup QB Nick Foles got hot and beat the New England Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl LII.

Broncos exec John Elway statement: I interviewed Brian Flores in good faith | NFL.com

“While I was not planning to respond publicly to the false and defamatory claims by Brian Flores, I could not be silent any longer with my character, integrity and professionalism being attacked,” Elway said in a statement. ”I took Coach Flores very seriously as a candidate for our head coaching position in 2019 and enjoyed our three-and-a-half hour interview with him. Along with the rest of our group, I was prepared, ready and fully engaged during the entire interview as Brian shared his experience and vision for our team. It’s unfortunate and shocking to learn for the first time this week that Brian felt differently about our interview with him.

”For Brian to make an assumption about my appearance and state of mind early that morning was subjective, hurtful and just plain wrong. If I appeared ‘disheveled,’ as he claimed, it was because we had flown in during the middle of the night — immediately following another interview in Denver — and were going on a few hours of sleep to meet the only window provided to us.

”I interviewed Brian in good faith, giving him the same consideration and opportunity as every other candidate for our head coaching position in 2019.”

Six former Washington employees make new allegations against Daniel Snyder at U.S. House committee hearing | CBS Sports

Hosted by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., the roundtable convened in the Oversight Committee’s Washington, D.C., hearing room. The employees on hand included Emily Applegate, former marketing coordinator; Brad Baker, former video production manager; Melanie Coburn, former cheerleader and director of marketing; Rachel Engleson, former director of marketing and client relations; Tiffani A. Johnston, former cheerleader and marketing manager; and Ana Nunez, former coordinator of business development.

“We launched this investigation because the NFL has not been transparent about the workplace misconduct issues it uncovered within [Washington],” said Krishnamoorthi in a statement that preceded testimony from the ex-staffers. “These victims are bravely coming forward with their stories, sharing details of despicable abuse in their workplace. … Our investigation will continue until the perpetrators of sexual harassment are held accountable.”

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Chiefs are currently co-favorites to win Super Bowl LVII

The Kansas City Chiefs won’t be playing in the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2018 season after the Cincinnati Bengals (+4.5) — that according to DraftKings Sportsbook. That game will be played a week from this Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

After their elimination, the Chiefs will now shift their attention to getting back to the championship game of the 2022 NFL season: Super Bowl LVII.

As this writing, the Chiefs are currently co-favorites with the Buffalo Bills to win the next NFL championship — also according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

Rounding out the top 10 after the Chiefs and Bills are the Rams (+1000), Bengals (+1200), Dallas Cowboys (+1400) and San Francisco 49ers (+1400), Green Bay Packers (+1500), Baltimore Ravens (+1800), Denver Broncos (+1800) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+2000).

A tweet to make you think

Follow Arrowhead Pride on Social Media

• Facebook Page: Click here to like our page
• AP Instagram: Follow @ArrowheadPride
• AP Twitter: Follow @ArrowheadPride
• AP Staff on Twitter: see complete list
• 610 Sports Twitter: Follow @610SportsKC