Patrick Mahomes has labelled the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2023 season as “challenging” as the quarterback looks back on their 11-6 AFC West season that saw them have to go through the wild card rounds in order to defend their Super Bowl title.
The Chiefs did manage to win the AFC West ahead of the Las Vegas Raiders, but they finished as the third seed in the conference behind the Baltimore Ravens (13-4) and Buffalo Bills (11-6) meaning they have had to play an extra game in order to reach the Championship game against the Ravens.
They defeated the Miami Dolphins 26-7 at Arrowhead Stadium on January 14 before heading to New York on January 21 to defeat the Bills 27-24 in a close-fought contest. If they win on January 28, they will be in the Super Bowl again which looked fairly unlikely in the latter stages of the season. “I would say it’s just challenging in the fact that I had to deal with a lot of adversity, not having the success that I’ve had in the past,” Mahomes said to media.
“Knock on wood, I haven’t had to deal with the injuries I have had before, but at the same time, being able to not win all the games and go out there and have big stats and all that kind of stuff has been different.
“It’s taught me how to win in different ways, though, and become the best quarterback for our team. Not necessarily the best quarterback for stats and stuff like that, but the best quarterback for us to go out there and get wins.”
The Chiefs are now in their sixth consecutive AFC Championship game and will face a Ravens team that has been on fire throughout the entire season with Lamar Jackson having a spectacular campaign. They will face off at the M&T Bank Stadium in Maryland on Sunday, January 28 at 15:00 ET.
