KANSAS CITY, Mo. - With his best imitation of a tightrope walker, Patrick Mahomes high-wired the Kansas City Chiefs into their first Super Bowl since 1970.
Oh sure, Mahomes did his usual superb job passing, but it was the third-year quarterback's 27-yard tap dance down the left sideline late in the first half that gave the Chiefs their first lead. From there, they outran the run-oriented Tennessee Titans and star back Derrick Henry for a 35-24 victory Sunday in the AFC championship game.
At last, for the third time overall, the Chiefs (14-4) are going to the biggest of big games.
At Super Bowl LIV in two weeks in Miami Gardens, Florida, they will play the San Francisco 49ers (15-3), who rolled to a 37-20 win over the Green Bay Packers (14-4) in the NFC title game.
"I mean, it's amazing. It really is," said Mahomes, who passed for 294 yards and three touchdowns. "To be here, to be a part of Chiefs Kingdom and to be able to do it here at Arrowhead (Stadium), these people deserve it. And we're not done yet."
Adding to the joy of the achievement, coach Andy Reid and team owner Clark Hunt accepted the Lamar Hunt Trophy - named after his father - that goes to the AFC champions each year. It was handed over to them by Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Chiefs defensive star Bobby Bell, with Mahomes and safety Tyrann Mathieu jumping for joy on the makeshift stage.
Now the Chiefs will go after the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
"Very excited and very emotional to win the trophy that has my dad's name on it," Hunt said. "Yeah, 50 years were too long, but we're going to another Super Bowl. Chiefs Kingdom, we are going to the Super Bowl."
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes celebrates after throwing a touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill during the first half of Sunday's AFC title game against the visiting Tennessee Titans. / AP photo by Charlie NeibergallThe Chiefs lost in 1967 in the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game - nope, it wasn't called the Super Bowl yet - to the Lombardi-coached Packers, 35-10. Three years later, one year after the New York Jets shocked the Baltimore Colts to lay claim to the AFL being equal to the long-established NFL, Kansas City was back. This time, the game was known as the Super Bowl - indeed, Lamar Hunt is credited with coming up with the moniker - and his Chiefs hammered the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 with the typical Wild West offensive flair and a staunch defense.
Those are characteristics that helped carry Kansas City this season, too.
Reid isn't as animated as Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram, who famously urged the Chiefs team to "keep matriculating the ball down the field, boys." Caught up in the moment Sunday, Reid said, "It's awesome," before asking the crowd to chant "How about those Chiefs?"
Moments later, standout tight end Travis Kelce proclaimed, "You gotta fight for your right to party."
There will be plenty of partying for Chiefs Kingdom heading into the championship matchup.
"Fired up to go to Miami, got to get on a diet so I can fit into my clothes," Reid said. "Very proud."
As they had done in their past three "elimination" games, the sixth-seeded Titans (11-8) got started quickly. The difference at Arrowhead as opposed to at Houston, at New England and at Baltimore was that the Chiefs had Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Damien Williams on offense, plus a vastly upgraded defense from when they lost in last year's AFC title game to the New England Patriots. Henry was held to 7 rushing yards in the second half.
"They were doubling all these guys," Mahomes said of his spectacular touchdown run on which he barely stayed in bounds. "I just ran it and got some good blocking at the end and found a way to get in the end zone."
A week after they overcame a 24-0 deficit against the Houston Texans, the AFC West champions had to rally again versus an AFC South team.
Down 10-0 and 17-7, Kansas City didn't flinch, building a 35-17 lead while controlling the clock with a strong ground game. Naturally, Mahomes complemented that with sharp passing, spreading the ball on short and deep throws. The dagger came with a 60-yard completion to Watkins for the Chiefs' 28th straight point midway through the final period.
Mahomes thrust both arms in the air as the crowd sang Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."
That somebody will be the 49ers on Feb. 2.
Kansas City Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill scores a touchdown in front of Tennessee Titans cornerback Logan Ryan during the first half of the AFC championship game Sunday in Kansas City, Mo. / AP photo by Ed ZurgaAfter taking a 3-0 lead on Greg Joseph's first field goal - with Tennessee's penchant for scoring in the red zone, he hadn't been called upon in his previous four games with the team - the Titans got a huge break. The Chiefs' Bashaud Breeland appeared to make a diving interception, but replay review showed the ball hitting the ground.
Helped by consecutive offside penalties and a a fourth-down pass to Adam Humphries for his first career playoff reception, the Titans converted on, what else, Henry's 4-yard run.
Then the Chiefs got rolling, scoring on three successive series. Hill took it in on a shovel pass and later beat Titans star cornerback Logan Ryan for a 20-yard reception, then Mahomes finished the half with his brilliant jaunt down the left sideline with half the Tennessee defense seemingly expecting him to step out of bounds.
That drive gave the Chiefs a 21-17 lead. It went to 28-17 on Williams' 3-yard run to cap a seven-minute possession. Then Watkins toasted Logan for the clinching long pass.
Henry was held to 69 yards on 19 carries after rushing for 588 yards in the past three games as an unstoppable force.
"I feel like our backs were against the wall the whole season," Henry said. "But we kept on fighting and kept on believing in each other. I think it speaks volumes about the team we have. We just came up short."
The Chiefs easily outrushed the Titans on Sunday, though, as Mahomes led the way with 53 of those yards and also was 23-for-35 passing for 294 yards.
Norma Hunt, left, and her son Clark Hunt, center, owners of the Kansas City Chiefs, and coach Andy Reid, second from right, celebrate after the team beat the Tennessee Titans in Sunday's AFC title game to advance to Super Bowl LIV. / AP photo by Jeff RobersonThe Titans tried some trickery in their bid to reach the Super Bowl for just the second time in franchise history and first time since the 1999 season.
A week after Henry threw a jump pass for a touchdown at Baltimore, Dennis Kelly emulated his coach, Mike Vrabel. Kelly slipped free for Ryan Tannehill's lob, falling back awkwardly but holding on for Tennessee's second touchdown. The backup tackle is the only offensive lineman since 2000 with two touchdown catches in a season. He also had one during the regular season against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Vrabel caught 12 touchdown passes as an NFL linebacker, including one in the Super Bowl when his Patriots beat a Philadelphia Eagles team coached by Reid.
Displaying the gambling nature of both coaches, fourth-down conversions were key on early scoring drives. Humphries, who missed the previous six games with an ankle injury, caught a 3-yarder on fourth-and-2 at the Kansas City 29. Two plays later, Henry scored.
On the Chiefs' ensuing possession, they went for it on fourth-and-2 from the Titans' 28. Tight end Travis Kelce's 4-yard reception continued a march to Hill's first touchdown.
Now Reid goes back to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 2004 season, when his Eagles lost to New England. That gap is second longest to Dick Vermeil's hiatus.
"So much effort that went into this," said Reid, who joined the Chiefs in 2013 after 14 years in Philadelphia. "It takes an army, it is not one guy at all. I appreciate the effort by everybody."