What Chiefs stars believe is being overlooked about the team as they chase NFL history

Heading into the start of this 2024 NFL season, all eyes were on Kansas City Chiefs.

Back-to-back winners Super Bowls. Stars bigger than the game itself on the list. Most importantly, NFL history is on the line as the potential first team to ever win three consecutive Super Bowls.

The pressure was on for this Kansas City team, but when the regular season ended, the Chiefs emerged as the No. 1 seed in the AFC, co-owners of the best record in the NFL at 15-2.

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But throughout the season, there was a large contingent of fans who jeered as the wins piled up, minimized the team’s success because of how close the wins were, and the old “the refs were on their side” conspiracy theory was used liberally.

So as the Chiefs prepare to play in the divisional round this week vs Houston TexansFox News Digital wondered what the players themselves felt about their regular season amid this immense pressure and scrutiny, even with a record that ultimately speaks for itself.

What is overlooked about this team?

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“I would say the resiliency of this team,” three-time Pro Bowl center Creed Humphrey told Fox News Digital while also discussing his role, along with teammates Chris Jones and Xaviery Worthy, in Doritos’ “Crash the Super Bowl” ad campaign. “Tied games, one-score games, two-minute drives to win. Defensive stops to win. All those situations where we showed up and played our best. That comes with the work you put in during the offseason, through training camp, ​all those things.

“That resilience you build through those dog days in camp and the like. It shows week by week with us and it’s something we practice a lot – those critical situations. I’m glad we were able to progress.”

Jones, the Chiefs’ defensive captain and play-wrecking defensive player, agreed wholeheartedly with Humphrey, especially given the injury woes that forced many to step up during the season.

“We had a lot of players go down, a lot of important players went down during the season,” Jones explained, referring to an offense with Rashee Rice, Marquise “Hollywood” Brown and Isiah Pacheco all suffering serious injuries.

“We were able to adjust and continue to build on that, and that’s no easy task. When your best wide receiver goes down, so does your starting running back. There are a lot of factors that can play into that. We were able to continue to build, and these are faced many difficulties this season.”

One of those players is Worthy, the Chiefs’ No. 1 draft 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 adjust to the NFL, his chemistry with star quarterback Patrick Mahomes has gotten better in the week leading up to this latest playoff run.

Dealing with adversity in the NFL, especially when a key player goes down, means the next man up has to step up. That was Worthy, who is ready to continue building off a successful regular season.

“I just want 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 biggest thing, where guys struggle with that [when] they look at the end goal in relation to their own journey. I just want to go week by week and do what I do.”

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Worthy is the best example of what Jones pointed out about this group of chiefs: Strong character.

Character is built by winning 15 consecutive one-score games like the Chiefs have, dating back to last season. When opponents looked at Kansas City’s games in a negative light, the team was the exact opposite.

Blocked field goal against Denver Broncos going undefeated was no fluke. Nick Bolton going down on a fourth-and-short game against the Atlanta Falcons to get the win wasn’t because he knew what play was coming.

Of course, there is luck that has come the way of the Chiefs this season. Isaiah Likely toe off the field in Week 1 on the game-tying touchdown on the last play of the game? Yes, the Chiefs got a little lucky, but sometimes that’s what happens in this crazy game.

The pressure, the naysayers and anything else that might look down on the Chiefs will only intensify as they chase history.

But these Chiefs players will continue to look beyond what has become a New England Patriots-level villain role.

“I think it gives us a competitive edge, knowing that everybody is against us. Knowing that nobody wants us to win,” Jones said. “… To me personally, it feels like it gives us an advantage over everyone else because it feels like we’re in relation to the world.”

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While Super Bowl commercials are always the highlight of the “big game,” Jones, Humphrey and Worthy can all agree they don’t want to see them until they air. That means they were playing for the Vince Lombardi trophy.

But those Chiefs got to see some fan-made ads that are part of Doritos’ iconic Crash the Super Bowl campaign, a competition that challenges fans to make better commercials than advertisers because millions believe they can.

These Chiefs had to review the semi-finalists, including the three ads that were chosen as finalists for this Million Dollar Contest.

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“There were multiple ads that I actually thoroughly enjoyed … I think they all had their own special uniqueness,” Jones said. “It was a fun environment where we could pick them as a team, laugh about it, criticize each of them. But we also felt strongly involved in the process.”

Humphrey added, “Every person in the room likes different parts of each commercial. So that’s the cool part of it all. The fans have done a great job this year creating these commercials.”

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