The Kansas City Chiefs had spent the NFL season finding new ways to pull off mind-bending wins that defied probability.
They blocked a last-second field goal, profited from a bizarre unforced fumble in the final minute and narrowly held on to a win when an opposing players' toe just barely appeared to be out of bounds. As far as Kansas City was concerned, it was a sign of never-say-die champions who knew how to win football games in any situation.
But for the right opponent, it was proof that the Chiefs might just be there for the taking. And on Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles were the team that finally capitalized.
When they routed the Chiefs 40-22 in Sunday's Super Bowl, it both ended Kansas City's bid for a three-peat and exposed deep-seated flaws in what had looked like an indomitable juggernaut. Even though the Chiefs had won back-to-back titles and posted the best record in the NFL again this year, the cracks had long been apparent to anyone who could get close. Philadelphia, in the end, was the team to bust them wide open.
For much of the regular season, the Chiefs had clung to their stellar record by the skin of their teeth. Hidden in their 15-2 campaign were 12 victories in one-score games, many of which required them to pull a rabbit out of a hat.
In football circles, winning so many nail-biters is often seen as a signal of luck, not great football. And Kansas City's run was beginning to look like a hot streak at the roulette table. Dating back to last season, they had won a record 17 consecutive one-possession games. The chances of prevailing in all of them, based on their win probability entering the fourth quarter in each, was about 1-in-4,480, according to the NFL's Next Gen Stats. For much of the regular season, the Chiefs had clung to their stellar record by the skin of their teeth. Hidden in their 15-2 campaign were 12 victories in one-score games, many of which required them to pull a rabbit out of a hat.
The Kansas City Chiefs Collapsed. But the Cracks Were Already Showing. - WSJ 
