Chiefs’ revenge against Buffalo was best served cold

I remember how excited I was as a kid when Joe Montana got the Chiefs to the AFC Championship game against Buffalo — a place we hadn’t been since before I was born.

Joe didn’t play his best game, but he was always clutch. As long as Joe Cool had the ball in his hands, we always had a chance to win.

Then, this happened:

Buffalo edge rusher extraordinaire Bruce Smith dropped Montana for a sack on Buffalo’s brutal AstroTurf. Joe held his head like this. Concussion.

I knew it was over.

Backup Dave Kreig came in to lead a scoring drive, but we were done. The rout was on. This was the closest I ever witnessed my team get to the Super Bowl until I was 39.

Life as a Chiefs’ fan since then has been one disappointment after another.

Until Patrick Mahomes happened.

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Sunday night, the Chiefs earned a trip back to the Super Bowl over the team that kept them out when I was a kid. Kansas City has a chance to be the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champs in 16 years.

I feel like a wrong has been righted. I hope Joe Cool and the rest of Chiefs Kingdom does, too.

Jacob Brower is the president of Archer’s Bow Media. He has covered the Kansas City Chiefs for 15 years. The first regular season NFL game he attended was the Chiefs vs. 49ers in 1994. He can be reached at jacob@archersbowmedia.com or C 417-592-3505.