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Everything to know about the Kansas City Chiefs before Super Bowl 2024

Steve Gardner, USA TODAY
·6 min read
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The Kansas City Chiefs are headed back to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in the last five years. They'll take on the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 58 on Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (6:30 p.m. ET, CBS).

Coach Andy Reid is no stranger to postseason success. In his 11 seasons in Kansas City, the Chiefs have 10 playoff appearances, four AFC championships and two Super Bowl titles.

The Chiefs are led by their quarterback, two-time NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, who – at the age of 28 – will be playing in his fourth Super Bowl. His favorite target is tight end Travis Kelce, whose 19-yard TD catch in the AFC championship game win over the Baltimore Ravens was the pair's 17th touchdown connection in the playoffs, an all-time record.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, left, and tight end Travis Kelce celebrate on stage before the annual presentation of the Lamar Hunt Trophy, which goes to the AFC champion.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, left, and tight end Travis Kelce celebrate on stage before the annual presentation of the Lamar Hunt Trophy, which goes to the AFC champion.

How do the Chiefs' offense, defense stack up?

While the Chiefs went 11-6 during the regular season and won yet another AFC West division title, this team was much different from their previous versions. For starters, Kansas City's typically high-powered offense barely cracked the top 10 in total yards and ranked 15th in scoring at 21.8 points per game.

  • Passing leader: QB Patrick Mahomes (4,183 yards, 27 TD, 14 int. 67.2% completion percentage)

  • Rushing leaders: RB Isiah Pacheco (205 carries, 935 yards, 4.6 avg., 7 TD), QB Patrick Mahomes (75 carries, 389 yards, 5.2 avg., 0 TD), RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (70 carries, 223 yards, 3.2 avg., 1 TD)

  • Receiving leaders: TE Travis Kelce (93 catches, 984 yards, 10.6 avg., 5 TD), WR Rashee Rice (79 catches, 938 yards, 11.9 avg., 7 TD), RB Isiah Pacheco (44 catches, 244 yards, 5.5 avg., 2 TD)

The strength of the 2023 Chiefs was on the defensive side of the ball. They ranked second in yards allowed (289.8 per game) and second in scoring (17.3 points per game).

  • Sack leaders: DT Chris Jones (10.5), DE George Karlaftis (10.5), DE Charles Omenihu (7.0)

  • Interception leaders: CB L'Jarius Sneed (2 for 4 yards), LB Willie Gay (1 for 24 yards), S Mike Edwards (1 for 16 yards), 4 others with 1

  • Tackle leaders: S Justin Reid (95), CB Trent McDuffie (80), LB Drue Tranquill (78), CB L'Jarius Sneed (78)

Travis Kelce's stats with Taylor Swift in attendance

Taylor Swift, far right, and Brittany Mahomes react to Travis Kelce's touchdown reception from Patrick Mahomes in the Chiefs' divisional playoff win in Buffalo.
Taylor Swift, far right, and Brittany Mahomes react to Travis Kelce's touchdown reception from Patrick Mahomes in the Chiefs' divisional playoff win in Buffalo.

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is currently dating megastar singer/songwriter Taylor Swift. (You may have heard about that before.) She has been a regular at Chiefs games, both home and away, throughout the season.

USA TODAY Sports has been tracking Kelce's results both with and without Swift there in person. Here's how they break down:

With Taylor Swift

  • Chiefs' record: 9-3 (3-0 in playoffs)

  • Kelce's stats: 80 catches, 946 yards (78.8 yards per game), five touchdowns

Without Taylor Swift

  • Chiefs' record: 4-2

  • Kelce's stats: 36 catches, 300 yards (50 yards per game), three touchdowns

The Chiefs' atypical path to Super Bowl 58

In winning the AFC title, the Chiefs had to go on the road for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era. The Chiefs claimed the AFC West division title for the eighth consecutive year under coach Andy Reid – and sixth with Mahomes as the starting quarterback – but as the conference's No. 3 overall seed, they were only guaranteed one home playoff game.

Here's how they made it to Vegas:

Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl history

Super Bowl 58 will be a rematch of the one four years ago, when Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to a 31-20 victory over the 49ers in Miami.
Super Bowl 58 will be a rematch of the one four years ago, when Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to a 31-20 victory over the 49ers in Miami.

This year marks the sixth time the Chiefs have played in the Super Bowl. Their previous results:

  • Super Bowl 57 (2022 NFL season): Defeated Philadelphia Eagles 38-35

  • Super Bowl 55 (2020): Lost to Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-9

  • Super Bowl 54 (2019): Defeated San Francisco 49ers 31-20

  • Super Bowl 4 (1969): Defeated Minnesota Vikings 23-7

  • Super Bowl 1 (1966): Lost to Green Bay Packers 35-10

Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Famers

The Chiefs franchise boasts 25 members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

  • Marcus Allen

  • Morten Andersen

  • Bobby Beathard

  • Bobby Bell

  • Junious "Buck" Buchanan

  • Curley Culp

  • Len Dawson

  • Tony Gonzalez

  • Lamar Hunt

  • Willie Lanier

  • Ty Law

  • Marv Levy

  • Joe Montana

  • Warren Moon

  • Bill Polian

  • Darrelle Revis

  • Willie Roaf

  • Johnny Robinson

  • Will Shields

  • Jan Stenerud

  • Hank Stram

  • Emmitt Thomas

  • Derrick Thomas

  • Dick Vermeil

  • Mike Webster

Kansas City Chiefs franchise history

Quarterback Len Dawson and head coach Hank Stram were cornerstones of the Chiefs franchise in the 1960s and 70s, when the team played in two of the first four Super Bowls.
Quarterback Len Dawson and head coach Hank Stram were cornerstones of the Chiefs franchise in the 1960s and 70s, when the team played in two of the first four Super Bowls.

The Chiefs were an original member of the American Football League, which was formed in 1960.

The franchise played its first three seasons as the Dallas Texans – winning the 1962 AFL championship – before team owner Lamar Hunt moved the team to Kansas City and renamed it the Chiefs in 1963.

Under Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram, the Chiefs won the AFL title and played in the first Super Bowl – then called the NFL-AFL Championship Game. They won their first Super Bowl three years later.

The Hunt family has owned the team for all of its 64 years in existence. Hunt died in 2006, with his ownership stake divided among his wife Norma and his four children. Their son, Clark Hunt, has served as chairman since 2005 and CEO since 2010.

Chiefs' all-time statistical leaders

The Chiefs franchise has been in existence for 64 years. Here are some of the top players in club history:

PASSING YARDS

  1. Len Dawson, 28,507

  2. Patrick Mahomes, 28,424

  3. Trent Green, 21,459

  4. Alex Smith, 17,608

  5. Bill Kenney, 17,277

PASSING TDS

  1. Len Dawson, 237

  2. Patrick Mahomes, 219

  3. Trent Green, 118

  4. Bill Kenney, 105

  5. Alex Smith, 102

RUSHING YARDS

  1. Jamaal Charles, 7,260

  2. Priest Holmes, 6,070

  3. Larry Johnson, 6,015

  4. Christian Okoye, 4,897

  5. Ed Podolak, 4,451

RUSHING TDS

  1. Priest Holmes, 76

  2. Larry Johnson, 55

  3. Marcus Allen, 44

  4. Jamaal Charles, 43

  5. CHristian Okoye, 40

RECEPTIONS

  1. Tony Gonzalez, 916

  2. Travis Kelce, 907

  3. Dwayne Bowe, 532

  4. Tyreek Hill, 479

  5. Henry Marshall, 416

RECEIVING YARDS

  1. Travis Kelce, 11,328

  2. Tony Gonzalez, 10,940

  3. Otis Taylor, 7,306

  4. Dwayne Bowe, 7,155

  5. Tyreek Hill, 6,630

RECEIVING TDS

  1. Tony Gonzalez, 76

  2. Travis Kelce, 74

  3. Otis Taylor, 57

  4. Tyreek Hill, 56

  5. Chris Burford, 55

TOTAL TOUCHDOWNS

  1. Priest Holmes, 83

  2. Travis Kelce, 77

  3. Tony Gonzalez, 76

  4. Tyreek Hill, 67

  5. Jamaal Charles, 66

  1. SCORING

  2. Nick Lowery, 1,466

  3. Jan Stenerud, 1,231

  4. Harrison Butker, 900

  5. Ryan Succop, 517

  6. Priest Holmes, 500

COACHING VICTORIES

  1. Andy Reid, 128-51-0 (2 Super Bowl titles)

  2. Hank Stram, 124-76-10 (1 Super Bowl, 1 AFL title)

  3. Marty Schottenheimer, 101-58-1

  4. Dick Vermeil, 44-36-0

  5. Marv Levy, 31-42-0

All stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: As Kansas City Chiefs head to Super Bowl, here's a primer on AFC champs