Chiefs open training camp focused on Super Bowl redemption following humbling loss to Philadelphia

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Andy Reid stood before his players before the start of training camp this week, just as the longtime Kansas City Chiefs coach does every year, and impressed upon the reigning AFC champions the importance of urgency.

Patrick Mahomes saw no such need to deliver a message.

Not with the way last season ended with a lopsided loss to the Eagles in the Super Bowl.

“I think enough was spoken after that game,” the two-time MVP quarterback said. “But I think when you go back to OTAs and back to minicamp and stuff like that, the guys had that mindset. You could tell by the pep in their step and just in the little talks that guys have throughout the team. I don't think anything really needs to be said when you get beat like that.

“Everybody knows,” Mahomes said, “that we've got to be better.”

That underscores the level of expectations in Kansas City these days.

The Chiefs still finished 15-2, tied with the Lions for the best record in the NFL, and won their ninth consecutive AFC West title by four games over the second-place Chargers. With the benefit of home-field advantage, the Chiefs rolled past Houston and narrowly beat Buffalo in the playoffs to reach the Super Bowl with a chance for an historic three-peat.

Yet the game in New Orleans last February seemed over before it even began.

Philadelphia led 7-0 after the first quarter, scored two more touchdowns in the second and took a 24-0 lead into the break, and then cruised through the second half to a 40-22 victory. It offered the Eagles some modicum of revenge after a loss to Mahomes and Co. in the big game two years earlier, and it left the Chiefs feeling wounded for the first time in years.

“Obviously we didn't play the way we wanted to play on a national stage. A worldwide stage,” said Mahomes, who was sacked six times by the Eagles and threw two interceptions in the game. “You want to go out there and be better.”

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach spent the offseason trying to fix many of their ills.

He signed 49ers offensive tackle Jaylon Moore and drafted Josh Simmons in the first round to address a pressing need for protecting Mahomes' blind side. He signed Kristian Fulton to solidify the cornerback position, brought in Jerry Tillery to bolster the pass rush, and signed Elijah Mitchell to work alongside Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt in the backfield.

More recently, Veach has taken care of the Chiefs' own. In the span of a week, Trey Smith set the market for a guard with a four-year, $94 million deal and pass rusher George Karlaftis signed a four-year, $93 million extension.

Cornerback Trent McDuffie, who like Karlaftis was a first-round pick in 2022, could be next in line for a big contract.

In the case of those two, every season Karlaftis and McDuffie have played in the NFL has ended in the Super Bowl, with two rings to show for their efforts. But it seems like the one that got away has overshadowed any of the successes.

“We wanted to finish better,” Karlaftis said simply, reflecting on last season. “We just want to finish our season better.”

The work for that began Tuesday amid oppressive heat and humidity at Missouri Western State University.

“(The Super Bowl loss) kind of helps you out on some of those extra workouts that you don't want to do, or some of the different stuff in order to get better for next season, and kind of keeps that in your mind,” Mahomes said.

“Now we're here. We're here to start over. ‘How can I get better for my teammates? How can I get better for the guys beside me?’ And then go out there and attack so that we can find a way to win that last game, and not lose it.”

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