Mahomes, Chiefs aim to seize moment with repeat

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Eight NFL franchises have won back-to-back Super Bowl championships but none since the New England Patriots did it following the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

Patrick Mahomes said the Kansas City Chiefs are focused on ending that streak and winning their second consecutive title.

“Everybody’s motivated by that,” Mahomes said Tuesday as he reported for training camp at Missouri Western State University. The Chiefs begin a three-day camp for quarterbacks and rookies Wednesday with full-squad practice starting Sunday.

“You should be motivated to do it again. When you have that parade, when you go through the offseason that I’ve been through, you want to do it again,” Mahomes said. “You only get those opportunities by winning the Super Bowl. And so for us, we want to make sure that we can build up and try to win that Super Bowl again because that moment, that feeling is something that you just wanted to grab every single time that you get the opportunity to do it.”

The Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles in February in Super Bowl LVII. They also won Super Bowl LIV over the San Francisco 49ers in 2020, but failed to repeat as champions by losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV. Mahomes said the Chiefs coasted into the playoffs in that 2020 season after winning 14 of their first 15 games.

“This time I think I’m going to try to really push and motivate guys to continue to try to get better even though we’re winning football games,” Mahomes said. “Let’s not be satisfied with just winning [but also] finding ways to get better every single week.

“Whenever you get that opportunity, you don’t let it squander. You really take advantage of it and it’s hard. I think it’s going to be the hardest it’s ever been. … When you look at the AFC, there’s almost every team you can see a path for them getting to the playoffs. I know I said that every year, but I think this year is real. We know week in and week out it’s going to be a challenge for us and let’s get better and try to win as many football games as possible and put ourselves in that position.”

Mahomes said he was eager to test the ankle that he injured during the Chiefs’ divisional round playoff win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and that bothered him through the Super Bowl.

“It feels great,” he said. “I think even going into [offseason practice], I still was a little timid about running and cutting and doing stuff like that, but when I got closer to minicamp and that later OTA stage, I got that confidence back in my ankle.

“I’ll make sure that it’s ready to go and I think I’m in a good spot with it.”

Coach Andy Reid said the Chiefs would soon decide whether running back Isiah Pacheco will begin camp on the injured list or be able to participate. Pacheco, who led the Chiefs in rushing last season as a rookie and ran for 76 yards and a touchdown in the Super Bowl, had surgery during the offseason for hand and shoulder injuries.

Regarding Pacheco’s availability for the start of the regular season, Reid said, “I think we’ll have enough time, but let’s see how this all goes.”