Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are underdogs heading into the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers, and while Mahomes isn’t used to it, he says he and the team have embraced the newfound role this postseason.

“We just haven’t had that aspect, so it kind of lit fire under some guys, including myself,” Mahomes said, via Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. “At the end of the day, it’s playoff games, you want to win. This is what you play for, and I think that fire would have been — regardless of if we were an underdog or not, that fire would have been lit because this is the time of year that you work for and you put in those hard practices for.”

The 49ers are currently two-point favorites over the Chiefs. Last weekend, the Baltimore Ravens were favored to beat Kansas City at M&T Bank Stadium.

“I think we have that mindset that if we’re going to practice the way we do, we’re going to work the way we work, we’re not going to let it slide by, we’re going to make sure we maximize our opportunity every time we’re out there,” continued Mahomes.

Considering how dominant the Chiefs have been in recent years, it certainly is strange viewing them as underdogs. However, Kansas City was 9-6 at one point this season, and even in its wins, it didn’t look particularly impressive in 2023.

But the Chiefs have flipped a switch in the playoffs, beating the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and the Ravens to advance to their fourth Super Bowl in the last five years.

Mahomes has thrown for 718 yards and four touchdowns while completing 68 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 100.7 in these playoffs.

The 28-year-old has gone 14-3 overall throughout his postseason career, winning a pair of Super Bowl championships.

We’ll see if Patrick Mahomes can add another ring to his display on Feb. 11.

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