Not all Super Bowl titles are created equal. For Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, there is a case to be made that their road to winning Super Bowl 58 against the San Francisco 49ers was the toughest ever in the history of the league — at least based on the quality of defenses they had to get through in the playoffs in order to repeat as NFL champions.

There were doubts whether the Chiefs could get things done in the 2023 NFL season, especially when they had a lackluster stretch after a Week 10 bye. They lost four of six games from Weeks 11 to 16 before regaining their footing with back-to-back wins over the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Chargers before the playoffs. In the postseason, the Chiefs handily beat the Miami Dolphins in the wild-card round but had to face Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills on the road.

The Bills had a stout defense, one that ranked third in scoring defense in the regular season, but the Chiefs came through with a 27-24 victory. After that, Kansas City stayed on the road, as they had to square off against the No. 1 seed in the AFC in the form of Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, who owned the best scoring defense in the entire league. Once again, Mahomes and the Chiefs passed the test. Up to that point, the only team that stood between the Chiefs and a two-peat was the 49ers, who were fourth in points allowed per game. Of course, even the 49ers failed to overcome the offense of the Chiefs, as Kansas City won in Las Vegas, 25-22.

Chiefs proved to be a problem too difficult to solve in the playoffs

Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes with a crown inscribed with the word COMEBACK

The Chiefs simply refused to lose against those high-caliber defenses. Having Mahomes, already an all-time great, running the show from under center certainly helped Kansas City pass all those tough defensive tests, but the success was also a testament to Kansas City's team culture and excellent coaching.

Now, the Chiefs will have the entire offseason to celebrate their latest Super Bowl win before starting another journey that could end up with yet another Vince Lombardi for the AFC West division franchise.