The AFC has seen quarterback dominance in the modern era of the NFL. In the last 17 seasons, only five quarterbacks have represented the AFC in the Super Bowl. The winner of the AFC Championship showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans is one of those five.
By beating the Titans 35-24 n Sunday, Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes became the fifth quarterback to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl in 17 seasons. He did so after performing back-to-back comeback efforts against two AFC South foes in the Titans and Houston Texans.
From 2003 to 2019, only Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning and Joe Flacco had gone to the Super Bowl out of the AFC. All four of those quarterbacks won championships, Brady winning five, Roethlisberger twice, Manning twice and Flacco once.
Mahomes' entrance into the Super Bowl marks a new shift in quarterback play in the AFC. No-longer are Brady, Roethlisberger, Manning and Flacco dominating the conference. Instead, it's Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson, all passers with three years or less of experience. All three were in the final four in the AFC.
While Jackson and Watson put up good fights to become the fifth AFC passer to start a Super Bowl since 2003, the Chiefs and Mahomes stood out of everyone else in 2020. In his two games in the postseason, he has nine total touchdowns — eight through the air and one on the ground.
Mahomes will face either the San Francisco 49ers or the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl on Feb. 2 in Miami.
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