Patrick Mahomes won’t get over AFC title game loss until Chiefs are back in Super Bowl

Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes took part in an in-game interview with ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters during the 2022 Pro Bowl on Sunday.

Mahomes’ Pro Bowl performance was going about as well as his final half of postseason football went in the AFC championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals. He’d thrown a pick-six, during which Buccaneers DB Antoine Winfield Jr. juked Mahomes with a fake pitch.

Mahomes had completed just 2-of-6 passes for 21 yards when he first spoke with Salters. The interceptions were plentiful for all the quarterbacks AFC and NFC in the first half of the game.

“They’ve got a couple of good DBs out here,” Mahomes told Salters. “Hopefully we can turn them into touchdowns and not interceptions all day and get some cool plays out there.”

Asked to reflect on losing in the AFC title game and playing in the Pro Bowl this week, Mahomes had a positive outlook on the situation.

“Yeah, I mean, it still hurts,” Mahomes said. “You want to be in that Super Bowl, but you enjoy this. It’s an honor to be in the Pro Bowl, and so to be able to be in the Pro Bowl with a lot of my teammates, see their families, it’s a good way to cap off the season for us.”

Asked specifically how long it took the quarterback to get over the loss to the Bengals, well, Mahomes said he hasn’t got over the loss yet and won’t until he achieves a very specific goal.

“I’m still not over it,” Mahomes said. “I don’t think I’ll be over it until we’re in another Super Bowl. I’ll have to use that as motivation moving forward.”

How does Mahomes manage to get over the hump and get the team back to the Super Bowl in Super Bowl LVII?

“We have to go through the process again,” Mahomes said. “You have to start from scratch every single year in this league. You have to go in with the mindset of ‘I’m going to get better and better every single day.’ and hopefully give yourself a chance to be in the Super Bowl.”