Somewhere... Lamar Hunt is smiling.And it is not just because his Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-13 at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday Nick Allegretti Jersey nfl draft , becoming the first Chiefs team to win a home game in the playoffs since 1993.Next Sunday, the Chiefs — the team Hunt founded in 1960 as one of the original eight teams of the upstart American Football League — will play for the AFC Championship and a berth in Super Bowl LIII.Since 1984, the winner of the two NFL conference championships has also received a trophy.On Sunday, the NFC hopefuls will be trying to win the George Halas Trophy, which is named for the original founder, owner and coach of the Chicago Bears.But the AFC teams will be competing for the Lamar Hunt Trophy — named for the man who started the league that eventually became the AFC.The Chiefs have never won an AFC championship.Even though they appeared in two Super Bowl games — the first played after the 1966 season and the second after the 1969 season — in both cases they appeared in the game as the representative of the original AFL.The AFC didn’t come into being until the 1970 season, when the 10 AFL teams (and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Colts of the original NFL) became the American Football Conference of the NFL.Since the original Lamar Hunt trophy was awarded in 1984, eight of 34 have been awarded to teams that weren’t part of the league founded by its namesake.For older fans who followed the original AFL (myself included), it’s a travesty that the AFL’s original franchise doesn’t possess one.Even in 1993, which is the only time that the Chiefs have appeared in the AFC Championship, it was largely because the Chiefs were led by Joe Montana, who had been acquired from the San Francisco 49ers — a team which had been part of the original NFL.Lamar Hunt was far too kind and gracious to ever mention that original NFL franchises had been recipients of the trophy given in his name every season, while his own team had not.That’s who he was.Unlike some of his peers, he always saw his role as an owner in the largest perspective; if it was good for the league, it was good for his team.When he was an AFL owner From China Nick Allegretti Jersey , that meant his league.But when his team became part of the NFL, he set that bitter rivalry aside and continued to act in the NFL’s best interest.While there have been some differences in how his son Clark Hunt has handled the team since his father’s death in 2006, that part of his father’s legacy remains.Clark Hunt continues to see his role in the largest possible sense.But don’t let that stop you from thinking the Hunt family wouldn’t love to have a Lamar Hunt Trophy on display at Arrowhead Stadium.“[It would be] very special, obviously, for our family,” Hunt said after Saturday’s victory. “It’s one of the goals that I always put out for the players at the beginning of the year. First thing we want to do is win that Lamar Hunt Trophy. Then we want to go to the Super Bowl and win that Lombardi Trophy.”Even so, Hunt wanted to be sure we understand exactly for whom the team would be playing.“I dream about [winning that trophy] every year. We’ve now put ourselves in a position to do it. I’m probably going to think about it a lot this week. If we win that trophy, though, it’s not for me, it’s not for our family.To some degree, it’s for the team and the coaching staff, but it’s really for our great fans.” KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tom Brady and the New England Patriots did what they’ve done for the better part of two decades.Make plays when the game is on the line.The most accomplished quarterback in NFL history led the Patriots downfield in overtime, surgically converting a trio of third-and-10s, and gave Rex Burkhead a chance to score the touchdown that gave New England a 37-31 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game Sunday night.It was the 12th time in Brady’s postseason career that he engineered a game-winning drive, and this one came in the face of all those critics who claimed the 41-year-old quarterback was nearing the end.That the Patriots’ dynasty was about to be usurped by the up-and-coming Chiefs.“He’s been there so many times before it’s like second nature to him Long Sleeve Nick Allegretti Jersey ,” said Burkhead, who also scored a touchdown in a back-and-forth fourth quarter. “He’s had the pressure, he’s been in those moments before and all your trust and confidence is in him to get the job done, which he did.”The Patriots led 14-0 at halftime, but watched as Patrick Mahomes and the NFL’s highest-scoring offense roared back to take a 21-17 lead with 7:45 left in the fourth quarter.Brady and his veteran playmakers got down to business.He first led a 10-play, 75-yard drive that Sony Michel capped with a 10-yard run on fourth down to retake the lead. Then, after the Chiefs jumped back ahead on Damien Williams‘ TD run, Brady led the Pats downfield with a crucial third down completion to Rob Gronkowski to set up Burkhead’s score.The Chiefs managed to get the field goal they needed to force overtime, but the Patriots won the coin toss and defensive lineman Trey Flowers knew that the game was all but over.“I mean, I was ready to go out there if we had to,” Flowers said with a grin, “but you know, (Brady) put it away for us. It’s just a blessing.”Now the Patriots (13-5) are off to Atlanta to face the Los Angeles Rams, who survived their own overtime thriller in New Orleans thanks in part to a blown call by the officials.“I can’t say enough about the effort that our players gave today, and the coaching staff, just an awesome job by all of them Nick Allegretti Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys ,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “They deserve it, and they earned it.”As for the Chiefs? Well, another postseason begins in heartache.Mahomes capped a masterful first year as the starter with a dazzling second half, throwing three touchdown passes and leading his team back time after time. But he rued a slow start that put the Chiefs in a 14-0 halftime hole, and an overtime in which he never got a chance with the ball.“I thought if we got the chance we’d score,” he said.Chiefs coach Andy Reid likewise lamented an opportunity to scribble over a series of postseason letdowns on his own resume. His defense, which had struggled all season, crumbled down the stretch, and a team that won its third straight AFC West title was left trying to get over the hump.“This gave us a little of what we have looking forward to us in the future, and that’s where we’ll go when we’re done aching here,” Reid said,” and it’s a bright future. We have great players. And we’ll get over the hump here, the big hump, that’s this game here.”As the Pats prepare for Atlanta and the Chiefs prepare for the draft, here are some key takeaways from a wild AFC championship game, the first ever played at Arrowhead Stadium:WEAK WALL: The Chiefs’ defense allowed the Patriots to pile up 524 yards in 94 plays Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys Stitched , going 13 of 19 on third down and 4 of 5 in the red zone. New England also possessed the ball for 43 minutes, 59 seconds, all while keeping Brady from getting sacked once.RUNNING WILD: The Patriots dominated one of the NFL’s worst rush defenses, piling up 176 yards on the ground. Sony Michel led the way with 113 yards and two touchdowns, while Burkhead added 41 yards and two more scores.” We went out there and just executed our game plan. Guys did their jobs and it helped us drive the ball down the field,” Michel said. “That’s what we needed.”COIN TOSSES: Reid’s decision to defer after winning the opening coin toss proved unwise as the Patriots marched downfield and chewed up most of the opening period. Then, the Chiefs lost an even more important toss before overtime, effectively ending their season.WHAT ROAD: The Patriots were just 3-5 on the road in the regular season, and they hadn’t won a road playoff game since 2006. Meanwhile, the Chiefs had lost just once at Arrowhead Stadium all season, and that came when they blew a late lead to the Los Angeles Chargers.PLAYOFF NUMBERS: The Patriots improved to 11-4 in AFC championship games, while the Chiefs are still seeking their first trip to the Super Bowl since January 1970. “You have to take in the hurt. You have to accept the hurt. It’s supposed to hurt,” Mahomes said. “You’re doing everything you can to get to the Super Bowl and you fall short, it’s going to hurt.”