Ever since Patrick Mahomes became the starter for the Kansas City Chiefs, the AFC West franchise has been at the peak of high standards across the NFL.

Having been to at least the AFC Championship game in every season since Mahomes became the starter, the Chiefs are held to a different standard than other teams.

If some teams finish above .500 or for others, just making the playoffs constitutes a successful year, but for Kansas City, it is Super Bowl or nothing, and that shows the different level they’re on compared to other teams.

But for Mahomes, that kind of pressure is part and parcel of playing NFL football.

“I mean that’s that’s the reason you play the sport,” Mahomes said, embracing the demands of the game. “I’ve never had a team that I didn’t believe could win the Super Bowl, and so I don’t know what I would be doing and how I would be acting if we weren’t going to the playoffs. My goal at the end of the year is to win the Super Bowl, and nothing else matters.”

The Chiefs are well on their way to having a genuine shot at what would be Mahomes’ fourth Super Bowl and third consecutive triumph due to an 11-1 record, and if they beat the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 14, they’ll clinch the division.

That would give Mahomes and Co. at least one home playoff game, and as things stand, the Chiefs are the No. 1 seed in the AFC, so the Super Bowl would run through Kansas City.

There’s a different pressure each season for Mahomes and the Chiefs, with a Super Bowl win determining how everyone else defines how good their season was, and when you have No.15 as your quarterback, that will be the standard every year.

Which seems just fine with Patrick.