For more than a few Chiefs veterans, playing for championships is why they signed in KC

JuJu Smith-Schuster was pumped up — “super excited,” to be exact — after the Chiefs defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs last weekend.

For other players who have been with the Chiefs for multiple years, the victory might have been business as usual. The Chiefs are set to host their fifth consecutive AFC Championship Game on Sunday when they welcome the Cincinnati Bengals to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, after all.

But for the sixth-year wide receiver who joined the Chiefs on a one-year deal last offseason, the AFC Divisional Round provided Smith-Schuster his first taste of a playoff win.

So, it’s understandable that Smith-Schuster cherished it.

“To think about it, we had two more games to get to the Super Bowl and it’s now one more left just to get there,” he said. “It’s crazy because I’ve been in this situation in my rookie year and against the same team — Jacksonville — and we (his former team, the Steelers) lost.

“It’s tough and we had a first week bye, so I just think that this means so much more to me because I’ve been doing it for so long, where a lot of the younger guys are kind of like, ‘Oh, this is normal. I’m used to this. I’m used to playing for the Chiefs. I’m used to getting to the playoffs.’ And it’s been like that here the past five years.”

Smith-Schuster reached the playoffs with Pittsburgh: in 2017 (his rookie season), 2020 and 2021. But it was one-and-done affair each time.

Now, the veteran wideout’s goal of being on a team capable of making a championship run deep into the playoffs has become a reality.

“It’s just more so that this is my sixth year in the league,” he said, “and I’ve been trying to get to this every year and the fact that I’m here and I’m preparing for the week — we take it day by day. Like I said, I’m excited. But we can’t peak too soon.”

Smith-Schuster isn’t the only Chiefs veteran who signed a one-year deal with a championship in mind.

SUPER GOALS

Defensive end Carlos Dunlap has enjoyed an accomplished career over 13 seasons, split among the Bengals, Seattle Seahawks and, this season, with the Chiefs. He’s a two-time Pro Bowl selection and has recorded 100 sacks in 197 career games.

Safety Deon Bush, a standout on special teams, joined the Chiefs on a one-year contract last offseason after six seasons with the Chicago Bears.

Like Smith-Schuster, the 33-year-old Dunlap and the 29-year-old Bush got their first taste of a playoff victory when the Chiefs defeated the Jaguars last weekend.

“I’m at the peak of my career right now,” Dunlap said. “A lot of my best football came before me, but I still feel like I’ve got a lot left. And that’s why we came here: to have the best opportunity to put it on the main stage and to have the opportunity to compete for things that a lot of players who accomplish what I’ve been able to accomplish didn’t have the opportunity to do.

“I’m almost at 200 (career) games and I hadn’t won a playoff game. Fortunately, we got it before the 200th game.”

Knowing what a postseason loss feels like, Bush is enjoying the ride.

“I never won a playoff game,” Bush said. “I lost two playoff games in my career, so this is by far the furthest I’ve ever been.”

As a battle-tested pass rusher, Dunlap had choices as a free agent. But he elected to sign a one-year contract with the Chiefs because he believed they had a championship-caliber roster.

“That was the big part of the reason,” he said. “Obviously at that this point of my career, I’ve been able to accomplish a lot, but I hadn’t won a playoff game or had an opportunity to play in an AFC Championship Game or a Super Bowl.”

Bush recalled the same thought process.

“I had other offers,” he said, “but when you think of Kansas City, you think of the chance to be in the AFC Championship or be in the Super Bowl. Man, that’s the reason a lot of us, most of us, come here.”

Running back Jerick McKinnon knows what his veteran teammates are talking about. He, too, carefully evaluated his free-agent options before signing a one-year deal with the Chiefs in 2021, and then re-signing another one-year deal in 2022.

McKinnon, 30, has been on winning playoff teams before, including the Vikings team that pulled off the Minneapolis Miracle. But he also knows what it felt like to contribute to the Chiefs’ playoff runs in 2021 and ‘22.

He said the opportunity to continue his career with a perennial playoff team played a large role in his decision to return to Kansas City.

“Tremendously,” McKinnon said. “I mean, not just this year but the year before, too. Wins are hard to come by in this league, especially making playoff appearances. It’s definitely hard.

“You got some guys, they go their whole careers and never see the playoffs or never won the division, things like that. Just having the opportunity to come to an organization like this that is rich in winning and things of that nature is definitely something that intrigues veteran guys.”

CULTURE MATTERS

Winning has come easy for the Chiefs in recent years, and the team could make its third Super Bowl appearance in the past four seasons with a win Sunday against the Bengals.

In Kansas City, winning the AFC West, which the Chiefs have done for seven straight seasons, and getting to the AFC Championship Game aren’t considered far-fetched dreams.

“The craziest thing is that is the expectation here: like, it’s going to happen,” Bush said.

But there’s another aspect of the team that veteran players notice.

McKinnon noted that the Chiefs’ coaching staff, led by Andy Reid, is respected around the league. And their core group of players, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, makes KC an appealing spot for free agents.

“During free agency, you’re going through that whole process, and you look at the possibilities, you look at the team, the rosters, who’s on the team and stuff like that — it definitely sticks out,” McKinnon said. “I definitely think it played a role not just for myself, but other veterans, as well.”

Smith-Schuster agreed.

“You’re talking about a team that’s been to the AFC Championship Game five times in a row, and that’s because of a guy like Pat and Andy Reid,” he said. “Also, for myself, I think that I’m just happy to be a part of it. I’m happy just to be part of the team and contribute to the Ws.”

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Getting their first postseason victory will continue to be special for the likes of Smith-Schuster, Dunlap and Bush.

But there remains some unfinished business before the Chiefs’ veteran players have an opportunity to try and win it all in Super Bowl LVII at Glendale, Ariz.

That this next step comes against his former team carries even more significance for Dunlap.

“It’s like a storybook telling,” Dunlap said. “It’s bittersweet it had to be these circumstances, but I ride with my team. … We’ve got to go out here and do it, and we get the chance to do it at Arrowhead, which is phenomenal.

“To hear these guys hosted it all five times, a majority of guys in the locker room haven’t experienced it. I come with 200 games and I haven’t experienced it, so it’s a crazy story to tell. But I’m just being in (the) present and enjoying the moment and preparing to win a football game.”

Bush summed it up succinctly.

“Man, it’s exciting,” he said. “I can’t wait to go out there, for real.”