Yes, we can hear it now. The sound of New England Patriot fans gnashing their teeth.

The Kansas City Chiefs just took over the NFL in full force on Sunday night, winning one of the best Super Bowls ever.

Patrick Mahomes now has three rings. Andy Reid remains a lovable figure. The new dynasty is upon us, and now the Chiefs will be the target of ire.

We remember seeing Mahomes do a guest spot on a Super Bowl TV show on Radio Row back in 2019 in Atlanta, nearly two weeks after losing in the AFC Championship Game to Tom Brady and the Patriots and thinking that he was going to definitely go on some kind of a title run. Everyone had that thought, it was just a matter of how long Brady would keep him from it. He did three years ago to win his seventh title, that with Tampa Bay. But by that time, Mahomes already had one ring.

Now he has three after throwing for 333 yards and hitting Mecole Hartman for a 3-yard TD pass in the flat for that 25-22 win.

Niners coach Kyle Shanahan must be thinking what does he have to do to get a ring? First he watched Brady dismantle his Falcons (he was the offensive coordinator) back in February of 2017. And twice now he’s seen Mahomes beat him. Mahomes led two drives late, one for the game tying field goal and then, with SF up 22-19, for the game winning TD. What can you do?

Mahomes always seems to say the right thing, like Brady. So after the game, he certainly did not downplay the achievment.

“It means a ton,” Mahomes said right after. The adversity we dealt with this year, the guys never faltered. I’m proud of my guys, this is legendary.”

Let’s face it, the Chiefs didn’t look like Super Bowl champions during much of the season. They had no deep threats, their receivers dropping balls right and left and making bonehead plays. Their biggest attraction was Taylor Swift, because Travis Kelce wasn’t looking that great, either.

The Niners had ’em. They were up 10-0, the Chiefs were starting to unravel – see Kelce’s bump on Reid. But before the back and forth second half, the 49ers were muted offensively. It cost them. And they kept having to settle for field goals, and a missed extra point also did them in. Can’t leave points on the field vs. Mahomes.

And a dyansty is now born. Three Super Bowl titles, four trips in five years. Sounds and feels familiar.

“Yeah, it’s the start of one,” Mahomes said. “We’re not done. We’ve got a young team, we’re gonna keep this thing going.”

So that’s it for another football season, one that ends with Bill Belichick no longer in Foxborough – or the NFL, for that matter. It’s a different world. Next Sunday is the first of many Sundays without NFL football, and we will cope, knowing we don’t have to see the Taylor&Travis Show for a while.

“We get a chance to do it three times in a row,” Kelce said about winning the Super Bowl. Guess that means he’s not retiring.

We’re sure neither is Reid. Get those new State Farm commercials rolling, folks.

And also, let it be known that a guy who started the season with the Jets, Hardman, caught the winning TD.

“It feels great, I blacked out when I caught the ball, though,” he said.

Meanwhile Patriot fans just hit the off button on the remote and went to bed.

Tom King may be reached at tking@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow King on X (@Telegraph_TomK).

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