Meanwhile, the Chiefs’ other significant offseason acquisition last year, safety Tyrann Mathieu, didn’t have a signature play in the Super Bowl but was in on six tackles. The Chiefs, after spotting the 49ers a 20-10 lead, held San Francisco to 59 yards and no points during four fourth-quarter possessions.

The pair provided the defense with the punch it needed for a much different ending than the season before, when the Chiefs lost in the AFC Championship Game. The New England Patriots scored touchdowns on their final two possessions in that game, the last one in overtime.

Many had a role in the Chiefs’ defensive turnaround this season. Kansas City had a new defensive coaching staff, led by coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, and eight players who weren’t with the 2018 Chiefs had a significant hand in the title run.

But none had an impact quite like Mathieu and Clark.

“We’ve got great leadership on this team,” safety Daniel Sorensen said. “Tyrann Mathieu, Frank Clark, those guys have led us and kept talking to us: ‘Believe in ourselves, trust in ourselves, we’re going to get better, we’re getting better.’ You see that process and we continued to get better and better and better. When it came down to it, the defense was able to make some key stops and get the offense the ball back and let them do what they do.”

The Chiefs finished the regular season seventh in scoring defense and 17th in yards allowed, both significant improvements over the 2018 season, when they finished 24th and 31st, respectively. But the Chiefs had more than statistical improvements in mind. They wanted fourth quarters like the one against the 49ers.

“There were great expectations coming into this season, but we believed that we could be in this position, especially defensively,” Mathieu said. “We knew we weren’t that far off and it was going to come down to us making plays on defense. I’m so proud of our guys on defense and our group, especially our coaching staff.

“I think our mindset was just to finish the game. I think our D-coordinator, Spags, that’s all he preaches, to never relax, to never get comfortable really until the game is over. I felt like that’s what we did.”

The Chiefs paid a premium to sign Mathieu as a free agent. They gave him a three-year contract worth $42 million, which at the time made him the NFL’s highest-paid safety.

“Tyrann Mathieu, that’s the landlord right there. He commands the field and rent was due [in the Super Bowl].”

Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones

But he still proved to be a good value. He was Kansas City’s top defensive playmaker, leading the Chiefs in interceptions with four and in passes defensed with 12. He also assumed immediate command of the locker room and became the team’s defensive leader.

“Tyrann Mathieu, that’s the landlord right there,” defensive lineman Chris Jones said. “He commands the field and rent was due [in the Super Bowl]. Everybody had to pay their rent and we did.

“He held everyone accountable since Day 1.”

In April the Chiefs traded with the Seattle Seahawks for Clark, who played through injuries and got off to a slow start. But he had seven sacks in his final eight regular-season games and then five sacks in three postseason games. He became just the eighth player since sacks became an official stat in 1982 to have five sacks in a single postseason.

If Mathieu was the voice of reason for the Chiefs, Clark was the one of inspiration.

“Never,” Clark said when asked if he doubted the Chiefs’ ability to rally when they were behind the 49ers by 10 points in the fourth quarter. “I don’t doubt [anything], man. We were down 24-0 against the Texans [in the divisional round of the playoffs] and in that game, I said we were going to go hit them in the mouth. And what happened? We end up hitting them in the mouth.

“This game … we were down 10 points and it’s 15 minutes to go and then [49ers players] start celebrating football like they were about to win the Super Bowl. I went out there next drive and said, ‘Y’all’s going home too, like the rest of them.'”

The Chiefs finished their season with nine straight wins. Their defense had a huge role in most of those games, starting with a Week 11 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers. Like the 49ers in the Super Bowl, the Chargers went scoreless on four possessions in the fourth quarter.

“That’s the best feeling in the world as a defense,” Clark said. “You all wonder why I feel so good about this defense? Because look at us. You put us in these crazy situations, and we don’t bend, we don’t break.”

Without Graham ($8 million savings), they would jump to 21st. Without Graham and Taylor ($4.55 million), they would rank 19th after their combined savings of $12.55 million.

That would actually be more cap space than the Packers had when they entered free agency last year (about $35 million) and made four high-priced moves in the first week. But this year, they have more free-agents-to-be that they’d like to keep and more contract extensions looming, which is why Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said: “I think there’s going to be a little bit more restrictions if we’re able to do everything we want to do with the guys who are here already, to be able to do something like we did last year.”

But when Gutekunst added, “We’re pretty sound financially right now to do what we need to do to get where we need to go,” perhaps he already knew what he was going to do with Graham and Taylor.

The Graham situation

Graham ranks as the highest-paid tight end in the NFL with an average salary of $10 million. This season he is scheduled to take up the second-most salary cap space ($11,666,668) of any tight end in the NFL, trailing only Philadelphia Eagles star Zach Ertz ($12.231 million).

Last season, Graham ranked first in cap charge among tight ends ($12,666,666) while his second season with the Packers was barely different than his first. Although respected in the locker room, Graham’s on-field impact was negligible: 38 catches for 447 yards and three touchdowns. In two seasons with the Packers, he totaled just five touchdowns — half of what he scored in his final year with the Seahawks in 2017.

If anything, the Packers have gotten more for their money from fellow veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis, who played the past two seasons under one-year deals that totaled $4.2 million. Lewis has said he would like to return for a 15th NFL season and, like Graham, he quickly became a locker room favorite of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

“I know that Jimmy’s numbers probably aren’t where he wants them to be or certainly where other people want them,” Gutekunst said. “But I was glad we had him in a lot of the situations we were in this year.”

The wild card could be Jace Sternberger, the third-round pick from last year. His rookie season looked like a washout after two injuries (an early training camp concussion and a late preseason ankle injury that landed him on injured reserve) until he became a surprising late-season contributor after he was activated. He played almost 100 snaps over the final five games plus playoffs and caught his first career touchdown pass in the NFC Championship Game. Coach Matt LaFleur even used Sternberger in an H-back role after fullback Danny Vitale suffered a late-season knee injury.

“The flexibility he gives us — obviously he’s got a lot of speed that can stretch the seam, he’s a matchup problem for linebackers and safeties — but then I think at the end there you saw Matt put him in the backfield and move him around a little bit,” Gutekunst said. “I think that’s what you’re going to see with Jace. I think he can be one of those guys as he develops where he can play from a lot of different places and be a matchup problem. I’m excited for him. Excited for him to gain some confidence toward the end of the season that will hopefully be a little bit of a push going into next year.”

The Taylor situation

Taylor’s salary and cap charge aren’t as prohibitive as Graham’s, but he might not be needed anymore. A biceps injury in Week 2 ended his season, and the Packers managed just fine with rookie second-round pick Elgton Jenkins in his place. Jenkins earned all-rookie honors from the Pro Football Writers of America.

Taylor ranks 26th among all NFL guards with a 2020 salary-cap figure of $5.8 million. Minus the $1.25 million in dead money, the Packers would save the rest on their cap.

The former undrafted free agent proved serviceable at a position where the Packers have chosen not to spend big money of late. Remember, they moved on from T.J. Lang and cut Josh Sitton in recent years.

In Jenkins, they have what many scouts believe is a potential long-term, high-level starter. However, several scouts and coaches around the league that were consulted about the possibility of moving Jenkins to right tackle believe he could have the same level of success there if the Packers wanted to move him in the event they don’t re-sign Bryan Bulaga, who finished the last year of his contract. Also, the Packers signed versatile backup offensive lineman Lucas Patrick to a modest contract extension (two years, $3 million) in December that gives them a cheaper option over Taylor. Perhaps Taylor would be open to a pay cut/restructure.

Neither Graham nor Taylor has an offseason roster bonus like outside linebacker Nick Perry did last year. The Packers cut Perry on March 12, just before free agency, to avoid paying him a $4.8 million roster bonus. They could wait to see what free agency and the draft brings and then make a decision. However, if either one suffered a season-ending injury during offseason workouts, then they would be on the hook financially.