PHOENIX -- The Chiefs missed out on the postseason, but still had a major impact on the two teams colliding in Super Bowl XLIX.
New England coach Bill Belichick recently pointed to halftime of the Week 4 blowout loss at Kansas City as the season's turning point.
Speaking at Monday's press conference, Seattle coach Pete Carroll similarly identified the Seahawks' Week 11 loss at Arrowhead Stadium as the rallying point for another run at the Lombardi Trophy.
After the game, Carroll sat down for a heart-to-heart session with a dozen of his players.
"There's no question that the change took place the night we got together and the days to follow," Carroll said, "because of the leadership of the 12 guys that were in that meeting. They took the thought, they took the messaging and delivered it to the club."
Carroll attributes the Seahawks' eight-game winning streak to "recapturing" a "powerful understanding" that drove the team to last year's Super Bowl title.
"We had lost a little contact with how crucial it is to play for each other and how crucial it is to support the people on your team and how crucial it is to get out of yourself and give to the guys around you," Carroll explained. " ... It is the essence of team sports I think. That it's not about you, it's about the people around you and you give yourself to them. That's really what has taken place."
As NFL Media columnist Michael Silver outlined a week after that meeting, the Seahawks regained that team-first attitude through a cathartic airing of grievances led by All-Pro safety Earl Thomas.
"That's when we're at our best," Thomas said. "When we have love and togetherness, we feed off each other, and it's a beautiful thing."
The latest Around The NFL Podcast reacts to the Patriots' deflated footballs controversy and tells you whom to trust in Super Bowl XLIX. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
