Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs were potentially a coin flip away from playing in Super Bowl LIII. On Friday, the quarterback vowed to take the next step in 2019.

In a radio appearance with Sports Radio 810 WHB from Radio Row in Atlanta (h/t Soren Petro), Mahomes promised to play in Super Bowl LIV: “I wanted to win the AFC West, I wanted to win the AFC and I wanted to win the Super Bowl. We got close. Next year, I’ll be in the Super Bowl and you’ll be interviewing me on media night.”

He added, “I wish I was in this game. I’ll still enjoy it. It stings more this year than last year but I’ll still enjoy it.”

For Mahomes’ sake, hopefully the Chiefs can find some magic on the defensive side of the ball. The team’s inability to reach Super Bowl LIII had very little to do with anything Mahomes and Co. did wrong on offense. Instead, it was a complete collapse on the defensive side of the ball in the fourth quarter and overtime that doomed the Chiefs.

Not surprisingly, the team fired defensive coordinator Bob Sutton just days after that humbling loss.