KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Five years ago, after the Chiefs had just rallied to beat the 49ers in their first Super Bowl appearance in five decades, Chris Jones settled behind a dais and was asked about what the future held for him.

Now a three-time All-Pro defensive tackle, Jones was heading into free agency for the first time back then.

“Next year we’re coming back for a repeat,” he replied with a smile.

This year, the Chiefs are going for a three-peat. And the good-natured, game-wrecking Jones has been there for it all.

Rather than hitting free agency back in January 2020, and after getting franchised, Jones signed a long-term contract to stay in Kansas City. He signed another, bigger deal last March, one that could mean Jones plays his entire career here. And that makes him one of six elder statesman for a franchise in the midst of a dynasty — those that will have played in seven consecutive AFC championship games when the Chiefs face the Bills on Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium.

“I’m getting old,” Jones, 30, said with a laugh. “It’s fun, though. It’s a challenge. Takes a lot of hard work, commitment, a lot of belief, a lot of encouragement throughout the year. A lot of unselfish play amongst the team to continue to do that.

“We had this message in chapel about climbing the mountaintop,” Jones added. “You don’t want to stay up there because you can’t really breathe. The air is too thin. So you go back down. But the joy is climbing to the mountaintop.”

Few teams have managed to knock the Chiefs from the top of the mountain.

They’ve won four of the last six AFC championship games, and both losses came in overtime: to the Patriots in the first of their title-game streak in 2019 and to the Bengals three years ago. When they’ve reached the Super Bowl, only Tom Brady and the Buccaneers have managed to stop Patrick Mahomes and Co. from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.

Mahomes is another of the six Chiefs players who have been there for all seven conference title games. The first came in his first year as the starter, when he shredded records on the way to earning the first of his two MVPs. In that matchup with the Patriots, he threw for 295 yards and three TDs without an interception in the losing effort.

To this day, Mahomes talks about how that loss inside Arrowhead Stadium fueled him to all those future championships.

“Obviously, you want to win three in a row,” Mahomes said, “but building those memories with the guys and with the community every single year is special. When I look back at all the different Super Bowls we’ve won, I look back at special moments that we’ve had. We’ll try to do that the same this year.

“I mean, it has been a fun run up to this point,” Mahomes said, “but we want to get to that ultimate goal.”

There’s quite a few of them that know how to get there.

Along with Jones and Mahomes, four-time All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce has been there for all seven AFC title games. So have Derrick Nnadi, a perpetually overlooked but solid defensive tackle, long snapper James Winchester and kicker Harrison Butker.

“The experience helps,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Especially with some of the younger guys to be able to talk to them and tell them about the urgency of this thing. It’s single elimination. ... You just have to make sure you stay really focused and don’t let the distractions in there the best you can.”