The Chiefs aren’t chasing greatness this season.
They’re chasing history.
Over the past five years, Kansas City has authored one of the league’s all-time greatest runs. It has won the AFC West each year and hosted an NFL record five consecutive AFC championship games, winning three. The Chiefs have also won two Super Bowls, both times beating the NFC’s top-seeded teams, 49ers and Eagles.
The 2014–18 Patriots are the only team in history that can match five division titles, five conference title game appearances, three Super Bowl berths and two championships in a five-year span.
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Ironically, New England beat Kansas City in the AFC championship the final year of its stretch, and in the first year of the Chiefs’ current effort. The Patriots reached four Super Bowls in five years, including three consecutive (2017–19), and won a trio of titles.
No other team has achieved such a level of dominance.
But for Kansas City, the historic work isn’t done. While the Patriots didn’t repeat during that stretch, they and quarterback Tom Brady did so in 2003–04 before launching the second half of their elongated dynasty.
For the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, repeating is the goal for myriad reasons. Should Kansas City win the Super Bowl on Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas, the Chiefs would become an unquestioned dynasty. And for Mahomes, it brings him a title closer to Brady while checking off boxes that so few quarterbacks have: dynasty and repeat champion.
In Kansas City, it’s not all about Mahomes. It’s also about coach Andy Reid, who between his time with the Chiefs and Eagles, has coached 24 seasons, including 10 conference title games along with four Super Bowls.
And there’s no question, the Chiefs have the best quarterback and best coach in football.
In the Super Bowl era, there are only 12 such combinations that have or will send both to Canton, and spent at least five years together.
- Weeb Ewbank and Joe Namath
- Hank Stram and Len Dawson
- Tom Landry and Roger Staubach
- Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw
- Bud Grant and Fran Tarkenton
- John Madden and Ken Stabler
- Bill Walsh and Joe Montana
- Don Coryell and Dan Fouts
- Marv Levy and Jim Kelly
- Jimmy Johnson and Troy Aikman
- Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning
- Bill Belichick and Tom Brady
- Reid and Mahomes
Of those 13 pairings, only four have a reasonable argument for the quarterback and coach being the best at a given time: Noll-Bradshaw, Walsh-Montana, Belichick-Brady and Reid-Mahomes.
And those first three pairings have a combined 13 Super Bowl wins.
So if there’s an argument for Kansas City to become the latest dynasty, this is it.
Yet since the Super Bowl’s introduction in 1966, only eight teams have repeated as champions, and only two—the ’97–98 Broncos and 2003–04 Patriots—have done it during the salary-cap era. There have been four other champions who returned to the Super Bowl one year later, including the ’19–20 Chiefs, only to fall short.
And the reasons for failing to repeat are many. Injuries, free agency, retirements, bad luck and more all play their respective parts.
For every team, the pie chart looks different.
This season, Kansas City’s challenges begin with one star holding out, and another one aging.
Star defensive tackle Chris Jones hasn’t reported to the team, racking up more than $2 million in fines between minicamp and training camp, along with a forfeited workout bonus. There’s no indication when he’ll show up, something that could be resolved soon or could linger well into the campaign.
Without Jones, the Chiefs’ defense goes from good to very questionable. Facing potentially high-octane offenses such as the Lions, Jaguars, Jets and Vikings over the first five weeks, Kansas City’s top pass rushers would be second-year man George Karlaftis, rookie Felix Anudike-Uzomah and veteran rotational player Mike Danna.
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Then there’s the advancing age of tight end Travis Kelce.
At some juncture, one of the greatest to ever play the position will slow down. To be fair, the 33-year-old Kelce has shown no signs, last year amassing his seventh consecutive 1,000-yard season. No other tight end has had more than four straight.
With the Chiefs going with a receiver-by-committee approach on the outside, Kelce remains as important as ever. If he misses time—Kelce has missed only three games over the past nine years—it’s a massive problem.
Still, nobody is a better bet than the Chiefs to once again raise the Lombardi Trophy, and rightfully so. Going into the season, Sports Illustrated Sportsbook has them at +600, ahead of the Eagles (+700), Bills (+900), Bengals (+900) and 49ers (+900).
And in some cases, the reasons for optimism cross over with the issues that could potentially derail them.
While Jones is holding out, he’s eventually coming back. When he does, he’s still a reigning first-team All-Pro who finished third in last year’s Defensive Player of the Year voting with 15.5 sacks.
As for Kelce, he’s one of the most consistent players in league history, and, over the past six years, nobody, regardless of position, has amassed more receiving yards.
For Kelce, Jones, Mahomes, Reid and the rest of the Chiefs, the upcoming season isn’t about 2023.
It’s about cementing their legacy. It’s about being an unavoidable part of history.
