It’s a fantastic time to be a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs. For those who waited fifty years between Super Bowls, the most we’ve waited in the Patrick Mahomes era is two years. With back-to-back Super Bowl titles in hand, the Chiefs are chasing immortality and NFL history if they can win Super Bowl LIX. No NFL team has won three straight Super Bowls. So can the Chiefs.
I marvel at the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs’ path to start and end their 2023 season. Even after losing the home opener against the Detroit Lions in week one, they lost five of eight games, and outside of the defense, the offense was flat. Mahomes was emotional on the sidelines, same for Tight End Travis Kelce.
Andy Reid kept saying there was a tick-off, and if they corrected the penalties and the drops and relied on their teammate to do his job, everything would be ok. He was right and thank goodness they corrected their issues in time for the postseason.
In defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime, the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, and the Baltimore Ravens before the Super Bowl, the Chiefs had the most challenging run of any previous Super Bowl winner. They beat four of the best teams in football in consecutive weeks.
The afterglow of their big win Sunday in Las Vegas will end after the parade in Kansas City on Wednesday. Coaches and the players will take some time off and scatter, and the fans will ultimately raise the roof with their chests out; they know their team will win Super Bowl LIX.
But is this a reasonable conversation to have at this point? We don’t know what the Chiefs will do in Free Agency, how the draft will shake out, and what potential trades they might make. However, with history at stake, Chairman Clark Hunt will use the financial means to chase franchise immortality.
Still, it won’t be easy because the Chiefs have many free agents of their own, including Chris Jones, L’Jarius Sneed, Willie Gay, Drue Tranquill, and Tommy Townsend, to name a few. General Manager Brett Veach must also find a top-shelf wide receiver and a left tackle.
So, how does he manage the salary cap enough to go for it in 2024? If the Hunt Family is on board, you’d have to think they will do whatever it takes to push all their chips to the center of the table.
Logically, if Mahomes can win a Super Bowl with the 2023 roster, which lacked the wow players and big plays, I suspect it won’t matter who he has on the field. However, Veach knows the expansion of the receiver room will need an upgrade. Outside of Rashee Rice, Justin Watson, Skyy Moore, and Nikko Remigio, who should be ready for the offseason program, Kansas City must add three receivers via free agency and the NFL Draft.
They also must continue to draft impact starters and rework the contracts of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Joe Thuney to create even more cap space. In years past, the Chiefs generally sit out the beginning stages of free agency, but that might not be the case this off-season.
The Chiefs are a global franchise, and the talk of a three-peat will undoubtedly be discussed every day leading up to the beginning of the playoffs next January. Once they hit the post-season in January 2025, the message will be louder and louder with each win, and if they make it to New Orleans a year from now, that narrative will be the most talked about theme leading up to the Super Bowl.
It also adds intense pressure and requires this team to elevate its game because, like this season, the other 31 NFL teams will be out for Chief’s blood to prevent them from chasing history.
The Kansas City Chiefs are a national brand; they are respected and hated. It’s a slippery emotional slope that requires a commitment from more than the greatness of Mahomes; this is an organizational goal from Ownership to Coaches and the men who make up the 53-man roster every Sunday.
I’m tempered in my enthusiasm for the possibilities of the three-peat because part of me is struggling with greed. The Chiefs have played in six straight AFC title games and won three of the four Super Bowls they’ve played in during that period.
As a longtime fan of the Super Bowl IV era, what we are experiencing today goes beyond the imagination. I struggle with the idea that, at some point, the Mahomes shoe will drop. Yet, after watching the Chiefs hold together a struggling offense with duct tape and win a Super Bowl with this team, I can’t help but jump on the three-peat bandwagon.
Still, so many things need to go right, but here’s the thing: when they go wrong, the Chiefs have proven they can overcome incredible odds to win back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
So, before we get too far ahead, let’s enjoy the parade on Wednesday and celebrate the Chiefs’ improbable Super Bowl win. Let’s also thank the NFL Gods; we have the best NFL player of all time on the roster, Patrick Mahomes.
I’m not betting against their quest for history with Mahomes running the show.
