The Kansas City Chiefs just became the first team in 19 seasons to repeat as Super Bowl champions. There are high expectations for them to become the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
No team in the previous 58 years of the Super Bowl era was able to accomplish the "three-peat" feat. When the Packers beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl 1, they did end up winning three straight NFL championships for the second time in franchise history, but since the AFL-NFL merger, it hasn't been quite so easy.
Including those Packers, the Dolphins, Cowboys, Steelers (twice), 49ers, Broncos, and Patriots, were the six teams before the Chiefs who all fell short of winning three consecutive Super Bowls after scoring back-to-back rings.
Many factors — other great teams, injuries, key roster changes — contributed to those teams not being able to make it thrice as nice. Here's looking at why the Chiefs will be just fine as team No. 9 and make it a three-ring circus in Super Bowl 59:
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1. The Chiefs are better than the team that outlasted the 49ers in overtime in Super Bowl 58
They have won three Super Bowls with the clutch core of Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Chris Jones. They have won as the No. 2 seed, No. 1 seed, and No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs. They have won rings while battling through adversity, from overcoming a slow start with key losses to coming back late with Mahomes three times in the Super Bowl.
The Chiefs addressed their biggest offseason weaknesses around Mahomes, upgrading wide receiver again with first-round pick Xavier Worthy after adding Hollywood Brown in free agency. They have high hopes for rookie second-round pick Kingsley Suamtaia giving Mahomes a sturdy new left tackle.
Defensively, with Jones being extended, their front seven remains mostly stacked. They lost only two replaceable veterans, linebacker Willie Gay, and cornerback L'Jarius Sneed.
The Chiefs are experienced in all three phases and have more infusion of exciting youth. Once again, they have few exploitable weaknesses and can beat teams in many ways with Mahomes being their consistent ace out of the hole.
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2. Patrick Mahomes is tougher to beat than any QB in NFL history
Mahomes has a regular-season winning percentage of .771 (74-22) as a starting quarterback. great for third-best in NFL history and better than Tom Brady's career mark of .754. He also has gone 15-3 in the playoffs, leading everyone with enough qualifying starts with a .833 winning percentage.
For Mahomes, all he does is win, no matter what. His passing numbers are prolific and impressive, as he's averaged almost 300 yards per game. But he's gone beyond stats and is just concerned first about making whatever plays are needed to win when it counts most, either at the end of games or the end of the season.
3. Their best AFC competition has its own share of issues.
Since the arrival of Mahomes the MVP in Kansas City, only the Bengals and Joe Burrow have stopped him. Tom Brady and the Patriots did beat him in overtime after the 2018 season, but that might have been different if he had one possession in OT.
Otherwise, the Bengals broke through only once and were denied during their second title shot at the Chiefs. The Ravens, Bills, Texans, and Titans haven't been able to solve them as other conference powers. The Steelers and Dolphins have been no match losing to them early in the playoffs.
The Chiefs have handled the NFC's best in three of four chances, with only Brady and the Bucs' defense getting the better of Mahomes in the Super Bowl. He has made sure his team dispatched the 49ers twice and the Eagles once, and he will be ready for a curveball from the Lions or another NFC champion. It comes down to someone thwarting Kansas City early in the AFC playoffs, something that has become more difficult than taking out Brady's New England teams.
The Chiefs might not be the top AFC seed or the NFL's No. 1 team during the regular season in 2024, assuming they roll to a ninth consecutive AFC West title, but come playoff time, whether they have home-field advantage plus a bye or have to do it as a No. 4, it's become more difficult to see them not coming through.
Kansas City's "three-peat" chances are not only real, but they're spectacular. It would be a significant upset for another team to solve the Chiefs' growing mystique to stop their inevitable unprecedented result.