The Kansas City Chiefs opened their season with a win over the Baltimore Ravens in an instant classic on Thursday night, giving the home fans something to cheer about other than the fact that for the second consecutive year, Arrowhead Stadium was the site of another Super Bowl championship banner unveiling. In fairness, this is one hell of a reason to cheer.
Even though it's only Week 1 and Super Bowl LIX is still over five months away, that isn't stopping the Chiefs from keeping an eye on their pursuit of a three-peat. In the nearly 60 years since the first Super Bowl was played, no team has won three consecutive championships, but the Chiefs feel tremendously confident that they'll be the first team to do so. Well, at least starting safety Justin Reid does.
It's not as if the Chiefs are rolling on an unprecedented regular season winning streak. Last year, Kansas City had to survive two road games in the Playoffs just to reach the Super Bowl. But what we've learned over the last six seasons, ever since Patrick Mahomes took over as the Chiefs' starting quarterback, is that it's really damn hard to beat this team in the postseason. And in this regard, Justin Reid may be right.
Can anyone beat the Chiefs when it counts?
Since 2018, only three teams have defeated the Chiefs in the postseason, and in each of those postseason runs, Kansas City advanced to at least the AFC Championship Game. In Mahomes' first season as KC's starter, it was Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, on their last leg, who went into Arrowhead and beat the Chiefs in overtime.
Two years later, it was Tom Brady again, this time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who handed the Chiefs their most lopsided postseason defeat in the Mahomes era when they topped Kansas City by the score of 31-9 in Super Bowl LV. And then one year later, it was Joe Burrow and the Bengals who turned Arrowhead into “Burrowhead” when they shocked the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
You could certainly make the case that there are a handful of teams around the league who could theoretically beat the Chiefs when the lights are brightest. Baltimore is one of those teams, as is Cincinnati. Buffalo had pushed the Chiefs to the limit on numerous occasions. In the NFC, Detroit, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Green Bay look like the top contenders.
In the end, though, even though there is no historical precedent, the smart money is on Kansas City to three-peat in New Orleans five months from now.
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