The Kansas City Chiefs are the reigning Super Bowl champions. But the D-word has surfaced, as in dynasty. But just repeating is easier said than done.
These days, Andy Reid’s team is pro football’s shiny new toy. That sounds somewhat odd considering the franchise was born back in the Lone Star State in 1960, migrated slightly north and went from being known as the Dallas Texans to the Kansas City Chiefs. They were the AFL’s most successful team during its brief 10-year history.
Now the club is the defending Super Bowl champion for the first time in…50 years? That was quite a drought, to say the least. But the team’s 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in South Florida in February added up to the organization second Lombardi Trophy.
As has become somewhat commonplace when it comes to sports discussions, winning back-to-back titles now takes a back seat to…DYNASTY! Of course, that usually starts with defending the title. And winning consecutive Super Bowls takes some doing. In fact, it hasn’t been done since the New England Patriots turned the trick in 2003 (XXXVIII) and 2004 (XXXIX).
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All told, it’s happened a total of eight times during the Super Bowl Era, which began with the 1966 season. The Green Bay Packers won the first two Super Bowl and remained the only franchise to win three straight NFL titles – doing it pre-postseason (1929-31) and again from 1965-67. The next teams to achieve that feat were the 1972 and ’73 Miami Dolphins (VII and VIII). Then there was an unprecedented run by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s in which they won back-to-back NFL titles on two occasions – crowned champions in 1974 and ’75 and again in 1978 and ’79.
Next up would be the 49ers (1988 and ’89), then the Dallas Cowboys (1992 and ’93), who actually won three championships in four years, and also the almost-forgotten Denver Broncos, who turned the trick in both 1997 and 1998. And the eighth example are the aforementioned Patriots from more than a decade ago.
The #Chiefs begin their defense of their #SuperBowl on Thursday!
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— Full Press NFL (@FullPressNFL) September 8, 2020
Repeating? Ask the 2014 Seattle Seahawks and the 2017 New England Patriots, both of which reached the Super Bowl but were dethroned by the Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively. Those are just the most recent examples of teams that were able to get back to the “Big Game.” Recent champions such as the 2011 New York Giants, 2012 Baltimore Ravens and 2015 Denver Broncos failed to reach the playoffs the year after winning it all.
The Chiefs featuring young standout quarterback Patrick Mahomes, plenty of big-play ability at the skill positions with tight end Travis Kelce and wideouts Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins. The offensive line is solid and the running game will be paced by rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The defense settled in nicely after a rough start last season and is anchored by Chris Jones and Tyrann Mathieu. It’s a team that comes into 2020 riding a nine-game overall winning streak and is talented and deep.
And all of that may not be enough to get back to the Super Bowl, much less win it. So before the dynasty talk can begin, winning another Lombardi Trophy must be part of the equation.
