When it comes to football dynasties, most NFL fans in the modern era immediately think of the New England Patriots. Having only previously appeared in two Super Bowls (both lost) Bill Belichick and Tom Brady led the franchise to six championships between the years of 2001 and 2018. At times, the Pats were simply unbeatable.
At the current time, the New England Patriots tie the record with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins. Both seem unlikely to add to their tally any time soon but have gone down in the history of the game as some of the greatest-ever NFL teams. But there is another team now playing that can also claim that kind of title. The Kansas City Chiefs are going for an unprecedented three-peat and another Super Bowl victory might even cement that “best-ever” status.
Many football fans would have backed the Chiefs to win again from before the current season even started and will now be concentrating on a whole host of Super Bowl prop bets. It is far from a foregone conclusion, but if the Chiefs did win Super LIX, could they claim to be better than even those Pats and Steelers teams?
Single Seasons Don’t Count
Before we contemplate whether the current Kansas City Chiefs team can be considered the best of all time, we should set out a few ground rules. When it comes to the best-ever team, the easy thing to do would be to look at a single season. The 1972 Miami Dolphins are a good example – being the only team ever to go undefeated on the way to a Super Bowl triumph.
But we are talking about the strength of a team over a period of time here. Just like Tom Brady’s New England Patriots were at the top of the power rankings for years – and for different periods of time – the Chiefs have been resilient in their quest for immortality. Those Dolphins, and others like the 1985 Chicago Bears, dominated for a short time. But for true greatness, a dynasty needs to be born.
A Great QB is a Must
You probably don’t have to be the most knowledgeable football fan to understand that the best teams usually have the best quarterbacks. These are the playcallers on the field, using the vision of the greatest coaches, but thinking on their feet when they have to to make the decisions that win the biggest games.
Tom Brady is an easy go-to example of such a player but Joe Montana’s reign in San Francisco – and the multiple Super Bowls his team won with him in charge – is another team to consider when it comes to naming the best-ever. The Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes, of course, and he has already shown to be a locked in future Hall of Famer. He is definitely a great QB, so that box is definitely ticked.
Winning Even When Playing Bad
Have won more regular season games than any other team apart from Detroit this year but you might be forgiven for thinking that Patrick Mahomes and his colleagues have struggled. That’s because this year was the first time that Kansas City has been criticized – even as they went on to post a 15-2 record.
Mahomes has always been depended on to lead his offense to victory. But wins have been more lucky this season, with that side of the team not performing to its own standards. There have also been problems on defense that many fans thought would be capitalized on in the final weeks of the regular season. The fact that they were not shows that the Chiefs are winning games even when they are not playing very well. That is the sign of a championship-winning team – and possibly one that can still claim the best-ever title.
Longevity is Important
We have already stated that for a team to be considered the greatest of all time it is not good enough to play for one, or maybe two, seasons at an incredible level and then limp away after winning a few championships. The 49ers showed that even the loss of Joe Montana didn’t slow them down, winning the Super Bowl in the 1990s well after the original glory days of the previous decade.
The New England Patriots showed the best example of longevity in the history of the game. The Steelers won four championships in six years in the 1970s but faded away spectacularly soon after, while the Pats came to power at the beginning of the 2000s and returned to claim titles almost 20 years later. It had almost become boring for football fans to expect Brady to lead a late-game charge to win a Super Bowl. It is those kind of dynasties that make a greatest-ever team and the Chiefs are not quite there yet.
All Hail the Chiefs?
Although Kansas City is going for its third consecutive Super Bowl victory this year, it should not be forgotten that it has actually played in four of the last five championship games – and won three of them. Tom Brady’s Bucs beat them and we had one non-Chiefs year in recent times when the Rams went full-on Super Bowl or bust in 2021.
That being said, the Chiefs are not quite there. Andy Reid has been in charge of a team that will go down in the history of the game as one of the best – but it is not the best yet. A three-peat would definitely help its case, especially after the criticism is has faced this year. But the Chiefs need a few more Super Bowl wins over the next three or four years to eclipse the Patriots.
