Chiefs reach dynasty status with back-to-back Super Bowls

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There’s no more debate about the Kansas City Chiefs: they are a legitimate dynasty.

50 seasons after the franchise’s first Super Bowl, the Chiefs won nine division titles and had 17 playoff appearances until 2019 and Super Bowl LIV.

Head coach Andy Reid was known as a coach who couldn’t win the big game after failing to win a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles in 13 seasons.

It started off looking like the same fate with the Chiefs when he took the job in 2013 and Kansas City couldn’t get past the Divisional Round with quarterback Alex Smith heading the team to go with the speedy Tyreek Hill, athletic tight end Travis Kelce and versatile defensive tackle Chris Jones all young and in their prime.

The fortune changed when quarterback Patrick Mahomes took over the reins as starting QB and instantly shot them to the AFC Championship where they fell to the New England Patriots dynasty headed by QB Tom Brady and HC Bill Belichick in the 2018 postseason.

The franchise hasn’t known a season without at least ending in the AFC Championship since Mahomes took over the team.

“It’s a little bit surreal,” Reid said after the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in Super Bowl LVIII. “Back-to-back is rare air for this football team and this organization.”

“I don’t know what a dynasty is.”

Reid can deny it all he wants but back-to-back Super Bowl wins and three Super Bowl wins in five years confirms that dynasty is here.

Mahomes declared it leading up to the SB and he said it once the game was won.

“It’s the start of one,” Mahomes said after the game.

“We’re not done. We got a young team, we’re gonna keep this thing going. “

The last NFL team to win back-to-back SBs was the New England Patriots, the last dynasty of the NFL. Belichick and Brady led the franchise to six Super Bowls, nine AFC titles and 17 division titles from 2001 to 2019.

Since 2018, the Chiefs have had eight consecutive division titles, four AFC titles and now three Super Bowls. The Patriots and Chiefs are the only teams this century to play in four Super Bowls over five years and two of four franchises to win three in five years.

And this season, they did it on the toughest road that they have faced yet. Inconsistency from the offense with drops and penalties in key moments throughout the season led to the Chiefs playing their first two road playoff games under Mahomes and coming out on top.

“It’s a great win because I know how hard it is to do,” Reid said.

“And then how hard the season was; the ups and downs of the season and how proud I am of the guys for just hanging with each other. Staying positive with each other, the defense, the young guys grew up but nobody ever pointed fingers at the offense.”

“We struggled and a lot of it was drops, a lot of it was penalties, and then (rookie wide receiver) Rashee (Rice) was growing, and he was getting better every week. Once that took place and we eliminated those things or at least minimized them, better things happen.”

An elite defense carried the Chiefs through the playoffs. But when it was time for the offense to show up, Mahomes took over in the postseason playing nearly perfect football to guide his team to another championship.

“With all the adversity we’ve been through this season to come through tonight. I’m proud of the guys,” Mahomes said. The 28-year-old earned his third Super Bowl MVP award. He has earned MVP of all three Chiefs Super Bowl wins.

“This is awesome. Legendary.”

He threw for 1,051 yards, six touchdowns and only one interception that came in the SB along with a 70% completion percentage.

Mahomes even shouted out Smith for helping build the culture that led to these championships.

“I got brought into this culture,” he said. “They had the pieces in place and Coach Reid was the ultimate leader. I got brought in and I just kind of try to exemplify that and keep pushing to be even better.

“That’s why in moments like this we had guys come through. It truly is special.”

That culture began with Reid’s leadership and spread to his captains like Mahomes, Kelce and Jones ,who urged the team to stay calm when they were down by 10 to the Niners.

“I hope people remember not only the greatness that we have on the field but the way that we’ve done it,” Mahomes said about the 2023 Chiefs’ legacy.

“I feel like we enjoy every single day, we have fun, we play hard. It’s not always pretty but we just continue to fight to the very end. I know you get fatigue of the team sometimes of one team winning but we try to enjoy it and just enjoy the moment that we have together and enjoy what we can do every single day to bring the best out of each other.”

In four short years, the Chiefs turned from America’s darling to America’s monster that they are tired of getting bullied by because of the standard set by Reid and Mahomes throughout the franchise.

With this win, they are officially the overlords of the NFL and all championship-contending teams must go through the Kansas City to become champions.

Now, this dynasty will look to take on a feat that’s never been accomplished in NFL history: a three-peat.