The last three seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs have been nothing short of impressive. Before Super Bowl 55, it appeared the group led by Patrick Mahomes were the chosen ones to perform the next NFL dynasty. But that was before they ran into the roadblock that was Tom Brady and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Going into the 2021 campaign, the Chiefs remain poised to make a third-consecutive run to the Super Bowl. Something that is seldomly done, the only teams that made three-straight Super Bowl appearances were the New England Patriots (2016-2018), the Buffalo Bills (1990-1993), and the Miami Dolphins (1971-1973).
As if that wasn’t a difficult task by itself, Kansas City will aim to be the first team to reach a Super Bowl after losing to a Tom Brady-led team in the Super Bowl from the year before. In case you’ve blissfully forgotten, the Chiefs lost Super Bowl 55 to Brady’s Bucs 31-9 after finishing the 2020 campaign with a 14-2 record.
Stunting the development of potential dynasties is something Brady’s done twice over the course of his career. Starting with the Rams in 2001 and then again with the Seahawks more than a decade later.
Following the 1999 season when the St. Louis Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl 34, “The Greatest Show on Turf” made their way back to the big stage two seasons later with aspirations of becoming the NFL’s next dynasty to kickoff the early 00’s.
Instead, The Rams fell to a young Tom Brady, as the New England Patriots set the tone for things to come over the following two decades. As For St. Louis, the Rams spiraled downward following the 20-17 loss in Super Bowl 36, only making the postseason twice before falling to the bottom of the NFC for the rest of the time the franchise was in St. Louis (2002-2015).
Since losing to Brady in SB36, Quarterback Kurt Warner quickly fell out of the picture, and by 2004, he was traded to the Giants in favor of Marc Bulger. Running back Marshall Faulk eventually sub came to injuries and retired after the 2005 season, and wide receivers Issac Bruce, and Torry Holt, were traded in 2007 and 2009.
Flash forward to 2013 and a new team loaded with talent, swagger, and dreams of taking over as the league’s next dynasty comes onto the scene in Seattle. With a fiery head coach in Pete Carrol, a young stud at QB in Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch leading the run game, and “The Legion of Boom” on defense, the Seahawks were poised to make a championship run… or several. In Super Bowl 48, Seattle brought home its first Super Bowl victory following a dominating 43-8 victory over the Denver Broncos.
The following season, the Seahawks made their way back to the big stage for Super Bowl 49 against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Initially, Seattle would’ve won a second Lombardi had they just given the ball to Marshawn Lynch instead of making Malcolm Butler the unlikely hero late in the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, like the ‘01 Rams, the ‘14 Seahawks also looked on as Brady collected another ring.
Unlike the Rams of the early ’00s, Seattle has remained a steady playoff contender since losing to Brady in the Super Bowl rather than falling into complete disarray. That said, the Seahawks haven’t been back to the big game and are a far cry from the dynasty they were hoping to bring to life.
Now enter the Kansas City Chiefs, who’ve spent decades trying to figure out the correct formula to make it back to professional football’s greatest stage since winning Super Bowl 4 following the 1969 season. Under head coach Andy Reid, the Chiefs became a regular playoff contender that eventually found the missing piece of the Championship puzzle in QB Patrick Mahomes.
Coming off an incredible MVP season in 2018 that saw him pass for over 5,000 yards and 50 TDs, Mahomes led Kansas City to its first Super Bowl championship in half a century, following a 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
Since then, the Chiefs appeared to be the NFL’s next potential dynasty in the making. A big part of that is how the Chiefs are winning games. While they have the offensive firepower to blow teams out of the water, they also proved that no deficit was too big for them, and a number of their victories are from finding a way to come back after falling behind on the scoreboard.
In 2020, Kansas City basically continued where they left off, continuing their style of play, and the result was an incredible 14-2 record and earning the top seed in the AFC postseason. Victories over the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills to win back-to-back conference titles and send the Chiefs back to the promised land to fulfill their destiny with a win in Super Bowl 55, which would complete the team’s ‘Run it Back’ tour.
However, as we all know, that didn’t come to fruition.
Due to their offensive line being decimated by injuries, Kansas City fell behind on the scoreboard rather quickly. As fans stood back, waiting for Mahomes and company to pull a rabbit out of a hat and find a way to pull off the comeback, they just weren’t able to do so.
As time ran out, like sand flowing to the bottom of an hourglass, the team that was supposed to be the ‘chosen ones’ were no match for Tom Brady and the Buccaneers’ pass rush following the 31-9 butt whooping.
While most squads that lose to Brady in the Super Bowl typically fall apart, the Chiefs are doing everything they can to prevent that from happening. General Manager Brett Veach has done an excellent job ensuring the Chiefs keep all their core players under contract while also having cap space to upgrade certain positions and haul in fresh talent through the draft.
Although many NFL pundits have thrown the Chiefs’ dynasty narrative out the window at this point, Kansas City remains poised to avenge their failed attempt to ‘Run it Back’ in 2021. With a revamped offensive line, a freshly twinked defense, and even more weapons for Mahomes to throw to, the Chiefs are locked and loaded to make a third-straight Super Bowl.
However, whether or not the Chiefs accomplish their revenge efforts to ‘Take it Back’, or sub come to the same fate as “The Greatest Show on Turf” and “Legion of Boom” did after losing to Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, remains to be seen.
