The Kansas City Chiefs are fresh off another Super Bowl celebration, having won it all twice in the last four seasons. They’ve not just made the AFC Championship Game for five straight seasons, they’ve hosted every single one and won three of them.
Success runs through Chiefs Kingdom, and with head coach Andy Reid and superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, there’s no intention for that to die out anytime soon.
But can we officially call this Chiefs squad a dynasty? Mahomes doesn’t think so just yet, but he knows what it might take to solidify that right to be called one.
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“I think we’re in the beginning of one. I think, in dynasties, I always say you got to win three,” Mahomes told CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones at Chiefs training camp.
“Our job is to do whatever we can to win as many as we can and not have any regrets when we step off the field. I think if we keep the mentality we have, we can look back at the end of our career, and then we can decide if we were a dynasty or not.”
There’s no doubting what Mahomes said on both accounts. For one, this storyline is a hot topic in the NFL because the Chiefs have proven to be one of, if not the best, team in the league year in and year out.
But at the same time, teams like the New England Patriots since 2001, the Green Bay Packers in the 1960s and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s would have something to say about them being a dynasty. Those teams weren’t just the best, they had all the hardware you could think of at the end of the day.
The Steelers won four titles from 1975 to 1980. The Packers won the NFL title six times from 1960 to 1967 under Vince Lombardi, for whom the championship trophy is named. And, of course, the Patriots, led by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, won it six times.
Now, there’s no doubting Mahomes is arguably the best quarterback in the league that has helped thrust the Chiefs into this position to be considered the next dynasty. In just six NFL seasons, he’s won two league MVPs, two Super Bowl MVPs, two first-team All-Pro honors and made five Pro Bowls while snagging two Super Bowl titles in the process.
So what keeps him motivated each year?
“Just learning not to be satisfied,” he explained. “Even the last run that we had where we lost in the Super Bowl, I feel like we won a lot of games, and at the end, we didn’t have enough. I think that this year we have to know that, even if we’re winning games, even if we’re having early success, we have to keep building.”
The grind for Mahomes is real, and his teammates thrive because of it. Every great that has come and gone in the game, especially at the quarterback position, has said an iteration of what he just mentioned about not being satisfied.
But Mahomes will also tell you that he’s nothing without his coaches and teammates. Even when Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins, the Chiefs prevailed as the top offense in the league. Injuries happen each week in the NFL, and the Chiefs still manage to get the job done, whether it’s coasting to victory or clawing through a tough AFC opponent for a win.
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Mahomes says practices, just like the ones he’ll be participating in throughout training camp, build the foundation that makes game days feel easier.
“You just have to motivate guys in practice every single day,” he said. “We had a lot of young guys last year that won the Super Bowl, and I remember being in that position early in my career. You just think it’s going to happen. But you have to remind those guys it’s a brand-new year every single year.”
With Reid keeping Mahomes on his toes each week with different play calls – and Mahomes being a wizard at the quarterback position – the Chiefs head into the 2023 season as the team to beat yet again.
That likely won’t change as long as No. 15 is under center in the red and gold.