With Patrick Mahomes onboard, too early to count out Chiefs dynasty just yet
The arrival and dominance of Patrick Mahomes has given Kansas City Chiefs fans extremely high expectations on an annual basis. It is truly "Super Bowl or bust" for the team that has gone to four consecutive AFC Championship Games. They are 2-2 in that span, with a 1-1 record in the Super Bowl.
Mahomes won the NFL MVP in 2018 and the team took down the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl a year later. This truly gave fans a feeling that a dynasty was starting to emerge in Kansas City.
Some may already be thinking the dream has come crashing down after Sunday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Mahomes looked like a shell of himself in the second half and overtime, eventually tossing an interception that set up the Bengals' victory.
"We expect to be in [the Super Bowl] and to win it. Anything less than that is not success...We'll go back and try to learn from the mistakes we made to be better next year."
- Patrick Mahomes
So is it all over? Is the dream of a dynasty gone just like that? Such a thought seems like a major overreaction after a loss one game away from the Super Bowl.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs remain in fantastic shape
As it stands, the Chiefs are not headed for some major breakup where all their star players their separate ways after this loss. First, let's start with Mahomes. He is currently locked up on a 10-year deal. It's unlikely he will play out the entire deal, but he should remain with the Chiefs on some sort of contract for potentially his entire career.
As long as he is around the team will be just fine. 2021 was his fourth full season as the team's starting quarterback. He already has 151 regular-season touchdowns and 28 in the postseason. The Chiefs have also never missed an AFC Championship Game with him under center.
Even the legendary Tom Brady went through dry spells in his career. He won three titles in four years (2001, 2003-2004) but then did not win another until 2014. Did that mean the dynasty was over after the 2004 season?
The obvious difference here is that Brady won three so early in his career. Yet Mahomes still has time to reach that mark in the coming years, and then follow in Brady's footsteps in his 30s and maybe even his 40s.
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Let's consider the talent around him too. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce are both coming back next season, and the former should get an extension rather soon. Mecole Hardman is also in line for his own extension as well.
The defense has foundational pieces in Frank Clark and Chris Jones signed through the 2023 season. The Chiefs front office has consistently found top talent and is able to attract star free agents because of all their recent success. If a player leaves, there should be a large talent pool to choose from to fill that spot
It would be different if the Chiefs missed the postseason entirely or were blown out in embarrassing fashion early on. Losing in overtime in the AFC Championship Game is nothing to be ashamed of and proves the Chiefs are here to stay for a long time.
Also Read: “They were arrogant” - NFL HOFer blames Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes for Chiefs second-half collapse vs. Bengals