The talking heads similarly pronounced the Chiefs dead in the 2022 offseason. They then made three straight Super Bowls.

The hot take of summer is that the Kansas City Chiefs are headed for a downfall, after making the Super Bowl in five of the last seven seasons.

USA Today predicts the Chiefs won’t even win their own division. Barstool founder Dave Portnoy declared the Chiefs run “over” because Travis Kelce has other interests outside of football and is likely approaching his final season. Fox Sports Radio host Colin Cowherd agrees. In fact, Cowherd predicted the Chiefs’ days as a dynasty are finished.

“I think Kansas City, the dynasty part, is over,” Cowherd said last week. “Let’s be honest about Mahomes. He’s already got blown out in two Super Bowls,” he said, while doubling down on Wednesday.

Is that so?

 

 Chiefs’ Dynasty Over?

Look, the Chiefs will eventually have a down year. Everyone does. The NFL is a war of attrition, with injuries and randomness playing a constant role. Could it be this year? Sure. But the Chiefs are no more likely to have a down year than any other top team in the NFL. We’d actually argue they are the least likely to have one.

Let’s address, as Cowherd mentions, the two Super Bowls in which the Chiefs were blown out. Both losses, while ugly, were almost exclusively the result of atrocious offensive line play.

Let’s review:

• Super Bowl LV vs. Tampa Bay: Both starting tackles—Mitchell Schwartz and Eric Fisher—were out. The replacement line surrendered 38 pressures while producing just five of their own.
• Last season vs. Philadelphia: All-Pro guard Joe Thuney was forced to play left tackle out of desperation. On the right, Jawaan Taylor played through a torn meniscus. The Eagles posted a 38.1 percent pressure rate, six sacks, and 11 QB hits—without blitzing even once.

Josh Simmons

In April, the Chiefs drafted left tackle Josh Simmons from Ohio State with the 32nd pick. Scouts say Simmons would’ve been a top 10 pick had he not suffered a torn patella in college.

Despite expectations that he’d miss the start of the season, Simmons has taken every first-team rep in training camp and didn’t lose a single snap in Week 1 of the preseason.

He’s also made quite the impression on Patrick Mahomes.

“He’s just a dog at the end of the day. I mean, he’s obviously working through being an NFL pro and being a veteran, but when it comes to just pass blocking and run blocking, he can get the job done,” Mahomes told Kay Adams this week.

“The sky’s the limit. I mean, he has a chance to be one of the best there is at that left tackle position.”

 

Rashee Rice, Hollywood Brown, and Xavier Worthy

Elsewhere, the Chiefs should be much improved at the wide receiver position.

Last season, the plan was to start a trio of Rashee Rice, Hollywood Brown, and Xavier Worthy. Then injuries happened. Brown dealt with a sternoclavicular injury in the preseason and didn’t return until December in a limited role. Rice was statistically one of the best receivers in the NFL through the first month, but then suffered a season-ending LCL injury.

The Chiefs will have to wait a bit longer for Rice, Brown, and Worthy to take their first snap together. Rice is likely to start the season on suspended reserve, stemming from his role in a multi-car crash during the 2024 offseason. But by midseason, Mahomes could have his deepest wide receiving corps of his career.

Not bad for a team that has made three straight Super Bowls with mediocre-to-poor receiver play.

 

Season outlook

Of course, Kansas City could have even worse injury luck this season and miss the playoffs entirely. Again, it’s bound to happen eventually. However, on paper, the 2025 Chiefs are better than the 2024 Chiefs. And nothing has happened in the offseason to suggest the team’s run is approaching its end.

The talking heads similarly pronounced the Chiefs dead in the 2022 offseason after the team traded Tyreek Hill. Since trading Hill, Kansas City has made three straight Super Bowls and won two of them.

Mahomes has been a starter in the NFL for seven seasons. In that span, he has advanced to the AFC Championship Game every season and the Super Bowl five times. Put simply, as long as the Chiefs still have Mahomes and Andy Reid, they are Super Bowl contenders.

Truthfully, we’re likely about to see a motivated, disrespected Patrick Mahomes make a run at another Super Bowl—this time for Travis Kelce’s swan song, and with a fully functioning offensive line in front of him.