Can the Kansas City Chiefs Three-Peat?

Article ByKyle Garlett

February 14, 2024

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Posted in: US Sports Betting News, US Gambling News

For the first time in 19 years, and for just the eighth time in the 58-year history of the Super Bowl, we have a repeat champion. The teams that have done it are the Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, and now the Kansas City Chiefs.

No one, however, has ever won three Super Bowls in a row. 

The Packers lost Vince Lombardi as their head coach following their second win, and they finished below .500. The Dolphins lost in the Divisional Round. The Steelers didn’t make the playoffs one of their two times. The 49ers lost in the NFC Championship. The Cowboys lost to the 49ers. The Broncos lost quarterback John Elway to retirement. And the Patriots lost to the Broncos.

None of the repeat champions were able to make it to the Super Bowl for a third straight time, let alone win it.

But are these Chiefs different? The NFL online sportsbooks that have Kansas City as +330 favorites to win the AFC think so. Kansas retail sportsbooks that have Patrick Mahomes as the +600 favorite to win the MVP award think so. Mahomes himself thinks so, too.

When asked if the Chiefs are now a dynasty, having won three Super Bowls in five years, Mahomes said, “Yes, and we aren’t done.”

But how realistic is the quest for three-straight, considering it’s never been done?

Chiefs 2024 Schedule

Based on opponent won-loss record in 2023, the Chiefs will enter the 2024 season with the 14th-easiest schedule. A big part of that is because of the weakness of the AFC West in 2023. With a healthy Justin Herbert at quarterback and the addition of coach Jim Harbaugh in Los Angeles, the Chargers should be more competitive. But the Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos are no guarantee to improve.

Outside of the AFC, the Chiefs are slated to play the NFC South next season, last year the worst division in football. Those are four very winnable games. The other NFC game is a Super Bowl rematch at the 49ers. KC is also at the Buffalo Bills, and home to face the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, and Houston Texans.

The Chiefs play six games in 2024 against playoff teams from this past season.

Chiefs Free Agents

As was the case last year, the Chiefs enter an uncertain situation with defensive star Chris Jones. He was fantastic in the Super Bowl, and following the game, Nevada online sportsbooks made him a top-10 betting favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year next season.

Jones missed the first game of 2023 while holding out for a new contract, which he got. It was a one-year, incentive-laden deal, and now he is back at the negotiating table in the hopes of a bigger and even longer extension.

Kansas City was able to make it work with Jones in 2023. But complicating matters this off-season is the need to also pay star cornerback L’Jarius Sneed. The team has $24 million in cap space, and the flexibility of Patrick Mahomes’ contract could give them even more room. But both Jones and Sneed are going to be top market guys. Unless they are willing to take less money for a shot at three straight rings, keeping them both will be hard.

Coaching Continuity

Keeping as much of the roster together is important, with perhaps the exception of wide receiver and offensive tackle. The Chiefs led the NFL in dropped passes, and their tackles were some of the most penalized in the league.

Keeping the coaching staff together is also key. The Ravens have a new defensive coordinator, the Bengals have a new offensive coordinator, the Bills have a new DC, and the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins have also hired new assistants. Of the expected contenders in the AFC, the Chiefs have the most intact coaching staff from this year to next.

Patrick Mahomes

With three Super Bowl wins and three Super Bowl MVPs by age 28, Mahomes naturally is being compared to all-time greats like Tom Brady and Joe Montana.

It’s worth noting that Brady’s best seasons came after his age 28 season. He had one 4,000-yard season at 28. He had 13 such seasons after 28, including two 5,000-yard seasons. Mahomes has already had two 5,000-yard seasons.

Joe Montana didn’t win his third Super Bowl until he was 32. He was 33 when he won his third Super Bowl MVP. Mahomes has three wins, four appearances, and he’s never fallen short of at least the AFC Championship Game in six years as a starter.

As long as Mahomes is on the Chiefs, as Mahomes himself said during the Lombardi Trophy presentation, “The Chiefs are never the underdog.”