It has been nearly two decades since the NFL last saw a repeat Super Bowl champion. Few teams have a legitimate shot to do it from one year to the next. One team that can, though, is the KC Chiefs.
Winning back to back Super Bowls seems to be one way to immortalize an NFL team as one of the greatest ever. Teams like the Packers, Steelers, Cowboys, and Patriots have accomplished this feat and are obviously revered in their particular era.
Winning the Lombardi Trophy in consecutive seasons is an accomplishment reserved for teams that tend to carry the “dynasty” label. Fortunately, there are plenty of pieces in place in Kansas City to build the next great NFL dynasty.
It may have taken five decades, but the Kansas City Chiefs‘ Super Bowl win last season was no fluke. While some teams just happened to put it all together at just the right time to win it all, Kansas City has built a Super Bowl-caliber team that can continue to win more titles.
There are plenty of reasons to be hopeful for this, as long as they seize the opportunity. So, let’s take a look at why the Chiefs will add their name to this list of all-time great teams by repeating in 2020.
Why KC Chiefs Will Repeat as Champs – Number 5: Continuity
In what could be the oddest offseason in NFL history, the Chiefs have one incredible luxury after winning the Super Bowl – continuity. They’ve essentially been able to keep most of their team intact, from executives to coaches to players.
When a team establishes a winning culture, it’s easy for those credited with the success to get lured away for other opportunities around the league. Not only does Kansas City move into their run it back season with a future Hall of Fame head coach, but they get to keep their talented young offensive coordinator for another season as well.
It’s no secret that Eric Bieniemy is a hot heading coaching commodity and likely won’t be in Kansas City much longer. Keeping those coaching pieces in place with this high-powered offense is a great asset.
Also, keeping so much of the roster intact creates a level of confidence in looking to repeat. A Super Bowl win gives a potential free agent the chance for a big payday elsewhere but thankfully, Brett Veach kept his team together.
Interestingly, those players that could have sought a bigger payday elsewhere actually found their payday in Kansas City. Things appeared pretty bleak with the Chiefs’ salary cap situation, but Veach worked some kind of magic and locked down stars like Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones, and Travis Kelce for a long time to come.
Having so many key pieces in place creates a very stable environment for continued success. It’s not even uncommon now to hear whispers of Kansas City becoming the league’s next great dynasty.
Continuity can’t be underplayed. The teams that seem to have consistent success appear to have little turnover from the top down. The Chiefs have a phenomenal young GM, one of the best coaching staffs in the league, and without question one of the most dangerous rosters put together in a long time.
Here’s to believing that the continuity the Chiefs are experiencing will pay huge dividends at season’s end.
Why KC Chiefs Will Repeat as Champs – Number 4: Patrick Mahomes
This probably seems like a “duh” reason that the Chiefs will repeat as Super Bowl champions, but seriously, most Super Bowl-caliber teams typically have an elite level quarterback leading the offense.
Names like Brady, Manning, and Roethlisberger have dominated the AFC Super Bowl bids for a long time. There’s no question that Mahomes will be the next name in succession on that list.
Seeing what Mahomes has already accomplished in his short career is already worth Hall of Fame consideration. It’s a good thing that Mahomes signed that $500M contract – he’ll need it when he adds that massive trophy room to his house.
Only three quarterbacks have ever passed for 50 or more touchdowns in a single season – Brady, Manning, and Mahomes. Manning and Mahomes stand alone as the only two to put up both 50 or more touchdowns and 5,000 or more yards in a single season.
Needless to say, Mahomes is a legit elite quarterback and will be for a long time to come. After he made the Pittsburgh Steelers look like a junior varsity team in 2019, Arrowhead Addict’s Matt Connor rightfully said, “He’s got the cool of Joe Montana, the arm of Brett Favre, the touch of Tom Brady, and the confidence of Aaron Rodgers.”
Many years from now, the next great quarterbacks will be compared to Mahomes. Chiefs fans may need to continually pinch themselves, but the dream has come true and we’ve finally gotten the talented signal-caller that we’ve needed for far too long.
After doing so much in so little time, the only question now is what Mahomes can and will accomplish. The sky’s the limit and Mahomes has the rocket power to get there. He’ll continue to crush records and collect Super Bowl rings along the way. His journey to become the greatest quarterback of all-time starts with winning back to back Super Bowls at the end of the 2020 season.
Why KC Chiefs Will Repeat as Champs – Number 3: Defense on the rise
It’s not crazy to think that the Chiefs could have already been back to back Super Bowl champions had it not been for such a lousy defense in the 2018 season.
Patrick Mahomes was able to cover up that bad defense for most of that season but in the end, it came back and bit them. That loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game, fortunately, spelled the end of the road for Bob Sutton as the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator.
Sutton’s oust opened the door for one of the better defensive coordinators in the league to take the reins in Steve Spagnuolo. The thought was that if Spags could improve the defense to just being in the top 20, a Super Bowl win would become a reality.
That speculation did soon become a reality and his defense stepped up when the 2018 defense couldn’t. While last season’s unit wasn’t elite, it was a nice surprise to see just how well they did improve in just one season.
Where most defensive overalls will typically take a few seasons to see results, Spags deserves a lot of credit for what he was able to do in just one season. In last season’s turn around, the defense actually became fun to watch, unlike that dreadful unit the season before.
Where Sutton’s defense looked sloppy, Spagnuolo’s defense looked sharp and became a force to be reckoned with. If he could improve that group that much in just one year, what could he do in year two?
From 2018 to 2019 the defense moved up 14 spots, according to ESPN. It wouldn’t be out of the question for this group to continue to build trust with each other and become a top 10 defense. It that were to happen, sheer domination would ensue being paired with the league’s most lethal offense.
There’s no question that the defense will improve again and be a big reason why they’ll repeat in 2020.
Why KC Chiefs Will Repeat as Champs – Number 2: Clyde Edwards-Helaire
If Patrick Mahomes had not won the Super Bowl MVP award, it likely would have gone to running back Damien Williams. That should tell you that the running back position is still an integral piece of the Chiefs’ high-flying offense.
While Williams is a good running back in his own right, he wouldn’t be considered one of the league’s top threats at the position. Now that Williams has opted out of this season, the door is wide open for the Chiefs’ 2020 first-round draft pick to show up in a big way.
During the 2018 season, Kansas City released Kareem Hunt just as the playoff seedings were starting to heat up. The abilities of the coaching staff and Patrick Mahomes seemed to move forward without much of a hiccup, but a clear RB1 was missed on the roster.
In the time since then, the Chiefs have been able to employ a running back by committee approach, which seems to have been sufficient for getting the job done. Now, by adding a highly talented draft pick to the position, the Chiefs become an even more lethal offense.
The Chiefs’ selection of Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a bit of a shock on day one of the NFL draft. When a cornerback seemed like a top need, adding a running back to a crowded position group was a bit of a head-scratcher.
Only after understanding that CEH is a perfect fit in Andy Reid’s system did the round one pick make much sense. That alone should give Chiefs fans a lot to look forward to and strike fear into the hearts of NFL defenses.
In an odd start to the season that will take almost every rookie a little more time to get adjusted, CEH will be no different. He may not burst onto the scene as Hunt did on opening night in 2017, but he’ll become what Hunt was and more as the time goes.
In what can be best described as the rich get richer, CEH will give the Chiefs more firepower to put them over the top again. And maybe this time, this particular running back will get to take home the Super Bowl MVP award.
Why KC Chiefs Will Repeat as Champs – Number 1: Now it’s possible
It’s no small secret the agony that Chiefs fans have felt over the last five decades. After the team hit the ground running in their first decade of existence, two decades of really poor football ensued.
The 1990s provided some hope with head coach Marty Schottenheimer, a pretty ferocious defense led by Derrick Thomas, and just a quarterback by the name of Joe Montana. While these teams had the ability to win it all, they just didn’t put it all together.
The years after that seemed to be defined by gut-wrenching playoff losses, to the point that it seemed like the Chiefs were cursed. It wasn’t uncommon to hear other teams’ fans say something to the effect that Kansas City will never be able to get it done.
Kansas City became defined by its ability to choke when the stakes were high. There was even a time late in this last Super Bowl that seemed like the night belonged to San Fransisco.
But then guys like Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Tyrann Mathieu, and Travis Kelce dug down deep and rediscovered a foundation that had been laid 50 years ago. Something happened during Super Bowl LIV that changed the entire trajectory of this franchise.
This team clawed their way back, from good coaching to players exerting their will to win, and the Chiefs won their first Super Bowl in five decades. It was like a war had ended and what seemed to be impossible became possible.
Seeing Clark Hunt with a Lombardi Trophy raised over his head eased the pain of all those heartbreaking losses over the years. The Kansas City Chiefs are no longer choke artists but rather, they are overcomers.
Three incredible comeback victories last postseason, with the most important being the Super Bowl, seems to have broken the chains of years of defeat as the Chiefs fulfilled their destiny. The reason that Chiefs will repeat in 2020 is simple – it’s now possible.
Conclusion
There are more reasons that the Chiefs will repeat as opposed to reasons that they won’t. They’ve essentially kept the same team together and they’ll bring another level of confidence to the field for that reason this year.
A Super Bowl hangover doesn’t seem possible with a team that’s this hungry and competitive. There’s enough strong and passionate leadership on this team to not allow any slacking.
While other teams are configuring their rosters to make the best run possible this season, the Chiefs are locked and loaded for 2020. Each week will be a battle and they’ll face some tough competition in teams like Baltimore and New Orleans, but they’re equipped to manhandle any team on the schedule.
While statistically unlikely, what would Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes’ respective resumés look like with a 19-0 season on them? With a superstar like Mahomes, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities.
The truth of the matter is that whether or not the Chiefs repeat as Super Bowl champions, they’ve earned the respect of those watching the game of football. Now the expectation is that Kansas City will win Super Bowls, and not just get the chance to play in them.
Their ability to win back to back Super Bowls is on the forefont of everyone’s mind. The run it back season is a real thing and should prove to be a fruitful journey at the end of the 2020 season.