Back in February the Kansas City Chiefs became the first NFL team since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004 to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The next challenge for the Chiefs is winning three consecutive Super Bowl titles -- a feat no team has ever achieved.
The Patriots were the last to attempt it in 2005. Injuries and the defense taking a step back were among the factors in the Patriots failing to three-peat. They won the AFC East division with a 10-6 record (they were 14-2 each of the previous two years) and beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Wild Card round before losing 27-13 to the Denver Broncos on the road in the Divisional Round.
The head coach of those Patriots teams was Bill Belichick. He also was the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants when they ended the San Francisco 49ers' three-peat bid in 1990. Belichick was asked Monday during his weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show about his outlook on the Chiefs and their quest for a third straight title.
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Belichick highlighted a few areas, specifically on the Chiefs defense, that could be a concern.
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"Overall as a team, run defense, turnovers, I think that’s an area they’re going to want to improve in," Belichick said. "I just think it’s gonna be tough this year. They’re a good team, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that. I just think this third year, for it all to fall into place three years in a row, is tough. If anybody can do it, it’s probably Kansas City, but it won’t be easy. It won’t be easy.
"I’m not sure how tough the AFC West is gonna be, but in the end, I think they’re gonna have some tough opponents through the course of the season and the playoffs. But Andy (Reid) will have them ready to go. I think they’ll maybe score more than they did last year. We’ll see if they can hold up defensively. They lost a couple of good coverage players, obviously (L'Jarius) Sneed. We’ll see how all that comes together."
The Chiefs gave up the fourth-most yards per carry (4.5) last season. They also forced the fourth-fewest turnovers. So Belichick is right about improvements needing to be made in those two areas.
The loss of star cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, which Belichick mentioned, is a huge one for Kansas City. His departure in free agency will put even more pressure on young cornerback Trent McDuffie.
Of course, having the best quarterback (and best player) in the sport -- Patrick Mahomes -- is a massive boost to the Chiefs' chances of winning again. The Chiefs are never out of a game because of Mahomes, and he has proven that with several impressive playoff comebacks, including the Super Bowl in 2019 and 2023. And if the offense is even better this season compared to 2023 -- which is a very real possibility -- maybe it won't matter a whole lot if the defense isn't an elite unit.
But winning the Super Bowl once is hard enough. Doing it two years in a row is extraordinarily difficult. A three-peat has proven impossible to this point. It's hard to bet against the Chiefs, but this will be the toughest challenge the core of this team has ever faced.
