The 2024 National Football League (NFL) season is rapidly approaching, and the 32 head coaches are putting their franchise’s rosters through grueling pre-season training regimes. The start of a new regular season wipes the slate clean and gives everyone something to play for. However, the Kansas City Chiefs have something extra to play for this season: they can write themselves in football’s history books.
No team in NFL history has won the Super Bowl in three consecutive years. The Kansas City Chiefs are looking to change that fact and are the favorite with online sports betting sites to achieve that incredible feat. Only three teams have reached three consecutive Super Bowls: the Miami Dolphins (1971-73), the Buffalo Bills (1990-93), and the New England Patriots (2016-18).
Although the Kansas City Chiefs do not have their name on that exclusive list, they can brag about reaching four Super Bowls in five seasons and winning three. They won Super Bowl LIV in 2019, were runners-up in the Super Bowl the following year, and fell in the AFC Championship game in 2021. Andy Reid’s men returned to winning ways at Super Bowl LVII and won back-to-back titles with an impressive overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers in 2023.
The Kansas City Chiefs Know How to Win When the Pressure Is On
Bookmakers rarely get their predictions wrong. Most bookies have the Kansas City Chiefs as short favorites over the San Franciso 49ers to win Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 9, 2025. It’s hard to make a case against the Kansas City Chiefs becoming the first team in NFL history to enjoy a three-peat because they know precisely what it takes to win football games.
Last season, the Kansas City Chiefs boasted a 7-2 record going into their bye week in Week 10. However, they lost four of their next games, and missing the playoffs became a possibility, something that hadn’t happened since the 2014 campaign. They came from behind to beat the Cincinnati Bengals on New Year’s Eve before defeating the Los Angeles Chargers in the season’s final game, finishing with an 11-6 record.
The playoffs were when the Kansas City Chiefs came alive and showed they could dig deep to grind out results. They brushed aside the Miami Dolphins, won a close-fought encounter with the Buffalo Bills, and edged out the much-fancied Baltimore Ravens. A 29-yard field goal with three seconds remaining in the game took Super Bowl LVIII into overtime. Of course, the Kansas City Chiefs got the job done.
Patrick Mahomes Has New Targets For 2024
Any team with Patrick Mahomes pulling strings from the quarterback position has the chance to win football games. Mahomes, a future Hall of Famer, put up his second-lowest passing yards (4,183) and touchdowns (27) since he burst onto the scene in 2018. Most quarterbacks would give their right arm for figures like Mahomes’ despite those figures not being up to Mahomes’ lofty standards.
All too often last season, Mahomes would pull some magic out of his hat, only to be let down by his wide receivers. Rashee Rice, who has been involved in some off-the-field issues in the close season, will have learned from his rookie campaign and looked useful at times.
The Kansas City Chiefs used their 2024 NFL Draft first-round pick to select Xavier Worthy from the Texas Longhorns. Worthy is a speed demon who set the record for the 40-yard dash, setting a blistering time of 4.21s. The Kansas City Chiefs haven’t had such pace on their roster since Tyreek Hill left for the Miami Dolphins in 2022.
Bolstering an already talented offensive lineup and keeping the key components of a usually tight defense means the coming season is the Kansas City Chiefs to lose.
Who Could Stop the Kansas City Chiefs and Cause an Upset?
The San Francisco 49ers are the team most likely to spoil the Kansas City Chiefs’ party. Most pundits agree that the San Francisco 49ers have the best all-round team in the NFL; they finished in several top 10 offensive metrics and had the third-best defense in the league regarding points allowed per game (17.5).
Since 2019, the San Francisco 49ers have twice been on the losing side in a Super Bowl (both times against the Kansas City Chiefs) and twice reached the NFC Championship game, only to fall at the final hurdle. Many think a San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl victory is long overdue. If anyone is to stop the Kansas City Chiefs’ march toward three straight Super Bowl wins, it is the boys from the Levis Stadium.
Outside the Super Bowl favorites, football neutrals should not write off the Detroit Lions’ chances. Once the laughing stock of the NFL, the Detroit Lions front office has worked wonders to transform them into perennial Super Bowl contenders. The Detroit Lions led the San Francisco 49ers by 17 points going into halftime in the NFC Championship game last season. However, a series of uncharacteristic mistakes ultimately resulted in them losing 31-34 and narrowly missing out on their first Super Bowl appearance.
Stopping the pass was the Detroit Lions’ most significant issue in 2023, but they look to have rectified that by drafting cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw. The Lions managed to draft Arnold as the 24 pick. It was a major surprise Arnold was still available then because he was incredible for Alabama throughout his college career.
Conclusion
The 2024 NFL season could be one of the most closely fought campaigns yet, with most teams significantly strengthening their rosters since the 2023 season ended. When teams are closely matched, winning games tends to hang on two key features: star quality and a willingness to get over the line and get the job done.
The Kansas City Chiefs have superstar quality in Mahomes, the best quarterback in the league, and by some distance. They also have an unrivaled team spirit and self-belief, which could be enough to see the men from the Arrowhead Stadium become the first-ever NFL team to win three consecutive Super Bowl rings. Watch this space.