The only thing people love more than crowning a champion is kicking them off their throne. It’s just like Harvey Dent once told Bruce Wayne: “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
And the Kansas City Chiefs are officially in their Villain Era.
Every time the team shows any sign of weakness, talking heads rush to be the first to declare that the Evil Empire has fallen — and the Dynasty is dead.
But losing a battle is not the same as losing the war.
Time after time, the Chiefs have proven that you shouldn’t get all gussied up for the funeral of a monster who has come back from the grave more times than Jason Voorhees.
While we wait for Andy Reid’s hand — now wearing three Super Bowl rings — to burst from the soil to haunt the NFL again, let’s take a moment to recall all of the times Kansas City’s dynasty was thought to be ready for the taxidermist.
After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV
There is no denying it: this was one of the ugliest defeats of the Patrick Mahomes era. Never mind the crippling losses suffered by Kansas City’s offensive line. After the fact, all anyone could talk about was the greatness of Tampa Bay’s quarterback Tom Brady — and how the Chiefs were done.
One of the loudest voices making these proclamations was ESPN’s resident yeller-in-chief: Stephen A. Smith, barking on “First Take.“
“What damn dynasty… They got beat up, they got beat down, they got embarrassed!”
Stephen A. wasn’t the only one who wanted to throw some punches while Kansas City was down. Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post said the Chiefs had lost their aura of invincibility.
“Kansas City is too soft to be a dynasty. The Broncos should be inspired to hit the weights and come out swinging next season.”
“We’re seeing the first snowballs rolling down the mountain of the avalanche that will bury the Chiefs’ dynasty before it truly begins.”
Russell Wilson started off his career very strong, losing late in the playoffs but showing promise. Then won a Super Bowl. Then lost to Tom Brady in the Super Bowl after being hyped up. Then never reached their potential as a dynasty.
Then there was John Tournour (a.k.a. JT the Brick), a radio personality from Las Vegas — home of the lowly runts of the AFC West — who said Kansas City was “nothing more than a pedestrian Super Bowl team after this dominant loss.”
They didn’t go back-to-back — and there is now ZERO talk of a dynasty. There are several Super Bowl championship teams more highly regarded. All quiet in the Kingdom after one ring in 50 years.
After the Bengals beat the Chiefs in the AFC Championship
This was the point where people went all-in on the Chiefs’ dynasty being over before it began. They said Mahomes would never reach his potential. After the team traded Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, the pearl-clutching started in earnest.
I can’t believe how bad Patrick Mahomes was. I cannot believe how inconceivably putrid, how shockingly abysmal Patrick Mahomes was with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
And then…
I can’t believe how freely the word “Dynasty” was thrown around regarding the Kansas City Chiefs. As soon as they won a single Super Bowl in 2019, the question was asked: Is this the NFL’s next dynasty? Tyreek Hill spoke of winning seven Super Bowls because they were “chasing Jordan.” That comment obviously disregarded Tom Brady winning six Super Bowls in the actual sport in which the Chiefs compete... and Brady promptly smoked those Chiefs in last year’s Super Bowl, earning his seventh and passing Jordan.
After beating the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, Travis Kelce said, “The dynasty is just starting, baby. It’s just starting.”
Chris Jones said, “This is the beginning of something big. This is a dynasty.”
No, it wasn’t, man. And no, it isn’t.
Another outlet from the Northeast — our sister site Pats Pulpit — tried to start a fight at the dinner table, posting “How ‘bout that Chiefs dynasty, though?” on X.
On “Speak for Yourself,“ Marcellus Wiley called the Chiefs “the dynasty that never was” — and like Tourmor before him, compared them to the Seattle Seahawks, who won a single Lombardi Trophy and never won again. Five days later, Wiley doubled down, stating that Kansas City’s Super Bowl window had “officially closed.”
And then there was Nick Wright’s resident heel, Kevin Wildes. On “First Things First,” he also wanted to capitalize the word “zero.”
“The Chiefs are a well-run team, a well-coached team, they’re fun to watch. But all of that does not make a dynasty. You won one Super Bowl, lost one Super Bowl and now you blew an 18-point lead — no more dynasty talk. ZERO.”
I don’t know. It’s almost like some of these people were… listening to each other.
And finally, after they lost to the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX
Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Just as in previous years, the usual suspects were crawling out to pontificate about the end of the Chiefs’ dynasty. Colin Cowherd was among them — but he tried a different tack.
I think [in] Kansas City, the dynasty part is over. They may win a Super Bowl, but I think their division’s too good [for them] to be a dynasty.
Cowherd gave the Chiefs credit — but not staying power.
They’ve taken advantage of Justin Herbert with bad coaches. They’ve taken advantage of Denver in a rebuild and the Raiders in a perpetual rebuild. They deserve credit for all of it, but there’s never been a division with four head coaches that have been to a Super Bowl.
Over at Fox Sports, Jason Smith opined that this is what we should expect from a dynasty.
This sort of feels like the end of the run for the Chiefs… this is kinda how dynasties end like this, they end shockingly.
This year, I refused to buy into their 15-2 record — and you guys laughed at me. I said he turned into Daniel Jones. I don’t think Daniel Jones would have played that poorly. And you guys look at me crazy because I say I’d take Eli Manning over Patrick Mahomes in a big game. Patrick Mahomes’ Super Bowl numbers are awful. I was right about this fraudulent Kansas City Chiefs team. I couldn’t be happier that they didn’t win a Super Bowl.
I don’t even know where to begin with this rant. And Parker’s ire has not subsided. Just this week, he insisted that Mahomes “is not a Tier 1 quarterback.”
Okay, boomer.
But let’s ask some folks who have actually… you know… played the game.
Wait… did you hear that? What’s that sound deep in the woods?