If the Chiefs needed any additional motivation, Terry Bradshaw has delivered.
The former NFL quarterback turned “Fox NFL Sunday” analyst proclaimed Sunday that he doesn’t believe Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City can capture a third consecutive Super Bowl.
“Are the Chiefs your number one team in the AFC right now?” Charissa Thompson asked the veteran broadcaster.
“They’re not going to win three in a row, but …” Bradshaw began.
His ᴀssertion drew audible grasps from the other analysts.
“Why am I upsetting everybody?” Bradshaw asked.
“Terry, it’s never been done,” Peter Schrager chimed.
“That’s one of the reasons,” Bradshaw responded. “The other reason is, I just think — you see how quick they get rid of the ball now, you see how quick, quick, quick, quick, quick?
“I just think they’re going to load up against a team like Buffalo, they’re going to load up against a team like Baltimore — those are the two teams that could beat them, and I think it’s going to happen, even though it would be in Kansas City.”
It would indeed be in Kansas City, as the Chiefs locked up a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with their win over the Steelers on Christmas Day.
And FanDuel, for whatever it’s worth, gives Kansas City the best odds (+370) of bringing home the Lombardi Trophy.
The Bills and Ravens occupy the third- and fourth-best odds, respectively.
As Schrager pointed out, no team has ever before completed the three-peat — no NFL team, at least.
The feat has been pulled off in the other three major North American sports leagues by some legendary dynasties like Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls (1991-93, then again from 1996-98), Denis Potvin’s Islanders (1980-83, the last team in any major professional North American sport to win four consecutive championships) and the Joe Torre-led Yankees (1998-2000).
For the Chiefs to join such elite company, they would almost certainly have to go through some combination of the Bills and Ravens, though it’s plausible one of the two drops their first- or second-round matchup and doesn’t get the chance to usurp the reigning champions.
Kansas City faced off against both AFC rivals on the road last postseason — the Bills in the divisional round, then the Ravens in the conference champions.
