Dynasties in distress: How Chiefs can follow same path as these winning franchises after 0-2 start

The Chiefs are in an unfamiliar place. They are 0-2 for the first time since 2014, the last time they missed the playoffs. Only 12% of teams make the playoffs after an 0-2 start since 1990. Only three teams have won a Super Bowl after an 0-2 start: the 1993 Cowboys, 2001 Patriots and 2007 Giants. Yes, things look bleak on the surface.

Patrick Mahomes has been off his game, the run game has disappeared, the wide receivers are hurt, Travis Kelce is a year older and the Chiefs are losing games they usually win. But please, do not panic about the Kansas City Chiefs. This may be Mahomes' first three-game losing streak since college, but it isn't the first time they've faced adversity. They won back-to-back Super Bowls after trading Tyreek Hill for crying out loud! As long as they have Mahomes and Andy Reid I'll always be confident they are going to right the ship. So the sky isn't falling. It wasn't for these dynasties, either.

2014 Patriots bounced back from 41-14 loss

The media declared the Patriots dynasty was over more than once but the most panicked situation was in 2014 after a 41-14 loss at Arrowhead to the Chiefs of all teams. It was one of the Patriots' worst losses under Bill Belichick, especially because Tom Brady was pulled in the fourth quarter for Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo had been drafted in the second round in 2014 and was thought of as the heir apparent for Brady so the alarms were definitely sounded after this move. Plus, the Patriots had not won a championship in a decade and were off to a 2-2 start so there was some reason to think that this could be the beginning of the end. 

Still, it's laughable now to look back and see the some of the headlines after that loss:

• Boston Globe: "For Tom Brady, the end game has become apparent"
• New York Post: "Tom Brady stunk so bad his job security is up for discussion"
• Yahoo! headline: "Was this the end for Tom Brady and the New England Patriots' dynasty"

Turns out, Brady had another decade in the league, including four Super Bowls (three with the Patriots). The Patriots were "on to Cincinnati" indeed, as they won 43-13 vs. the Bengals the following week and proceeded to win three Super Bowls in the next five seasons. Calls for the death of a dynasty were very premature.

Patrick Mahomes increases sense of urgency amid Chiefs' 0-2 start, embraces challenge: 'What an opportunity'

Carter Bahns

1990s Cowboys rebounded from Jerry Jones, Jimmy Johnson drama

Two decades prior the Dallas Cowboys dynasty was on alert after the Jerry Jones-Jimmy Johnson divorce following back-to-back Super Bowl titles. Dallas lost in the NFC title game to the 49ers in its first year with Johnson's replacement, Barry Switzer. The Cowboys still rebounded to win a Super Bowl in 1995. While they haven't made it back to the NFC title game since, a championship after the fallout between Jones and Johnson is still pretty incredible in hindsight. The Chiefs aren't dealing with anything nearly as catastrophic. 

1990s 49ers turned it around after losing Joe Montana 

The wheels appeared to be falling off the 49ers dynasty in the early 1990s. They won three Super Bowls in the 1980s but their bid for a three-peat ended after an NFC title game loss to the Giants in 1990, the last start of Joe Montana's 49ers career. He suffered crack ribs, a bruised sternum and broken hand (among other injuries) from this Leonard Marshall blindside hit. He sat out most of the 1991 and 1992 seasons and was eventually traded to the Chiefs (of all teams!). In many ways it was the end of an era because Ronnie Lott and Roger Craig signed with the Raiders in 1991 and Steve Young only had 10 starts under his belt with the 49ers entering that season.

Young also hurt his knee and the 49ers were left with third-string quarterback Steve Bono in 1991. They lost on a Hail Mary to the Falcons in Week 10 to fall to 4-5. The following week they lost 10-3 to the Saints, tied for the fewest points they scored in 280 games with Bill Walsh and George Seifert. If that wasn't enough, there was literally a reason for panic. There was a fire in the rafters of the Superdome during the 10-3 loss. The game continued as a stagehand put out the fire in a dangerous situation you have to see to believe. 

A tumultuous season could not put out the fire of the 49ers dynasty though. The 1991 season was the only time they missed the playoffs in a 16-season stretch from 1983 to 1998. They bounced back to reach three straight NFC title games, capped with Young's coronation in a six-touchdown performance to win MVP of Super Bowl XXIX.

1981 Raiders rebounded from three straight shutouts

You would think it would be hard to find a dynasty more doomed than the early-'90s 49ers. But you haven't met the 1981 Raiders. The defending Super Bowl champions were among the title favorites but proceeded to become the first team to be shut out in three straight games since World War II. We still haven't seen an offensive drought like that since the 1942-43 Brooklyn Dodgers. The football team. That squad was shut out in six straight (including the first four games of 1943) while they had players serving in the military. 

Entering this stretch the Raiders had not been shut out in 241 straight games. Then it happened three straight times. They finished with a losing record for the only time in a 22-season stretch from 1965-86. They didn't blink though. They went 43-14 in the next three seasons and won a title in 1983, their third in eight seasons. 

1970s Cowboys didn't let an off year stop them

The Cowboys had a rare off year in 1974, their only missed playoff appearance from 1966-83. They started 1-4 and never recovered but still made three Super Bowls in the following four seasons, winning it all in 1977. 

How can the Chiefs rebound?

Those dynasties had more reason to panic than this one. Their quarterback is healthy and their head coach is still here. They haven't failed to score in three straight games like the Raiders.

Return of explosive offense on hold

The biggest long-term issue is the offense. We keep thinking we're going to see the return to an explosive offense led by an MVP-level Mahomes. He has the shortest average pass length in the entire NFL in the last three years and the worst touchdown-to-interception ratio on passes traveling 10+ yards downfield (11-17, minimum 200 attempts). They've had a middling, methodical offense in the last two-plus years that doesn't scare anybody. 

Chiefs WR Snaps This Season

We really can't judge what we've seen so far in 2025 though. Worthy was hurt after three snaps in Week 1 when he collided with Kelce. Worthy really came on in the second half of last season and is the catalyst in their passing game right now. When he's on the field Kansas City averages 5.7 yards per play, a top 10 rate in the NFL. That drops to 4.3 with him off the field, which would rank dead last in the NFL. Rookie fourth-round pick Jalen Royals has yet to play this year (knee tendinitis) and Rashee Rice is serving his six-game suspension. So far we've pretty much seen their JV lineup. We've yet to see the Chiefs with Rice, Worthy and Hollywood Brown all on the field together in the last two years so getting that group together will be the biggest key to a rebound. Another popular option would be to trade for Tyreek Hill.

Run game disappeared

The Chiefs' ground game needs to show signs of life until the aerial attack gets up to speed. Mahomes has 133 of the team's 219 rush yards this season, the third-highest rate (56%) for a quarterback through two games since 2000 (only 2022 Lamar Jackson and 2013 Colin Kaepernick carried heavier loads to start a season). Chiefs running backs have 96 yards rushing and 23 yards receiving this year, two of the lowest totals in the league. They've only forced three missed tackles on nearly 30 carries. 

The offensive line is part of the problem. Remember, All-Pro guard Joe Thuney was traded to the Bears. Kansas City ranks fifth-worst in run block grade by PFF this year. They aren't getting much push, but it's more likely the Chiefs go out and get a running back. Steelers rookie Kaleb Johnson is in Mike Tomlin's doghouse, but I don't see Pittsburgh trading him to Kansas City. The same might be said for Broncos back Jaleel McLaughlin, who has been a healthy scratch in both games this season. Again, I don't see Denver trading with the Chiefs. 

Mahomes off his game

With banged-up wideouts and no run game to speak of, the weight falls on Mahomes' shoulders. He's been feeling it so far. He has the highest off-target rate this season (22%) and the most off-target incompletions in a two-game span in his career (15). NFL Next Gen stats has him with the worst completion percentage over expectation in the NFL (-9.8%). The worst miss was overthrowing a wide-open Thornton deep in the fourth quarter last week, but he made up for it with a dime a few plays later. 

He usually delivers backbreaking plays on third down but this season he is averaging the fewest third-down yards per attempt (3.4) in the NFL as the Chiefs have struggled to convert in those spots. That's the opposite of what we're used to seeing from Mahomes, so in no way do I expect it to continue.

The Chiefs have also lost two close games after winning an NFL-record 17 straight in one-score affairs. The Super Bowl rematch vs. Philadelphia could have been completely different had Kelce not dropped a would-be touchdown that was instead intercepted near the goal line. 

The one thing we can't measure here is the fatigue of the Super Bowl loser hangover and all the crazy, close games they've been involved in lately. Maybe that's part of it, for now I expect them to bounce back like dynasties before them, especially when their wideouts get back on the field. 

Now, if they lose to the Giants on Sunday, I'll even jump off the bandwagon.