The Kansas City Chiefs make history every week, with each playoff win adding to the legacy of the Patrick Mahomes-Andy Reid dynasty.
Ahead of Kansas City’s quest to complete the first Super Bowl-era three-peat, here are some of the most notable facts and figures to consider before they face the Philadelphia Eagles.
1 — Franchises To 3-Peat in NFL History
We all know the Chiefs are going for the first Super Bowl three-peat, but there was a championship awarded before the first Super Bowl in 1966 too. In fact, the beginning of the Super Bowl era overlaps with the last three-peat.
The Vince Lombardi-era Green Bay Packers won the last NFL Championship Game in 1965 and then defeated the AFL champion in each of the first two Super Bowls in 1966-67. To date, that remains the most recent NFL three-peat of any kind.
The Packers also had the first three-peat in league history, 1929-31, with head coach Curly Lambeau (the namesake of Lambeau Field). However, that was before the playoffs were implemented. Simply, the champion was determined by the best regular-season record.
Note that the Otto Graham/Paul Brown-era Cleveland Browns did not officially three-peat, even though they did win five consecutive championships between 1946-50. However, the first four were in a league called the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), a challenger to the NFL. The NFL adopted the Browns and San Francisco 49ers from the league but does not officially recognize the AAFC’s history.
3 — Thwarted 3-Peats in NFL History
The Chiefs are the first team to play in the Super Bowl while seeking a Super Bowl three-peat, but other teams have come close to winning three straight championships without finishing the job.
- The 1966 Buffalo Bills went 9-4-1 and faced Kansas City for a third straight AFL title and the right to face the Packers in the first-ever Super Bowl. However, the Chiefs went into War Memorial Stadium and steamrolled the Bills 31-7, with Len Dawson overcoming nine sacks and throwing a pair of touchdowns.
- The 1954 Detroit Lions were coming off back-to-back NFL championship victories over the Browns. However, the Browns dominated the rubber match, earning a 56-10 win. Graham had three passing AND three rushing touchdowns. It was the only game in NFL history with three passing and three rushing TDs by the same player until Josh Allen did that in Week 14 versus the Los Angeles Rams in 2024.
- The 1942 Chicago Bears went 11-0 and entered the championship game on an 18-game win streak. George Halas’ club had won the previous two NFL Championship Games by a combined 110-9 score, making a three-peat seem like a sure thing. However, Washington won 14-6, exacting revenge for the Bears’ 73-0 thumping two years earlier in the championship game (which remains the largest win in NFL history).
9 — Teams To 3-Peat in NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL History
Looking across the major men’s North American sports leagues, only nine franchises have won three titles in a row. The NFL is the only league without multiple franchises to do so.
- NFL: Green Bay Packers (1929-31, 1965-67)
- NBA: Los Angeles Lakers (1952-54, 2000-02), Chicago Bulls (1991-93, 1996-98), Boston Celtics (1959-66)
- NHL: New York Islanders (1980-83), Montreal Canadiens (1956-60, 1976-78), Toronto Maple Leafs (1947-49, 1962-64)
- MLB: New York Yankees (1936-39, 1949-53, and 1998-2000), Oakland Athletics (1972-74)
1-3 — Record of 2-Time Defending Super Bowl Champs in Conference Championships
The Chiefs were the first two-time defending Super Bowl champion to get over the Conference Championship hump. Before Kansas City, three other teams came within one game of playing for a Super Bowl three-peat, only to fall short.
- The 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers lost 24-7 to the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship Game. Pittsburgh had defeated Oakland in the Conference Championship Game in each of the previous two seasons on their way to back-to-back Super Bowl victories.
- The 1990 San Francisco 49ers lost 15-13 to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game as eight-point favorites. Joe Montana was knocked out of the game on a vicious sack from Leonard Marshall and missed most of the next two seasons with subsequent elbow injuries.
- The 1994 Dallas Cowboys lost 38-28 to the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. Dallas had dominated San Francisco in the playoffs during the previous two seasons, winning by a combined score of 68-41.
49 — Wins in the Last 3 Seasons
Including the playoffs, the Chiefs have won 49 games in the last three seasons, which is already the most over a three-season span in NFL history. Of course, their dominance stretches well beyond just those three seasons.
In the eight seasons since drafting Mahomes, the Chiefs have set the record for the most wins in a three-year span, four-year span, five-year span, six-year span, seven-year span, and eight-year span (including the playoffs). They can tie the most wins in a single season as well by recording their 18th win in the Super Bowl.
And although Mahomes wasn’t around in 2015 or 2016, the Chiefs were still a playoff team in both those seasons with Alex Smith. As a result, they can surpass the New England Patriots for most wins in a nine-year and 10-year span with a win in the Super Bowl.
9 — Consecutive Playoff Wins
Lost in all the hoopla of the three-peat is the reality that the Chiefs are on the verge of tying another major NFL postseason record. With nine straight playoff wins entering the Super Bowl, another win would tie the Chiefs with the 2001-05 Patriots for the longest playoff win streak of all time.
The Patriots won the Super Bowl in three consecutive playoff appearances but missed the postseason in 2002. They won their opening game of the 2005 playoffs and sought a three-peat but fell to the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round in the first playoff loss of Tom Brady’s career.
.795 — Win Percentage in 1-Score Games
The Chiefs have become the masters of late-game execution. Including the playoffs, Kansas City is 31-8 (.795) in games decided by one score. That’s both the most wins and the highest win percentage in that span.
The Chiefs have won an NFL-record 17 straight one-score games, including a 12-0 mark in 2024. That surpassed the 2022 Minnesota Vikings, 2019 Seattle Seahawks, and 2015 Broncos for the most one-score wins in a season.
.600 — Win Percentage When Down Double-Digits
Perhaps the most absurd part of Kansas City’s run is how simple they make the comeback look. The Chiefs are 9-6 since 2022 when trailing by double-digits at any point during a game, which comes out to a .600 win percentage. That alone would be the ninth-best record in the NFL over the last three seasons, just ahead of the Cowboys and Steelers.
The comeback magic kicks up to another level in the playoffs. For his career, Mahomes is 5-2 in the playoffs when trailing by double-digits (including all three of his Super Bowl wins to date).
- All other QBs combined have led four double-digit comeback wins in the Super Bowl (two by Brady, one by Drew Brees, one by Doug Williams).
- Brady (a 6-8 record) is the only quarterback with more double-digit comeback wins by a starting QB in NFL playoff history, doing so in twice as many games as Mahomes.
8 — Patrick Mahomes-Led Game-Winning Drives
With many of the Chiefs’ wins being tight contests, it’s no surprise that Mahomes has had to regularly lead late-game heroics. Including the playoffs, Mahomes has eight game-winning drives in 2024, tied for the most in a single season since QB starts were first tracked in 1950. Mahomes enters the Super Bowl tied with:
- 2022 Kirk Cousins (Vikings)
- 2016 Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions)
- 2011 Eli Manning (Giants)
- 2003 Jake Delhomme (Carolina Panthers)
In addition, the 2024 AFC Championship Game was Mahomes’ seventh career game-winning drive in the playoffs. That passed John Elway for sole possession of the second-most by a quarterback behind Brady (14).
68.4% — Chiefs’ Scoring Rate on 4th-Quarter/OT Drives in 1-Score Situations Since 2022 Playoffs
Admittedly a specific stat, this highlights how Mahomes is the best closer in today’s game (and arguably of all time). During the Chiefs’ three-peat run, Kansas City has had 19 drives in the fourth quarter or OT with the game within one score. Mahomes has led them to scores on 13 of those drives (68.4%) while also running out the clock on four other drives.
Added together, that comes out to 17 of 19 drives where the Chiefs had a positive drive result at the end of a one-score game since the 2022 playoffs. That’s an absurd 89% and explains much of Kansas City’s late-game magic.
0.75 — Travis Kelce’s EPA/Target Since 2022 Playoffs
If there’s one player on the Chiefs who flips the switch come playoff time, it’s Travis Kelce. The 35-year-old tight end has consistently saved his best for the postseason while he ages. Over the last three seasons, Kelce has more than doubled his EPA per target while averaging nearly 18 more receiving yards per game in the playoffs compared to the regular season.
How absurd is that figure of 0.75 EPA per target? No player has hit that figure in a single season since Tyler Lockett in 2018 (min. 50 targets). Kelce has done so with over 80 targets since the 2022 postseason.
+10.6% — Increase in Chiefs’ Defensive Pressure Rate in 2nd Halves Since 2022 Playoffs
While Mahomes and the offense get much of the love, Steve Spagnuolo’s defense has proven just as clutch throughout this run. Kansas City’s defense has been beatable in the first half of games over the last three postseasons but significantly increases its productivity after halftime.
Most notably, the Chiefs’ pressure percentage on the opposing quarterback increases by 10.6 percentage points. That’s not simply because Spagnuolo is sending the house either, as the Chiefs’ blitz percentage in first halves (28.8%) is actually higher than in second halves (27.1%) over this span.
For context on how disruptive that pressure rate is, consider that the Cleveland Browns led the NFL with a 41.7% pressure rate during the 2024 regular season.
