Tom Brady believes the Kansas City Chiefs’ chances of being the first NFL team to win three straight Super Bowls are slim, expecting the rest of the league to catch up with Patrick Mahomes and his team.
The Chiefs head into next season on the back of successive Lombardi Trophy triumphs, defeating the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas in February 12 months after taking down the Philadelphia Eagles in Phoenix. Last season, in particular, they defied the odds, overcoming a challenging regular season with a struggling receiving corps to show their championship credentials when it really mattered in the playoffs.
But seven-time Super Bowl champion Brady says the team have been walking a tightrope of “razor-thin margins” over the past couple of years, and the former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers superstar believes the history books show that is unsustainable.
“To win a Super Bowl is extremely challenging, as we know,” Brady told “The Herd”. “Even when we look at the way the Chiefs won the Super Bowl last year against the 49ers, it was an incredible comeback and they played really well at the end where the margin of error was razor thin. That’s the way it’s going to be for them this year as well.
“It’s very rare. I played on an undefeated team and we were one of the best in the history of football in 2007. We go to the Super Bowl, we played less than our best game, the Giants played an awesome game and they ended up beating us.
“All these teams in the NFL are competitive, they are all well coached. The margin of error is razor-thin, so to win one Super Bowl is extremely difficult. To win two back-to-back like the Chiefs have done, in the history of the sport [it is] nearly impossible.
“To win three in a row, there’s a reason no-one’s done it. The reason no-one has won three in a row is because it’s hard to win one in a row. So to put three of those together in back-to-back-to-back seasons with drafting last, a very hard schedule, all the turnover in free agency, guys continuing to be motivated – it’s a big challenge.”
Brady says the Chiefs still have all the pieces in place to win, with the league’s best quarterback in Patrick Mahomes and – in most people’s estimations – the best coach in Andy Reid. But Brady, who is preparing for his first season as an analyst for FOX, believes the Chiefs have an almighty task on their hands if they want are to go all the way for the third straight year.
“Believe me, people would put them as one of the odds-on favorites to do it, but there is not a 50 per cent chance of that happening. It’s way less than that,” Brady continued. “Those players are going to have to show up every day and put the work in like they have.
“Fortunately, they have a tremendous coach in Andy Reid, who doesn’t ever look backward. He is a veteran, experienced, championship-level coach who holds those guys accountable.
“They have a great quarterback in Patrick that, as we know, when he’s on the field he’s as great as a football player as there is in the NFL. Travis Kelce, what he can do at the tight end position is really a great safety blanket. Rashee Rice coming on as a rookie, Chris Jones, they’ve got [Steve] Spagnuolo back there as the defensive coordinator.
“There are a lot of great pieces, but to win it again is a momentous task. No-one’s going to put it past them but we’re all excited to watch on opening day to see what the 2024 version of the Chiefs can do and the goals they can set for themselves and whether they can reach them.”
