History says the Kansas City Chiefs can’t afford to go 0-3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – During their uncharacteristically poor start, the Kansas City Chiefs have produced some bad numbers.

Here’s one they’ll strive to keep off their ledger this week: 0-3.

In the Super Bowl era, no team has reached the league’s biggest game after opening the regular season with three consecutive losses. Through the first two weeks, the Chiefs (0-2) were winless, which makes their predicament this week crystal clear.

By any means necessary, the Chiefs are determined to enter the victory column. They’ll attempt to do that Sunday night when they face the New York Giants (0-2). Having already broken new ground in the wrong areas, the Chiefs would rather not have history working against them, too.

Based on the Chiefs’ success amid adversity throughout their long Super Bowl-winning run, head coach Andy Reid believes his team is capable of making another memorable comeback.

“I trust this group,” Reid told reporters Tuesday during a news conference. “I mean, this group’s a good group. [They have] good leadership and they’ll stay together.

“They’ll work hard on cleaning things up. There’s nobody more aware of it than the guys, and we’ll make sure we get back to the drawing board.”

After losses to the Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles, respectively, the Chiefs have no shortage of areas in which they could improve.

The Chiefs’ running game has been awful. In both games, quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the team in rushing. Top back Isiah Pacheco is averaging only 23.5 yards per game with a low 3.1-yard per carry average. Defensively, Kansas City’s pass rush has performed poorly. The Chiefs aren’t applying much pressure without blitzing.

That combination has put even more pressure on Mahomes, who has shouldered a lot amid the Chiefs’ offensive struggles of the past two seasons. Repeatedly throughout his career, the league’s best player has covered up the cracks. Increasingly, however, it seems the Chiefs are springing new leaks faster than he can patch them.

Still, like Reid, Mahomes believes in the Chiefs’ championship DNA.

“It’s just the people that we have in the locker room. Even though we have never been 0-2, we’ve had stretches where we’ve lost big games kind of consecutively, and guys have responded,” the three-time Super Bowl MVP said. “It’s about the character of the guys in the locker room more than it is the play on the football field.

“We have the guys that are going to continue to work. They’re not going to let this push them down. They’re going to use it, if anything, as motivation to be even better. That gives me the most faith. And then the coaches that we have, they’ll continue to push to be even better.”

Having been written off before in the past three seasons, Mahomes isn’t one to panic.

Remember when many NFL observers believed the Chiefs couldn’t overcome their ineffective receiving corps? Remember all the chatter about Mahomes never having led the Chiefs to a road victory in the playoffs? Remember how the Baltimore Ravens were supposed to dominate the Chiefs in the 2024 AFC Championship Game?

How’d that all work out?

“You take it one week at a time,” Mahomes said. “You just continue to amplify the little details. Sometimes, when you’re winning a lot, those little details get lost, and that’s how you lose. When you lose early like this, you have to really just focus on those little details and maximize those. Then, you try and set the example on the practice field.

“[You] stay after and do extra stuff and do a little bit here and there, and push other guys to do the same. We’re really good at that. I know how these guys are working and how hard these guys are pushing to be even better. Now, it’s just about putting it together on gameday, which I’ve seen these guys do before. I have faith that we’ll do that.”

Currently, things aren’t adding up well for Kansas City. There’s no debating that. But over the past seven seasons, the Chiefs have delivered big returns.

As long as Mahomes is under center, it would appear there’s still time for them to finish in the black.