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Jan 26, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) celebrates against the Buffalo Bills during the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

This Is Best Signal Chiefs’ Dynasty Days Are Endangered

Originally posted on Kansas City Chiefs on SI
By Zak Gilbert | Last updated Sep 13, 2025 1:00 PM ET

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – All week at Chiefs headquarters, the common theme approaching Sunday’s showdown with Philadelphia was starting fast.

No one knows the Chiefs better than the Chiefs. That’s probably why they don’t want to fall behind early like they did in last week’s 27-21 loss to the Chargers. And toss in the Super Bowl rematch factor for Sunday (3:25 p.m. CT, FOX/WDAF Channel 4, 96.5 The Fan), there’s sure to be extra juice.

“I mean, it's our first home game,” Patrick Mahomes said Wednesday. “There’ll be a cool flyover. You know, you get everything you need. So, there's no way, no reason you should come out flat this game.”

That flyover will feature a B2 Spirit Stealth Bomber from Whiteman Air Force Base near Knob Noster, Mo., stamping an exclamation point on the national anthem.

Biggest concern flying over Chiefs

But the biggest concern flying over the Chiefs entering Sunday is simply getting a lead – something they haven’t had since the final minutes of their 32-29 AFC championship game triumph over Buffalo. And that’s the biggest reason for concern that the NFL’s resident dynasty might be nearing its end.

According to analyst Scott Kacsmar, prior to Super Bowl 59 the Chiefs during the seven-year Mahomes era (2018-24) had played only three games without holding a lead. Now, they enter Sunday without holding a lead in two consecutive games, losses to the Eagles and Chargers.

Before Super Bowl 59 the Chiefs only had 3 games where they trailed the entire way (never even tied after 0-0)

2021 TEN
2023 DEN
2023 GB

It's happened in the last two games

SB vs. Eagles
Brazil vs. Chargers
— Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) September 10, 2025

Unprecedented familiarity with inter-conference opponent

Mahomes said he took a week to decompress from the 40-22 Super Bowl loss, then fired up film just as he would critique any game, always striving to learn and improve. He did acknowledge, though, that this week is different. But it’s not because it’s a Super Bowl rematch.

“We know the opponent,” said Mahomes, whose Chiefs will play the NFC Eagles in a fifth consecutive season. “Even with the Super Bowl and the Super Bowl before and the games we've played in regular seasons, we know that this is a really good football team, and we know that they have a lot of great football players. And so, when you play the best of the best, you have to take your game to another level.”

The Chiefs ruled out Xavier Worthy on Saturday, meaning the depleted wide receivers will need to take their game to an even higher level. And even with Mahomes’ uncanny penchant to erase double-digit deficits, the leader of that wide-receiver room said the Chiefs want to avoid those situations. But if Kansas City finds itself trailing on Sunday, the team will look inward.

“It’s more so just keeping your self-composure,” JuJu Smith-Schuster said Friday. “You know, ‘We put ourselves in this position before. We train ourselves in training camp, in these situations, to be down and go out there, put points on the board.’

“But it takes all, all sides. It takes special teams, offense, defense, not just the offense, to go out there. But at least on the offensive side of things, we are put in the positions to make those plays, being down by more than two drives. So, I think for us, it's just more so, just do what we know, go out, execute, make the plays and move on.”