NEW ORLEANS: If Patrick Mahomes can lead the Kansas City Chiefs to an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl victory when they face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, expect the debate over the NFL’s greatest-ever dynasty to heat up.
On the face of it, the Chiefs still have some way to go to catch what is widely recognized as the greatest dynasty — the New England Patriots in the era of quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick.
That pairing delivered six Super Bowl titles while the partnership of head coach Andy Reid and Mahomes will claim their fourth if they can overcome the Eagles and their powerful running game.
But a case can be made that the Patriots dynasty was in fact two separate periods, given there was a decade gap between their 2004 triumph over the Eagles in Jacksonville and their 2014 victory against Seattle in Arizona.
However, even in the 10 years without a Super Bowl win, the Patriots were a near-constant challenger — reaching the Super Bowl twice and never missing out on the playoffs.
For Rob Gronkowski, the former Patriots tight end who won four Super Bowls with Brady and Belichick, there is no question that the Chiefs still have some way to go to better New England’s legacy.
“I don’t think they’re closing in on everything we’ve accomplished in our dynasty because it was over two decades. You had that first dynasty decade, from like 2002-2010... then it trickled into the second decade,” he told the Rich Eisen Show.
Gronkowski, though, generously acknowledged that the Chiefs have done something unique.
“What they’ve done over the last 10 years, I believe, (is) the best decade of dominance from a dynasty, especially if they get the three-peat,” he said.
There is, however, a tendency for recency bias in such evaluations and it’s worth remembering that while the NFL may be set up to avoid long-lasting dynasties, via the NFL Draft and roster rules, there were several dynasties before Belichick and Reid came along.
The Dallas Cowboys with quarterback Troy Aikman won three Super Bowls in four years in the early 1990s and the 1980s belonged to the San Francisco 49ers, who won four titles over nine years.
Before that, from the mid-1970s, the Pittsburgh Steelers led by quarterback Terry Bradshaw twice won back-to-back Super Bowls.
The Green Bay Packers under legendary coach Vince Lombardi in the 1960s won the NFL crown five times, but because only the last two of those wins are counted as Super Bowls, the achievements of the Wisconsin club appear to be forgotten or undervalued by some.
The Packers actually achieved a ‘three-peat’ winning three straight, pre-Super Bowl NFL championships from 1965 to 1967.
What is beyond discussion is that a Chiefs victory will make them the first team to win three Super Bowls in a row.
But all the talk of dynasties and ‘three-peats’ will simply be fuel to fire up an Eagles team who are in no mood to just become a statistic.
Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has sensed a determination among the Philadelphia players.
“The Chiefs are going for the three-peat but I will say this: There’s definitely a chip on the shoulder of the Eagles. They lost this game two years ago. I don’t think that sits very well with them right now.
“And I think they’re a better team this year than they were two years ago.”
