It’s been a banner decade for the Kansas City Chiefs, who will make their eighth consecutive trip to the NFL playoffs later this month.
The Chiefs have methodically demolished much of the league since Andy Reid arrived in Kansas City in 2013, making the playoffs in all but one season (2014), while establishing a pass-first offense that has left opposing teams exasperated.
This year’s Chiefs team is no exception, with a 13-3 record and a half-game lead over the Buffalo Bills for the top seed in the AFC. The high Chiefs playoff chances have also been a driver for the first year of legal Kansas sportsbooks.
Kansas City leads the league in a host of offensive statistics, including passing yards per game (305.1) and points per game (29.1), showing how fearsome it has become on that side of the ball under Reid’s tutelage.
BetKansas.com, home to the best information on Kansas mobile betting apps, wanted to compare the franchise’s current run of playoff berths to the rest of the league. Here’s where Reid and the Chiefs rank in the NFL’s record books.
Longest NFL Playoff Streaks
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Chiefs Current Run Among NFL’s Best
Kansas City is currently tied with the “Steel Curtain” Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s, the Green Bay Packers of the 2010s, the L.A. Rams of the ‘70s, and the Bill Walsh San Francisco 49ers of the ‘80s when it comes to consecutive playoff berths.
The only franchises that have made it to the playoffs more than Kansas City are the Tom Landry Dallas Cowboys, the Peyton Manning-led Indianapolis Colts, the post-WWII era Cleveland Browns, and Tom Brady’s New England Patriots.
The leader in NFL playoff appearances are the Patriots, who made it to the postseason 11 straight years between 2009 and 2019.
The Browns made it to 10 straight postseasons between 1946 and 1955. The Cowboys and Colts made it nine straight times.
How the Kansas City Chiefs Got Here
It wasn’t long ago the Chiefs were limping their way through a 2-14 campaign that led to the departure of head coach Romeo Crennel and the arrival of Reid, who previously coached Philadelphia between 1999 and 2012.
The real arrival of the Chiefs’ renaissance came in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, when Reid bet the house on Mahomes, who has gone on to bring the franchise its first Super Bowl in 50 years in 2019, in addition to winning the NFL MVP in 2018.
Mahomes has been a revelation under center, throwing for more than 24,000 yards and tossing 191 touchdowns to 49 interceptions.
The former Texas Tech Red Raider is putting forth what might be his best statistical season in 2022-23, with 5,048 passing yards and 40 touchdowns (to 12 interceptions), to go with 329 rushing yards and four scores on the ground.
Mahomes is 39 yards from eclipsing his career high for passing yards in a season (5,097, in 2018) and can one-up last year’s personal best for rushing yards in a season (381) by gaining 52 yards in Week 18. (This is the second season of a 17-game NFL schedule).
It’s clear the Chiefs' road to the record books began with Mahomes’ arrival from Lubbock, spearheading a revitalization that few could have seen coming in the pre-Reid years.
Whether Mahomes and company can knock off the Brady-led Patriots by making the playoffs in 12 straight seasons remains to be seen.
For now, Chiefs fans can rest soundly, knowing their favorite team is climbing up the NFL’s record books with each passing season.
