The Kansas City Chiefs will visit the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day, a year after losing to the Las Vegas Raiders at home last Dec. 25.
The Chiefs did not look good in that game, losing 20-14 and dropping to 9-6 on the season. Since then, however, Kansas City has experienced one of the most incredible stretches in NFL history.
Following their Christmas loss to the Raiders, the Chiefs are 20-1. That includes two bounce-back wins to finish the 2023-24 regular season, four postseason wins (with two road victories at Buffalo and Baltimore) and a second consecutive Super Bowl ring.
So far in the 2024-25 season, they’ve lost just once, at Buffalo, in Week 11. On the surface, their 14-1 record this season seems like a mirage. They are one of four teams without a 30-point game. Ten of their 14 games have been by less than one score.
They suffered significant long-term injuries to their top two receivers and their No. 1 running back. Their secondary depth has been tested all season, and they’ve not gotten good play from their left tackles. Despite all of this, they keep winning.
With a win on Christmas Day, the Chiefs will secure the No. 1 seed in the AFC. This will give them a first-round bye in the playoffs, some much-needed rest for some of their players in Week 18 and home-field advantage for as long as they remain in the playoffs until the Super Bowl.
All in all, it’s been an impressive year. How does it stack up against some other great stretches in the Super Bowl era of the NFL?
In 1972, the Miami Dolphins went 17-0, including the playoffs. They are the only team to finish a whole season undefeated. At the end of the 1971 season, they won their last regular-season game and two playoff games before losing in the Super Bowl to the Dallas Cowboys. That equals the Chiefs’ 20-1 record. If you include the first game of the 1973 campaign, that stretch is 21-1, with the Dolphins’ only loss in Super Bowl VI.
During the 2007-08 season, the New England Patriots went undefeated until losing to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, finishing 18-1. They bounced back to start 2-0 in 2008, matching the Chiefs’ 20-1 record.
These are three of the best streaks in the Super Bowl era of the NFL. Kansas City can match Miami’s incredible 21-1 stretch from the early ’70s with a victory on Wednesday.
Whether the Chiefs’ victories have been pretty or ugly, they all count, and their achievements cannot be overlooked. We are witnessing NFL history and should enjoy it as long as it lasts.
