Their 8-0 start is impressive, but two-time defending Super Bowl champs remain focused on bigger picture

With nine games remaining on their schedule, the Kansas City Chiefs face a question: Will they go undefeated?

Here’s the answer: It doesn’t matter.

To be sure, NFL observers are interested in whether the league’s only undefeated team will finish the regular season with a perfect record. But Kansas City (8-0) remains focused on its pursuit of an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl championship.

For the Chiefs, the regular season is just a means to an end.

As the Chiefs prepare to play host to the Denver Broncos on Sunday, they’ve overcome major injuries en route to producing the league’s best mark. In fact, including postseason games, the Chiefs have won 14 straight spanning two seasons.

And they’re not surprised.

“We’re a really good football team,” superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes told reporters recently. “Whatever it takes that day, guys are going to step up and make the play. If it’s defense, if it’s offense, if it’s special teams and each individual in those situations, they’re going to step up. None of us are about stats here, we’re about wins.

“We’ve [had] seasons where we have had great stats and not won the Super Bowl. And the seasons like last year, [when] you don’t necessarily have the great stats, but you win the Super Bowl [and] still feel way better. … Whatever it takes, we’re going to find a way to win the football game. It comes with experience, and it comes with a great culture that we’ve built here.”

Last season, the Chiefs became the first team since the New England Patriots in 2004 and 2005 to win back-to-back Super Bowl championships. In their bid to break new ground in the Super Bowl era, the Chiefs are off to a sensational start, stirring interest in whether they could become only the second team in NFL history to finish a season, including the playoffs, undefeated. During the 1972-73 season, the Miami Dolphins went 17-0.

During the 2007-08 season, it seemed the New England Patriots couldn’t be stopped. They went 16-0 in the regular season, won two games in the AFC playoffs and were heavily favored to defeat the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. On that day, however, the Giants were better. Despite finishing 18-1, the Patriots failed to get the victory they coveted most.

During the 2015-16 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors started 24-0, establishing a new mark for the best start at the highest level of basketball. The Warriors’ historic beginning to that season provided a springboard to yet another NBA single-season achievement: a 73-9 overall record.

Ultimately, though, that team is best known for failing to defend its NBA title while becoming the only one in NBA Finals history to squander a 3-1 series. As it turned out, the Warriors’ season was meaningless because of how it ended.

Kansas City hopes to avoid the same fate.
Nevertheless, the Chiefs’ strong opening run this season is impressive, especially because of the injuries they’ve overcome. Among their starters, they lost wide receiver Hollywood Brown during the preseason, running back Isiah Pacheco in Week 2, receiver Rashee Rice in Week 4 and cornerback Jaylen Watson in Week 7.

To the delight of head coach Andy Reid, the Chiefs just keep on rolling.

“These games have been close. A lot of them. So, I’m proud of the guys for playing for four quarters and hanging together for that time,” Reid said. “We can get better in all the different spots, me included. We’re just all kind of working in the same direction right now, and that’s important to see if we can improve as we go.”

In the pursuit of that goal, the addition of All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins has helped.

Acquired from the Tennessee Titans in a trade recently, Hopkins quickly bolstered the team’s injury-ravaged receiving corps. Hopkins had eight receptions for 86 yards and two touchdowns in Monday’s 30-24 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime.

Hopkins has fit in well, the Chiefs said.

“His hands are phenomenal,” Kansas City offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “The experience that he has, which comes with that, is trust. He’s played in a lot of games. He understands and he’s seen a bunch of different defenses. That’s valuable.

“Whether it’s zone or man [coverage], he’s a very good route runner. You see it on tape. … You see the confidence and the swagger that he has. That confidence can really penetrate, and you feel that with the other players.”
Mahomes can attest to it. He established a quick connection with Hopkins, whom the Chiefs acquired with an eye toward their ultimate goal, not trying to finish the regular season with an unblemished record.

“We continue to give him more and more opportunities to make plays,” Mahomes said. “We move him around and let him do what he’s special at, and that’s catching the football, winning one-on-one matchups and getting open in zone coverage.

“It’s just going to help the entire offense, not only for him, but helping other guys get open as well. Obviously, with the big game that he had this last game, I’m sure they’ll be more eyes on him this week.”

When one plays for the Chiefs, garnering attention goes with the job. And even if the Chiefs finish the regular season with a blemished record, the spotlight will remain on them at the NFL’s most important time of the year.