The Kansas City Chiefs are one of eight NFL teams to start this season 2-0, one of four AFC teams and joined by only the Las Vegas Raiders in the AFC West as undefeated teams still remaining.
Each of the league’s 2-0 teams has a chance to advance their record to 3-0 in Week 3 with a victory; none of the teams match up with each other.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Chiefs are the most likely team; Kansas City is currently a 10.5-point favorite against the Miami Dolphinson the road.
Of course it’s
important to win every week during the 17-game NFL regular season, but there is a significant impact on playoff probability when starting the year 3-0.
RotoWire.com has a 10-year study (since 2016) of NFL teams starting 3-0; 73% of teams make the postseason and one in five reach the Super Bowl.
The 45-team sample of 3-0 starts also shows that 38% of such teams reach the Divisional Round and 31% play in that year’s conference championship game.
There are many hot starts to log in head coach Andy Reid’s history in Kansas City with quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Here are the seasons the team has started 3-0 in this era and how the year finished out.
- 2024: Super Bowl appearance
- 2020: Super Bowl appearance
- 2019: Super Bowl LIV champions
- 2018: AFC Championship appearance
It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish — but there’s no reason to doubt this team’s ability to close crucial games when it is do or die. A strong performance in September can make life easier on the way to success in January (and February).
